- Deadline to submit applications is 29 July 2024 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 (supported by the National Lottery), 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.
In 2023, seven exciting projects were selected for Beyond Borders including Brian Irvine (Northern Ireland) commissioned by Contemporary Music Centre (Republic of Ireland) with New Music Dublin (Republic of Ireland), Moving On Music (Northern Ireland), Café OTO (England) and Canolfan y Celfyddydau Aberystwyth Arts Centre, (Wales) presenting the ‘Stone Drawn Circles’; Ela Orleans (England) commissioned by Cryptic (Scotland) with King’s Place (England), Perth Theatre and Concert Hall (Scotland) and Moving On Music (Northern Ireland) presenting ‘Night Voyager’; and Fergus McCreadie (Scotland) commissioned by Manchester Collective (England) with Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (Wales) and Southbank Centre (England) presenting ‘The Unfurrowed Field.’
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. Stuart Macrae’s stage work ‘Ghost Patrol’, co-commissioned by Music Theatre Wales and Scottish Opera won the Opera category at the Southbank Sky Arts Awards in March 2013. You can read the full list of Beyond Borders grantees since 2010 on PRS Foundation’s website.
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 29 July 2024
Background
About PRS Foundation
Since 2000 PRS Foundation has given more than £47 million to over 8,900 new music initiatives. 5 out of the last 6 Mercury Prize winners had received PRS Foundation support (including recent winner Ezra Collective) 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
About Creative Scotland
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 X, Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot.
About Arts Council of Wales
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.
About Arts Council Ireland
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.
About Arts Council of Northern Ireland
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
Liam McMahon: [email protected] / +44 (0) 7834 625 985
For further information about Beyond Borders please contact:
Elizabeth Sills: [email protected] / +44 (0) 20 3741 4828