Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool museums, 2018
© Andy Smith
Open

Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund

These grants enable short-term loans of important works of art and artefacts to museums and galleries across the UK.

Our main grants range from £5,000 to £35,000. Smaller grants of up to £5,000 are also available for the research and development of loans projects.

The Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund helps regional and smaller museums to borrow works of outstanding quality and significance from national and major lending institutions.

The programme is generously supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation. Since its launch in 2017, we have delivered eight rounds of funding, awarding £1.6m to 94 museums and galleries. The scheme increases access to notable objects, shares resources across the UK, helps develop relationships, and brings lasting benefits to borrowers, lenders and audiences.

Grants of up to £35,000 are available to cover the practical elements of strategic loans projects. The programme also funds activities to maximise the impact of the loaned items and to develop the skills of museum professionals.

By selecting and displaying high-profile objects, a borrowing institution can elevate its own collection and status, increase its capacity, engage different communities, and draw out new stories of local relevance.

Submitting your application

This year, we will be accepting all application forms and supporting documents via email. We will not be using the online form due to changes to our system. Please download the templates on our website, complete them, and send them to programmes@artfund.org (with klloyd@artfund.org in the Cc line). Please ensure the application form remains as a Word file (as opposed to PDF); this will enable us to process the information more easily.

What we can fund

Up to 100% of the costs associated with:

  • securing a loan

  • displaying a loan

  • maximising the impact of a loan

We will consider applications that:

  • enhance the possibilities of already planned loans, exhibitions or programming

  • enable ‘quick fire’ and ‘quick win’ loan requests

  • support long-term relationship and display development

What we cannot fund

We are not able to support costs relating to long-term loans, even if they are part of a strategic plan to reimagine your collection, or for inclusion in a permanent display or exhibition.

Similarly, we are unlikely to support the presentation of fully formed touring exhibitions as these limit the opportunity for you to shape the project in relation to your organisation and collection.

We are unable to provide funding for private or international loans. These can be included in your application as part of your project, but the costs would need to be covered by other sources.

We are unlikely to award a grant if you are unable to articulate the need for Weston Loan Programme support - our funding shouldn’t be used to plug a gap in a project budget. Our emphasis is on loans and the value of bringing in notable objects to your organisation.

Who can apply

We will consider applications from UK public museums, galleries, historic houses, libraries and archives. We can also consider applications from small and contemporary arts spaces and other non-collecting institutions, provided they meet the aims of the programme. Non-national institutions that are on the list of eligible lenders can also apply.

For full eligibility details please see the Guidance for applicants

Other useful documents:

Key dates

Applications close on Friday 6 December.

Grants available

The following categories of grant are available through the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund.

Open

Main grants

£5,000 to £35,000

Grants to cover the costs associated with securing, displaying and publicising a loan.

Next application deadline: Friday 6 December 2024

Decision by: Friday 21 February 2025

Application rounds: October 2023, October 2024 and September 2025

Open

Research and development grants

Up to £5,000

We can provide up to £5,000 to support the development of your plans for a loans project. Activities might include research, travel and consultation.

Next application deadline: Friday 6 December 2024

Decision by: Friday 21 February 2025

Application rounds: October 2023 and October 2024

How to apply

Your application

Read the guidance

Download the Guidance for applicants (also available in Cymraeg) which explains our criteria for funding, helps you apply for a grant and gives you guidance on filling out the application form.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Get in touch

If you haven’t found what you need in the Guidance for applicants, get in touch with Katie by email to discuss your application: klloyd@artfund.org.

Get in touch

Submit your application

This year, we will be accepting all application forms and supporting documents via email. We will not be using the online form due to changes to our system. Please download the templates on our website, complete them, and send them to programmes@artfund.org (with klloyd@artfund.org in the Cc line). Please ensure the application form remains as a Word file (as opposed to PDF); this will enable us to process the information more easily.

After you've applied

Acknowledgement of application

We will inform you as soon as the panel has made a decision.

Claim your grant

If your application is successful, we will send you our offer paperwork with more details on how to claim your grant.

Follow on relationship

After you’ve claimed your grant, and once you are a partner of the National Art Pass network, we’ll help you promote your venue and support you thanks to our expert teams.

Find out more