The DVAA Scheme has been running successfully for since 1999. It has been developed over that time in consultation with the Scottish Arts Council and the other Local authority visual artist award schemes.

The Dundee Visual Artists Awards scheme gives grants to individual Dundee-based artists towards the costs involved in researching and creating new work.

Where funds allow, the Panel reserve the right to make a single award of £1,000 each year to an outstanding applicant. All applicants should apply for a maximum grant of £500. Outstanding applicants will be considered at the meeting in November and informed of the Panel decision in December.

Who can apply?

-  Dundee-based artists defined as those who live within the Dundee City Council boundary.

- Artists who work, maintain a studio space, or who are a member of and regularly use an arts facility within Dundee (WASPS, Generator, Satellite, and Dundee Contemporary Arts Print Studio) are also eligible. Note that if you are not resident in Dundee you should consider whether an application to the Council schemes in Aberdeen, Glasgow, or Edinburgh or the HI-Arts scheme for Highlands-based artists would be more appropriate. The Panel will consider how the application will broadly benefit the artistic community of Dundee.

- Dundee-based artists of all ages, at any stage in their career, working in any visual media

- Artists who can demonstrate a commitment to their work and to advancing their skills and ideas

Exclusions

- Grants are not available to cover travel costs

- Full time students are not eligible to apply

- Artists who have received funding from the Scottish Arts Council’s Artists Awards Scheme or one of the other Local Authority Small Grant Schemes cannot apply to the Dundee Visual Arts Awards Scheme for the same project within the same financial year.

- To prevent duplicate funding, artists cannot apply to the Dundee Visual Arts Awards Scheme and the Scottish Arts Council for support for the same project. Equally Artists cannot apply to the DVAA scheme and one or more of the other Local Authority Small Grants Schemes concurrently.

- The Scheme cannot fund any activity retrospectively. Applications must related to work/ projects that have not yet been undertaken.

Criteria

The quality of the artist's work and associated proposal is of the utmost importance. Successful applicants will have demonstrated a level of commitment to their practice and have achieved a body of work without formal education.  

Applicants will be assessed against the following criteria:

- the quality of the artist's work

- the expected impact of the support on the applicant's creative development

- the clarity of purpose behind the submission and reasons given for applying for an award

- the quality of the information/ material/ visuals supplied in support of the application