Opportunities for artists – Creative Popup commissions

Seed is a charity that brings community-led creative projects to Sedgemoor on behalf of a group of local community organisations that work together under an informal structure known as a ‘consortium’.

Seed receives funding from Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme, which offer communities new opportunities to create, access and participate in creative arts, heritage and cultural activities.

Seed is not a grant funder. We are ourselves supported by grant funding from Arts Council England (ACE) and the National Lottery. This money cannot be used to provide grants to others, which is known as ‘devolved funding’. We are, however, able to commission projects that help us to achieve our goals, which is to create and deliver new opportunities to participate in the arts that have been developed in response to what the community has said they would like to have provided.

A grant would typically mean you have a project idea and need funds to make it happen. You would have complete freedom in designing the project and if funded would simply report back to the funder at the end of the project.

A commission means that you are actually undertaking this work on behalf of Seed, towards the goals that have been established with Arts Council England as the original funder. That means that Seed is an active partner in your project rather than a funder and can provide additional support.

We have been directly consulting with the local community in various ways since 2020.  Every year we undertake Creative Accelerator sessions. These are workshops where local community members come together to generate, discuss and prioritise ideas. The findings of the most recent Creative Accelerator sessions are summarised in a report which is attached to our community-led commissions call-outs, so that you can use this information to inform the development of your project proposal.

When we receive project proposals that will require more than £2000, we establish a selection committee which includes sowers and growers  who are members of the local community who have participated in our consultation activities, enabling them to play an active part in selecting the projects that are commissioned.

We are looking for artists at any stage of their career, likewise for any artistic medium you may work within. what is important is the ideas you have, the more creative and engaging the better!  Community groups and other organisations can also propose ideas. If you need help finding an artist or facilitator to work with, we can assist with that.

What is very important to our core principles is that Seed projects reach people that would not usually take part in arts and cultural activities. We believe in the importance of making the arts as accessible as possible and that anyone can be creative!

There is no one size fits all answer to this, and value for money will be considered against what other project proposals offer. Things to consider might include:

• how many people will benefit from the project?
• how long the activity will run for
• will the activity lead to other things such as future activity, new skills that or other wider impacts within the community?
• Can you access in kind support such as a free venue, materials &/or volunteers to increase the value of your commission?
• Do you have access to other funds you can bring in to the project?

Activities commissioned by Seed are typically free to attendees in order to remove any financial barriers to participation. We do recognise, however, that sometimes a fee can increase the perceived value of something, or the commitment of attendees to an ongoing activity. Earned income can also mean that the project benefits from a larger overall budget. Where fees are charged, they should be as low as is feasible, and where appropriate may include a voluntary or ‘pay what you can/feel’ approach.

As well as help with the media and marketing side we provide tools for evaluating your project, project management advice, making introductions and providing a supportive and encouraging network.  You can also talk to us at any stage in the development of your idea, planning or delivery of your project.

Good question! You can find further examples of past projects here!