What is it?

The community fund invites our community to directly support emerging artists and collaborative art projects, challenging gatekeeping and striving for collective impact.

Simply, our supporters contribute a small monthly fee, and that money goes towards a fund to support new creative work. Every quarter, our supporters decide which artists to fund through an open voting process.

Anyone over 18 with a creative practice based in Scotland can apply. Keep reading to find out how.

Why are we doing it?

Traditional arts funding is often slow, complicated, and competitive — and too often, artists spend more time applying than creating.

We believe there’s a better way. By building a community-funded model, we’re creating a more sustainable, transparent, and artist-led way to support creativity now.

How it works?

• Supporters pay a monthly contribution.
• These contributions go into the anam community fund, which is distributed quarterly.
• Each round, 10 artists are selected (5 by our team, 5 at random) to be featured on our members-only proposals page.
• Each profile includes a short proposal, a budget, and a sample of their past work.
• Members vote for the artists they’d most like to see supported.
• The top 2 artists receive funding and project support from our team.
• 70% of all membership contributions go directly into the fund.
• 30% supports our facilitation, donations, and other projects for emerging artists.

Who is the fund for?

Emerging artists aged 18 or older, based in Scotland who are keen to collaborate.

We welcome artists working across any discipline: music, visual art, performance, digital, interdisciplinary, and more.

There’s no fee to apply, and the only input our team has is to check eligibility.

Artists can apply by joining our Artist Directory, which opens for a short one-week window each quarter. The number of applications accepted depends on available funds and capacity.

Why this matters?

Too many artists are stuck trying to navigate impossible systems for support — facing barriers that stop them from creating or sharing their work.

If every one of our Instagram followers gave just £2 a month, we’d be able to distribute over £7,000 per quarter. That means:

• More paid opportunities
• More time and freedom to create
• A funding model that works for artists, not against them

This isn’t just about giving money. It’s about building a sustainable future for the arts — one where artists and communities hold the power.

Applications to our artist directory open on [insert date]
Read our simple guide to understand what to prepare for this.