Create & Engage

Create and Engage pays for making work and putting it in front of people. For musicians that covers creating new work for presentation, programming, presenting and touring, and community participation projects; training and professional development is eligible for organisations only. It will not fund a project centred on recording, promotion and distribution — for that the Arts Council points you towards PRS Foundation, Help Musicians or Tŷ Cerdd. If you want to develop your own practice rather than make something for an audience, the Creative Practice fund is the right door.

Individuals must be based in Wales. Organisations can apply too, and a non-UK partner is allowed provided a UK body leads and the benefit is clearly for Wales. The project must take place mainly in Wales, be additional to your usual activity, have a definite start and end, and involve at least one collaborator — a partner organisation, artistic mentor, critical friend or community group.

Small awards go up to £10,000 with no deadline, but you need ten working weeks between applying and starting. Large awards run £10,001–£60,000 against four fixed deadlines a year with twelve working weeks' lead time, and organisations can go to £100,000 by prior agreement. Funding covers at most 90% of eligible costs, so at least a tenth of your income must come from a non-Arts Council, non-Lottery source; support in kind counts towards it.

Assessors weigh the artistic proposal and creative team, including whether freelancers are paid properly, how the work serves the Council's priorities on equality, Welsh language, climate justice and talent development, its impact on underrepresented audiences, the quality of your partnerships, and whether the management and financial plans hold up.