Funding opportunities

DG Unlimited is a membership organisation, and one of the most vital elements of sustaining a creative practice is trying to ensure stable funding to support professional self development, new projects or collabroations.

You can find current funding opportunities from DG Unlimited and our funding partners here. Please check this page regularly, we will update it as and when relevant funds become available. Please also let us know if you are aware of a great funding opportunity your fellow members would be interested in.

VACMA FUnding

Support available for artists and craft makers in Dumfries & Galloway and The Scottish Borders through VACMA Scotland funding

Please read these guidelines carefully before applying.

Practising Visual Artists and Craft Makers across the South of Scotland, (Dumfries and Galloway and The Scottish Borders), are invited to apply for grants of up to £1000 to support their creative and professional development, thanks to funding from The National Lottery through Creative Scotland and in partnership with Live Borders Arts & Creativity and Dumfries & Galloway Council providing match funding with additional support from DG Unlimited and Upland.

The Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA) funds activities such as mentoring and skills development, testing new ideas, experimenting with sustainable and renewable materials, purchasing necessary equipment, and residencies tailored to the artist’s creative and professional development.

The programme offers a newly enhanced £1000 bursary for artists and makers who have been practising for over 5 years, as well as a £500 early-career bursary for artists and makers that have been practising for less than 5 years. Artists must live and work in Dumfries and Galloway or The Scottish Borders to be eligible.

Bursaries of £500 and £1000 now available with the following deadlines:

  • Autumn deadline: 5pm, 21 October 2025

Should an applicant wish to discuss any aspect of submitting an application to VACMA – and this is strongly recommended– we urge you to please contact Amy Marletta (Dumfries and Galloway) or Jason Moyes (The Scottish Borders):

Applicants from either, Dumfries and Galloway and The Scottish Borders must submit their applications, by the round deadline, to Live Borders Arts & Creativity: artservice@liveborders1.org.uk

For more information visit the VACMA page on the Live Borders Website

Read more and apply

Expand Horizons

Application Guidelines

Please read these guidelines carefully before applying.

Expand Horizons is DG Unlimited’s new award. It replaces the previous Innovate, Create, Cultivate Award Fund. The Awards are currently funded by DG Unlimited., supported in part by our partners Dumfries and Galloway Council.

Expand Horizons are awards of up to £500 for creatives. Specifically:

1. Young creatives from 11 – 18 years old. (Rising Star Members)

2. Emerging creatives or or students 18+ (Comet Members)

3. Established practitioners or freelancers of any age working in the creative sector in Dumfries and Galloway. (Meteor Members)

Applicants can be engaged in any creative practice but must be able to demonstrate exceptional talent in their chosen creative area and a clear commitment to continuing and improving their creative practice.

The Awards can be used to contribute toward the costs associated with attending galleries and exhibitions, professional events, professional development seminars or workshops, conferences, or as a contribution toward the costs required to visit other events, artists or projects anywhere in Europe.

APPLY NOW!

CreaTech Fund 3.0

South of Scotland CreaTech Fund 3.0

Are you an enterprise based in the South of Scotland looking to explore the area of CreaTech?

CreaTech is defined by the Creative Industries Council as where creativity meets technology. CreaTech brings together creative skills and emerging technologies to create new ways of working and to inspire business growth and investment.

CreaTech embraces the commercial and cultural possibilities of immersive technology, virtual reality, augmented reality, virtual production, artificial intelligence, and other developing fields.

The intention of this fund is to allow creative enterprises to invest in technology to develop and test new ideas and realise their potential.

Projects that focus on CreaTech by way of demonstration, participation, training or skills development are also encouraged.

  • The fund will provide a grant towards equipment for projects that combine creativity with technology in the creative industry sector as defined by Scottish Government 
  • Projects must be completed by 28 February 2026
  • Projects should test and introduce new ideas for your enterprise that lead to new market opportunities, long term sustainability and inclusive growth ambitions
  • The minimum grant available is £2,000 and the maximum is £5,000
  • Commercial trading enterprises of 10 or more employees can claim up to 50% of the overall eligible project cost, 75% for those with less than 10 employees and 100% for community and not-for-profit enterprises
  • Enterprises wishing to access the fund must operate within the South of Scotland
Read the eligibility criteria and find out more

CREATIVE SCOTLAND
FUNDING

Funding for creative sector individuals and organisations is one of Creative Scotland’s key roles, supporting the wide range of activity initiated by organisations, artists, writers, producers and other creative practitioners in Scotland.

There are have separate strands for organisations and individuals, so they are not in competition with each other for funds. These strands have separate budgets and applications are considered by separate panels.

PLEASE NOTE THE FORM AND GUIDELINES FOR CREATIVE SCOTLAND FUNDING HAS BEEN UPDATED. THE APPLICATION FORM IS NOW AN ONLINE FORM.

FIND OUT MORE