Micro-grants launched to help local creative groups take part in ‘Get Creative At Home’

Micro-grants of up to £200 have been launched to help not-for-profit creative groups in Stoke-on-Trent share their creativity with people feeling isolated during the Covid-19 Pandemic, as part of #GetCreativeAtHome.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has teamed up with Voluntary Arts England to administer the grants, which will be open for application until Monday 4th May on the Voluntary Arts website.  

#GetCreativeAtHome is a national creative campaign that is being championed by partners including Arts Council England and the BBC to highlight some of the amazing participatory creative activities that are being developed across the country to help people to express themselves during this time of unprecedented change. 

“At this extremely challenging time, we believe creativity is more important than ever; to unite people, support good mental health and wellbeing and maintain vital connections with others.” says Robin Simpson, Voluntary Arts CEO.

Successful applicants will be awarded up to £200 to transform their usual creative community activities into remotely accessible projects, such as live online events, video tutorials, podcasts and posted creativity packs. 

Councillor Abi Brown, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: “The micro-grants are a fantastic way to support our communities during this pandemic. Not-for-profit creative groups can provide a huge boost to people who feel isolated and those who are struggling with mental health issues. The projects can also help to connect communities at a time when we may feel distant from our friends, family and communities. We’d encourage people to get involved and help our city to come together through creativity.”  

Each of the funded projects will take place from the 10^th May to 31^st May and will be advertised on the national Get Creative website as well as on the Visit Stoke website. The activities and events will also be promoted across various social media channels using the hashtag #GetCretiveatHome and #MyStokeStory

Micro-grant funding for ‘Get Creative At Home’ in Stoke-on-Trent is aimed specifically at non-for-profit creative groups. However individuals and larger creative and cultural organisations are also invited to join in with this local drive to connect through creativity at this time of crisis. 

“If you have the time, the materials and a great idea of how to share your creativity with others, we would love to see you registering your own events on the Get Creative website. Once you’ve registered your activity, let us know about it so we can promote it alongside all of the other local ‘Get Creative At Home’ projects.”  says Nicola Winstanley, West Midlands Development Officer, Voluntary Arts.

To apply for a grant visit www.voluntaryarts.org 

To find out more about ‘Get Creative At Home’ visit www.getcreativeuk.com.

For all enquiries contact nicola@vaengland.org.uk or call Nicola on 07748 718 230.