Creative artists urged to apply for bursary scheme

Artists are being encouraged to a apply for a scheme offering mentoring, training and a bursary of nearly £23,000.

The Artists of the Year programme is an initiative by Tees Valley Combined Authority designed to support applicants and accelerate their careers.

The five chosen will be the programme's second cohort, following on from last year's group which included Darlington author Lisette Auton.

Auton said the programme had been "hugely beneficial" and had allowed her to be "more focused, more creative and to dream big".

"I've worked with incredible mentors, had brilliant opportunities and I'm now writing a piece of work that no-one else would fund me to do," she said.

"The funding and support have also help me achieve all those things that I never had the time or resource to do - sort out a newsletter, develop my website, work out ways to fund myself going forwards. It's the whole package."

The four other artists who joined the 2024 programme were Middlesbrough singer-songwriter Amelia Coburn, Stockton-based visual artist Claire A Baker, Scott Turnbull who works in theatre and Stockton film-maker Andy Berriman.

Auton has gone on to release her latest book, Lights Up, and Coburn toured with The Levellers.

Applications for 2025 are open to artists across all disciplines, including the visual arts, performance, digital media and writing.

The scheme runs from April to March 2026 with each artist receiving a package of support including a £22,932 bursary, which is the equivalent of one year of the UK Real Living Wage.

They will also receive a development budget of up to £6,000, mentoring from an industry recognised mentor and PR, marketing and fundraising support.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the programme was a commitment to nurturing creative talent in the region.

Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].