Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Grants Programme (UK)

Deadline: 17-Mar-2025

The Art Fund is thrilled to announce its Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Grants Programme to support UK curators, museum professionals and researchers to undertake travel and other activities that will extend and develop their curatorial expertise, collections-based knowledge and art historical interests.

Through this scheme they aim to help individuals realize their curatorial ambitions, by offering grants for collections-based research and curatorial development opportunities. In all their grant making, Art Fund is committed to delivering public benefit, and they achieve this through supporting the development of museum collections so they are well presented and readily available for the public to appreciate and enjoy. They therefore want to hear how their grant to you will help further this aim.

However, they also accept that research can and should be exploratory and creative. They welcome ambitious applications, and will not always expect material outcomes (for example in the form of acquisitions, exhibitions or publications) to be an immediate consequence of their support.

While this programme aims to help support curatorial development and collections-based research, it is not intended to replace statutory funding. They hope it will demonstrate the importance and benefits of continued investment in curatorial expertise, and encourage funding from other sources.

Categories 

• Small Grants: They would anticipate these applications being, in the main, small and discrete grants for travel (e.g. for research projects or visits to galleries/exhibitions/artists’ studios/art fairs), professional training courses, the purchase of books and catalogues, or research expenses.
• Large Grants: Will be available annually in three rounds, this will naturally limit the scope of proposals, but they nonetheless hope you will be creative and ambitious in your application, and bold with regard to the amount of funding you request if you feel your ideas are deserving.

Funding Information 

• They will consider funding requests for a minimum of £200. There are two categories of grant: one up to £2,000; the other above £2,000:
  • Small Grants: Grants of £200 to £2,000:
    • A total of £40,000 is available annually for grant requests at this level.
  • Large Grants: Grants of £2,001 and above:
    • A total of £35,000 will be available annually in three rounds, and it is only in exceptional circumstances that they will offer a grant of more than £5,000.

Eligible Activities

• They welcome applications from UK curators, museum professionals and researchers to undertake travel or other activities to extend and develop their curatorial expertise, collections-based knowledge and art historical interests.
• Applications may include requests to support:
  • Travel and accommodation for research trips and conferences
  • Museum and exhibition visits
  • Training courses and programmes of study
  • Books and subscriptions to add to a museum’s research resources or library
• They can consider funding other kinds of activity, provided you are able to make a strong case for its contribution to the development of curatorial skill and collections-based research projects.

Ineligible Activities

• They will not normally consider funding for:
  • Purchase or hire of equipment – e.g. computers or related hardware, or cameras
  • Photographic or reproduction/copyright costs
  • First-class travel
  • Research projects being undertaken by undergraduate or postgraduate university students.

Eligibility Criteria

• The programme is open to curators and other professionals working in museums, galleries and archives that are open to the public.
• They recognize the need for new skills, knowledge and research to benefit museum collections for the future, so these grants are also available to researchers, art historians and academics working with museums to improve the use and understanding of their collections. If you are not based in a museum or gallery, they ask that you provide a letter of support from a partner organisation. Please note that grants are paid to the supporting institution and cannot be paid to individuals.
• They can consider applications from more than one applicant, and recognize that activities such as research for exhibition development can benefit greatly from collaborative trips, particularly with colleagues across departments. However they are unlikely to consider applications with more than three joint applicants.
• An individual applicant can receive a maximum of one grant per year (small or large). An organisation can receive a maximum of one large grant per year.

Deadlines

• Small Grants: There are no fixed deadlines for applications in this category. They aim to turn applications round within eight weeks of submission, though this may vary depending on volume of applications. If you require a decision within a shorter timeframe please do get in touch to see whether they can accommodate this.
• Large Grants: There are two deadlines per year for applications of £2,001 and above. The next deadline is 17 March 2025.

For more information, visit Art Fund.