- Deadline to submit applications is 18 September 2023 at 6pm
- Grant support of up to £15,000 is available for projects
PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development announces today that its UK and Republic of Ireland initiative, Beyond Borders, is open today for applications from organisations, music groups and composers.
This co-commissioning and touring programme is run by PRS Foundation in partnership with Creative Scotland (supported by the National Lottery), Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Arts Council of Ireland / An Chomhairle Ealaíon.
Beyond Borders was established in 2010 to support high quality co-commissions and tours, stimulating collaboration between composers, performance groups and music organisations across the four UK countries and, since 2014, the Republic of Ireland.
Previous Beyond Borders successes have included Songs of Separation, a collective of 10 female English and Scottish folk musicians whose album won ‘Best Album’ at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2017, and David Fennessy's ‘Panopticon’, commissioned by Hebrides Ensemble and Psappha, which won the Scottish Award for New Music for Small Scale work. Martin Green’s ‘Flit’, combining live music and animation which reflects on first hand stories of migration, also won over audiences and critics nationwide in 2016, and was funded through Beyond Borders.
In 2022, seven exciting projects were selected for Beyond Borders support Kirkos Ensemble (Republic of Ireland) and New Music Dublin, Linda Buckley (Scotland) and Chamber Music Scotland, BAN BAM (Republic of Ireland) and Improvised Music Company, Ed Bennett (England) and Contemporary Music Centre, Ben Lunn (Scotland) and Drake Music Scotland, Gwyneth Glyn (Wales) and Lorcán Mac Mathúna and Knockengorroch, and James Thompson (Northern Ireland) and Moving On Music.
Full details about the programme and how to apply is on the Beyond Borders page of the PRS Foundation website. Grants of up to £15,000 are available for projects and applications for support can be submitted from today until the deadline of 6pm on 18th September 2023.
Background
Since 2000 PRS Foundation has given more than £44 million to over 8,500 new music initiatives. 9 out of 12 Mercury Prize 2022 nominees had received PRS Foundation support (including the winner Little Simz) and the charity has supported BRITS, RPS, AIM and Ivors Award-winners.
PRS Foundation supports outstanding talent from all backgrounds, covering the whole of the UK and all genres, with grantee success stories including Little Simz, Wolf Alice, Dave, Sam Fender, Years & Years, AJ Tracey, Anna Meredith, Yola, Glass Animals, Ezra Collective, Jade Bird, Ghetts, Shiva Feshareki, Sarathy Korwar, Floating Points, Nadine Shah, The Fanatix, Imogen Heap, IDLES, Kae Tempest, Kojey Radical and Emily Burns.
Widely respected as an inclusive, collaborative and proactive funding body, PRS Foundation supports an exceptional range of new music activity through direct grants to music creators and through support for pioneering organisations, including venues, festivals, promoters and other talent development organisations. PRS Foundation founded the Women Make Music fund, co-founded global gender equality initiative, Keychange and most recently launched the POWER UP initiative to tackle anti-Black racism in music. www.prsfoundation.com
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot
Arts Council of Wales is responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. We believe the arts are central to the life and wellbeing of the nation. We invest public funding, using these funds to create opportunities for people to enjoy and take part in the arts.
Our principal sponsor is the Welsh Government. We also distribute funding from the National Lottery and raise additional money where we can from a variety of public and private sector sources. Working together with the Welsh Government, we are able to show how the arts are helping to meet the Government’s policy ambitions.
The Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon is the Irish government agency for developing the arts. We work in partnership with artists, arts organisations, public policy makers and others to build a central place for the arts in Irish life. The Council recognises that the arts have a central and distinctive contribution to make to our evolving society. Established in 1951, to stimulate public interest in and promote the knowledge, appreciation and practice of the arts, the Council is an autonomous body, which is under the aegis of the Department of Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht.For further information on the Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon please visit www.artscouncil.ie . Follow us @artscouncil_ie and www.facebook.com/artscouncilireland.
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the lead funding and development agency for the Arts, providing support to arts projects throughout the region through its Treasury and National Lottery funds. Our funding helps develop artists and arts organisations and increases public access to the arts across society, bringing communities closer together. Further information at https://artscouncil-ni.org/ Follow us on Twitter @AtsCouncilNI and Facebook @ArtsCouncilNI
Media contacts
For media enquiries please contact Liam McMahon
T: +44 (0) 7834 625 985
For further information about Beyond Borders please contact Elizabeth Sills
T: +44 (0) 20 3741 4828