Support available for artists and craft makers in Dumfries & Galloway and The Scottish Borders through VACMA Scotland funding
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.
About the Programme
The Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA) are a programme of small grants schemes delivered in partnership with local authorities and art organisations across Scotland. The schemes are managed locally by these partners.
The purpose of these bursaries is to support visual artists and craft makers in their creative and professional development.
VACMA is supported by Creative Scotland through funding from the National Lottery.
In 2026/27, VACMA is offering fixed bursaries of £500 and £1000. You should apply for the level of bursary that best suits your proposed activity.
VACMA has two deadlines in 2026/27:
- Autumn Deadline 5pm, 20 October 2026
- Winter deadline: 5pm, 2 February 2027
Should an applicant wish to discuss any aspect of submitting an application to VACMA – and this is strongly recommended– we urge you to please make contact:
For Dumfries and Galloway applicants please contact the DG Unlimited team at hello@dgunlimited.org and we will direct you to the relevant colleague.
For Scottish Borders applicants please contact the Live Borders team at artservice@liveborders1.org.uk and you will be directed to the relevant colleague.
VACMA Artist Checklist 2026-27
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 Creative Scotland Website
