Short Description
Our Open Awards offer ten opportunities for disabled artists based in England, Scotland or Wales. These awards offer a grand total of £413,000 to disabled artists, with individual awards ranging from £15,000 seed commissions to £80,000 for major production-ready backing. These awards are made possible with the support from Arts Council England, Arts Council of Wales, and Creative Scotland.
This commissioning awards round supports bold, brilliant disabled artists to create, develop, and share extraordinary work.
Small Awards (under 25k)
We’re here to support bold creative visions from disabled artists based in England, Scotland, and Wales.
Open Awards under £25,000 are ideal for testing, exploring, and playing with early ideas.
They’re designed to give you time, space, and support to take creative risks. We know powerful work doesn’t happen overnight. It starts with a spark.
Small awards available:
- Two x £20,000 Open Awards for artists based in England
- One x £18,000 Open Award for artists based in Scotland
- One x £15,000 Open Award for artists based in Wales
Criteria
These criteria will be used by our selection panel to assess your application. We’re looking to invest in work that will have a life beyond the initial commission. We expect all the work we fund to reach multiple audiences, as part of our wider mission to challenge and change the world.
The panel will consider:
- High quality
- Disabled-led
- Innovative and ambitious
- Clear with strong development potential for future touring or exhibition
- An artist has some track record of creating work and reaching audiences
- The work can be completed within a 12-month timeframe
Large Awards (over £25k)
We’re here to support bold creative visions from disabled artists based in England, Scotland, and Wales.
Awards over £25,000 are a chance to get that almost-there piece in front of audiences. Perfect for artists who’ve had some funding but haven’t been able to get the work out there yet.
We want to help take it further, connect it with audiences, and make sure it’s seen in the places it deserves to be.
Large awards available:
- Two x £80,000 Open Awards for artists based in England
- Two x £50,000 Open Awards for artists based in England
- One x £50,000 Open Award for artists based in Scotland
- One x £30,000 Open Award for artists based in Wales
Criteria
These criteria will be used by our selection panel to assess your application. We’re looking to invest in work that will have a life beyond the initial commission. We expect all the work we fund to reach multiple audiences, as part of our wider mission to challenge and change the world.
The panel will consider:
- High quality
- Disabled-led
- Innovative and ambitious
- Touring or exhibition potential to reach diverse venues and audiences
- The artist has a track record of creating work and reaching audiences
- The work can be completed within a 16-month timeframe
Eligibility
We welcome applications from disabled artists across all disciplines and backgrounds, including those who may not have applied before. If you’ve got a boundary-pushing idea and need someone to believe in it, we want to hear from you. Our Open Awards are open to:
- professional disabled artists, or disabled artists leading the creation of work within disabled-led companies
- based in England, Scotland, or Wales
- aged 18 and over
- not in full-time education
How to Apply
Application information is available in audio, British Sign Language, Easy Read, large print, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh. If you need this information in any other format, or need funding for access support to apply to us, please contact us at:
commissions@weareunlimited.org.uk
07506 679968
Entry Fee
None
Location
United Kingdom
Timeline
- Application Deadline: 29 September 2025
Website Link: https://weareunlimited.org.uk/opportunities/apply/open-awards-2025/
