
Inspire fund
A new £300,000 fund has been launched in Greater Manchester to support freelancers and smaller organisations working in music and the arts.
Photography, literature, heritage projects and visual arts are some of the cultural groups who could benefit from individual grants of between £500 and £2,000.
Following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, reports have shown the level of investment and support for freelancers, independent creatives, artists, musicians and performers across the arts could be improved, with many freelance artists leaving the sector.
The investment, funded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will be administered by Salford CVS (Community and Voluntary Services) and allow freelancers and small organisations to apply for funding over the next three years.
Applications are encouraged from independent artists, musicians and small creative arts organisations from across Greater Manchester.
The fund aims to support freelancers, independent creatives, artists, musicians, and performers across the arts. See the video with Dominic and People With Grit Studios to see an example of the work the fund supports:
Round 4 is open 28 March - 28 April 2025 (external link)
CLOSED - Round 1
Round 1 closed at 12:00PM, Friday 1 March 2024. Below you can see a list of those funded broken up into our three main categories - creative organisation, independent organisation, freelance.
Creative Organisation
Organisation/Individual | Location | Category |
---|---|---|
Bolton Contemporary | Bolton | Visual Art |
ROJAK | Salford | Music |
Sour Grapes Records | Manchester | Music |
Hidden Altrincham Festival T/A Inch Arts | Trafford | Mixed/Music |
Ashton-under-Lyne Photographic Society
|
Tameside | Photography |
Explosive Entertainments
|
Greater Manchester | Music |
Kathleen Studios
|
Salford | Music |
Independent Organisation
Organisation/Individual | Location | Category |
---|---|---|
Angus Riddell | Manchester | Woodwork |
Harley Bainbridge | Greater Manchester | Photography |
Kintsuku | Manchester | Music |
Crafty Clay - Saddleworth | Oldham, Tameside | Pottery |
Laynah Juma | Wigan | Music |
Dan Lovatt | Salford | Film/Theatre |
Ula Fung | Wigan | Painting |
Ms Man Wai Tse | Trafford | Crochet/Painting |
Pui Ka Cheng | Greater Manchester | Puppetry |
Jim Parris | Greater Manchester | Music |
Safety Catch Studios | Trafford | Live Performance/Audio |
Freelance
Organisation/Individual | Location | Category |
---|---|---|
Emma Black - Music in Health | Greater Manchester (Except Wigan) | Music |
Loose Articles | Greater Manchester | Music |
Boy Oh Boy Designs | Manchester | Graphic Design |
Hart Creative | Manchester | Photography |
Richard Babington | Trafford, Salford, Manchester, Oldham | SFX/Outdoor Arts |
Martin Purdy | Greater Manchester | Music |
Becky McGillivray | Greater Manchester | Muralism |
Rebecca Taylor Sharman | Greater Manchester | Music |
Cheryl Blake | Greater Manchester | Mixed |
Caroline Daly | Manchester, Trafford | Puppetry |
Caroline Channing Stained Glass | Stockport | Stained Glass |
Magdalena Kij aka Maggie Stick & DJ Try | Greater Manchester | Music |
Freya Wysocki | Manchester, Salford | Textiles |
Sonia Bird | Salford | Visual Art/Photography |
CLOSED - Round 2
Below you can see a list of those funded.
Organisation/Individual | Location | Category |
---|---|---|
Theatre Dance Academy Ltd |
Oldham | Dance/Movement |
Krystan Sharpe-Young | Manchester, Salford | Visual art, Drawing, Painting |
Arvinda Gray | Manchester, Salford Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan |
Visual art |
Raise The Bar MCR | Manchester | Music |
Matilda Glen | Stockport | Visual art |
Michelle Collier | Trafford | Visual art, writing |
Neil Jacob | Greater Manchester wide |
Circus |
Mogan | Manchester | Music |
Tom Orchison | Manchester | Music |
Jude Jagger | Trafford | Music |
Acid Rain Productions LTD |
Bury, Manchester, Salford |
Music, Writing |
Annie Keki | Manchester, Oldham | Crafting |
Manchester History Club | Manchester | Writing |
Jack Hughes | Bury, Manchester | Music |
AdamTrela.Com | Stockport | Visual art |
Peter Walker | Bolton, Bury, Oldham | Painting, Sculpture |
Holly Moeller | Rochdale | Visual art, Drawing, Painting |
Tom Hardman | Salford | Theatre, Dance/Movement |
Jaydev Mistry | Greater Manchester wide |
Guitar building |
Lewis David Oldham | Greater Manchester wide | Visual art |
1922 North Manchester Ltd |
Manchester | Visual art, Photography |
Elisa Morais | Salford | Digital art, Cinema/Video, Drawing |
Sleepy parrot studios | Stockport | Crafting, Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Video |
Melanie Howells | Trafford, Greater Manchester wide |
Painting |
Tori Davies | Greater Manchester wide |
Dance/Movement |
The McGoldrick Sisters | Greater Manchester wide |
Music |
Evita Evelina Ziemele | Manchester | Painting |
MADE | Manchester | Visual art, Theatre |
Abigail Ward | Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Trafford |
Music |
Leeway Creative Production LLP |
Greater Manchester wide |
Live event production |
JAKE MOLLOY | Stockport | Music |
Sarah Unwin | Manchester, Salford | Music |
Ruby Unsworth | Bolton, Manchester | Visual art |
Make Build Grow C.I.C. | Stockport | Pottery, Painting |
Fay Farah | Greater Manchester wide |
Music, Dance/Movement |
Circus Diaspora | Trafford | Street Theatre |
Chanje Kunda | Manchester |
Theatre, Performance art |
CLOSED - Round 3
Below you can see a list of those funded.
Organisation/Individual | Location | Category |
---|---|---|
Bloom Music Community CIC |
Rochdale | Music |
Dirty Freud | Bury, Salford | Music |
Holly Eliza Temple | Manchester | Design and self publishing |
Rhys Jiang | Manchester | Music |
Eve Piper | Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Salford, Stockport, Trafford |
Music, writing |
Maddie Wakeling | All GM | Theatre |
The Yard Atelier CIC | Manchester | Crafting |
MURMUR | Manchester, Salford, Stockport |
Music, visual art, theatre, writing, dance/movement |
Naomi Harwin | Manchester, Salford | Visual art |
TRIIIP | All GM | Music |
Philip Harland | Bolton, Manchester, Salford, Trafford |
Theatre |
Jo Clement | Salford | Music |
Hannah Tolson | Stockport | Visual art |
Gabriel Mackenzie | Oldham | Fashion design |
MAD Sustainable Design | Manchester, Trafford |
Sculpture, crafting |
Nicola Shaw | Salford, Wigan | Print making |
Emily Thomas Ceramics (ETC) |
Manchester, Stockport |
Pottery, ceramic conservation |
Terri Jade Donovan | Stockport | Theatre, writing |
Northern Heart Films | Wigan | Cinema/video |
Sandwith.studio | Manchester, Stockport | Crafting |
Sascha Gilmou | All GM | Theatre |
Sixth House | Salford | Theatre |
Ruby-Ann Patterson | Manchester | Music, visual art, theatre, writing |
FNTSYWRLD | Manchester | Visual art, painting |
Nicholas Jones | All GM | Cinema/vide |
Littleborough Brass Bands Association |
Rochdale | Music |
Melanie Wilson | Manchester | Music |
Tania Camara | Manchester, Salford | Music, theatre, dance/movement |
Anita Ezeh | All GM | Visual art, cinema/vide |
Northern Light Film CIC | Manchester | Cinema/video |
NOTS | Manchester | Crafting |
Steph Clarke | All GM | Music, Theatre |