Funding possibilities in the creative industry on the rise

Funds: There’s never quite enough money available to support the arts. Yet one must acknowledge that there are increasingly more public resources which artists can tap into in order to realise their projects and aspirations.

Question is ... is the public being properly and duly informed of the many initiatives and funding schemes available? And if not, are they taking enough of an interest in their field to seek out the means towards creative fulfilment?

Many are happy to sit and complain about the present dire situation of the arts in Malta, to such an extent that they haven’t really bothered to stop and notice the gradual shifts and changes around them. The country is waking up to creativity – even though the awakening from this deep slumber lies in the revelation of numbers and statistics and their relation to the economy’s GDP.

But intentions and purposes aside, the creative, the artist – established or aspiring – seeks to benefit.

In fact, the Malta Arts Fund (MAF), which was launched in September 2009, has understandably attracted much interest, with a total of 240 applications having been submitted in an 18-month period.

Managed by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts (MCCA), the fund, comprising an annual €330,000, has directly supported as many as 95 independent projects (40 per cent of total submissions). The funds are awarded through a careful evaluation process. The “competitive” aspect of the fund helps ensure that quality and standards are maintained across pro-jects, while also encouraging individuals and groups to submit proposals which are innovative, of a multi-disciplinary nature and which have the potential of attracting new audiences.

Currently the judging panel for the MAF is made up of three arts executives from the MCCA and two external judges. The evaluation process is also observed by Caldon Mercieca from the Culture and Audiovisual Unit of the Parliamentary Secretariat for Culture and by Davinia Galea, chief executive officer of MCCA.

Funds are moreover divided into two categories: small projects (between €100 and €5,000) and large projects (between €5,001 and €20,000).

The fund has so far generated most demand and interest from the fields of the performing arts (53 per cent) and the visual arts (26 per cent); while literature projects amounted to 12 per cent of submissions and the remaining nine per cent belonged to multi-disciplinary fields.

Aimed at complementing the MAF, on Tuesday evening MCCA launched a series of outreach sessions collectively titled ArtsTalk. This consists of a series of talks and discussions on various topics including the MAF, as well as other funding possibilites available to those seeking assistance in realising a project or even setting up an enterprise.

Tuesday’s informal yet very well-attended gathering, held in the gorgeous setting of Luciano’s rooftop café in Valletta, was thus intended for prospective MAF applicants; presentations were targeted at giving tips on how to submit a quality proposal as well as overviews of other possible funding opportunities for artists. These included the Cre8 scheme – an initiative by the Malta Enterprise, and the EU-funded Culture Programme sustained by the Culture Contact Point in Malta.

Besides the foregoing funding possibilites, there are other initiatives being implemented or in the process of being launched in the coming weeks. The 2011 €60,000 budget dedicated towards installing artistic works in public spaces is under way; the President’s Creativity Award Scheme (€70,000) aimed at the younger aspiring artists was launched just a few weeks ago; and over the coming weeks the student’s cultural participation programme and the school’s creativity programme (to which a total of €360,000 will be dedicated) will be launched shortly ahead of the 2011/2012 scholastic year, together with the Creative Economy Trust Fund (€200,000).

This is not to mention the funds being pumped into the four creative economy sectors – Heritage, Arts, Media and CCIs (Culture and Creative Industries), under whose umbrella one finds anything from the funds allocated towards the European Capital of Culture (€500,000) to the Malta Film Fund (€233,000), to the Rai Christmas Concert (€400,000).

All considered, the figures are quite impressive (confirmed Budget items in 2011 relating to culture amount to €4,258,000), and the path towards a healthy cultural environment in Malta certainly seems like being paved. With all these schemes and initiatives in place, however, the lack of proper infrastructure(s) to cater for and house the arts becomes all the more apparent.

One wonders when the government will take the leap and finally make that commitment.

Latest recipients of the MAF

€1,000 – Trevor Borg: Educational programme related to his ongoing exhibition Placeness at St James Cavalier;

€2,500 – Raphael Vella: Public engagement with contemporary art in Malta (PECAM);

€1,000 – Mark G. Muscat: An exhibition of watercolour paintings titled Shape, Colour, Composition at Auberge d’Italie;

€2,125 – Masquerade: Workshop with world-renowned vocal and acting coach Patsy Rodenburg;

€908 – Matthew Pandolfino: A dance/video project titled Dancing through landscape and technology;

€2,120 – Architecture Project: For the documentation of the demolition of City Gate;

€2,000 – St Joseph Phil-harmonic Society: Prestige – An international masterclass by Steven Mead;

€2,000 – Brikkuni: For their second album titled Trabokk.

• For more information on The Malta Arts Fund and other funding opportunities visit www.maltaculture.com