2025 Education Funding for Visual Artists

Discover opportunities that can help you secure funding for workshops, masterclasses and other activities to grow your practice.

From workshops to long-term programs, education can be key for an artist to keep developing their work. Securing funding is crucial as it is challenging, seeking for grants that are specific for education, or with no restrictions on the funds' destination. As the PhMuseum 2025/26 Online Masterclasses Program will soon open, we curated a list of opportunities that can help support your participation beyond the 5 scholarships offered by the Program.

The Supporting Act Foundation

Submission Period: September 2025
Eligibility: For artists based in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Belgium

The Supporting Act Foundation, a self-governing non-profit organization, was established by WeTransfer in 2021. Its mission is to foster diversity and create greater opportunities for marginalized groups within the arts. The foundation provides support to emerging artists and arts-focused nonprofits, empowering them to realize their potential, develop their practices and projects, and drive positive change within their communities. Specifically, The Supporting Act Foundation aims to support emerging artists who are underrepresented in the creative and cultural industries and who have limited access to crucial support and growth opportunities.

More details on their website.

Mophradat (Arab Countries)

Submission Period: Open for applications year-round
Eligibility: For artists living in the Arab World, and/or engaged with the Arab World

Mophradat is an international non-profit contemporary arts association that creates opportunities for thinking, producing, and sharing among contemporary artists from the Arab World and their peers everywhere. The Grants for Artists support artists (individuals, collaborations, or collectives) to develop their practice. Approximately ten grants are awarded each calendar year, with an average value of $5000 US. Applications are due twice per year, on April 1 and October 1, and results are communicated within four weeks of these dates. Artists from all disciplines are welcome to apply. The activities or projects can take place anywhere in the world, but must be by artists or arts practitioners from or living in the Arab World, and/or engaged with the Arab World.

Check the new submission period on their website.

Asian Cultural Council (Asia and USA)

Submission Period: Fall 2025
Eligibility: Individuals who advance cultural exchange between the U.S. and countries in Asia as well as among countries in Asia

The Asian Cultural Council is a grant-giving organization that makes fellowships and grants to support cultural exchange in the arts for practicing artists, scholars, and arts professionals. Priority is given to process-driven activities that enable cultural immersion, relationship-building, collaboration, or the exchange of knowledge among peers. Examples of process-driven activities include research, training, study, and exploration.

Learn more on their website.

Centre National Des Arts Plastiques (France)

Deadline: 18 March 2025
Eligibility: For artists with French nationality irrespective of their place of residence or foreign nationality artists permanently resident in France

The Centre National Des Arts Plastiques offers grants of €5,000, €10,000, or €15,000 to support artists or collectives actively participating in the French artistic scene. Eligible applicants include French nationals regardless of residence or foreign nationals permanently residing in France. These grants enable artists to develop original projects at various stages, from research and inspiration to production. The support is not contingent upon a planned exhibition of the resulting works.

Find out more on CNAP's website.

Unseen Iran Artists Grant (Iran)

Deadline: 15 September 2025
Eligibility: For emerging artists across all disciplines who are dedicated to telling Iranian stories and connecting with the English-speaking world

The Unseen Iran Grant Program is dedicated to supporting emerging and established Iranian diaspora artists who use their work to explore identity, connection, and cultural healing. Three to five grantees will receive financial support ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, along with mentorship support throughout the creative process. These grants are designed to support artists in completing fully-formed projects in film, theater, and other creative disciplines, that will be ready to engage audiences and find avenues for distribution, presentation, and production within a 6 to 12-month timeframe. A collaboration between Nimruz and Waterwell, their goal is to cultivate the next generation of Iranian artists, helping them to hone and amplify their voices in order to facilitate dialogue, understanding, and inspiration.

Read more on their website.

AFAC – The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (Lebanon)

Deadline: 13 June 2025
Eligibility: For photographers living and working in the Arab region, irrespective of ethnicity, gender, or religion

The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture and the Prince Claus Fund in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in partnership with the Magnum Foundation in New York City, USA, launched the Arab Documentary Photography Program (ADPP) in 2014, a program that supports creative documentary photographers in the Arab region. Recognizing the image's power to document, educate, and advocate, the Arab Documentary Photography Program’s incentive has always been to foster creative photography practices in the Arab world and to encourage the transmission of critical, socially engaged, and local stories. Photographers may propose to work in a range of non-fiction narrative styles, from classic documentary photography to more experimental visual storytelling, and may propose to include audio and video elements. The program provides up to 8 photographers with a $7,000 grant to work on their projects in their country of residence over a period of 10 months. The grant may be used to begin a new project or to complete work on an existing project. In addition, ADPP grantees will benefit from mentorship provided by distinguished program mentors and will be required to attend three specialized workshops (two in-person and one virtual) to help them develop and produce their projects and consider avenues for distribution.

Discover all the open grants programs on their website.

Arts Council Malta (Malta)

Deadline: 8 July 2025
Eligibility: For visual artists from Malta or residents with a valid Maltese ID, residence permit, or citizenship

Arts Council Malta offers grants of up to €2,000 to support individuals from Malta or residents with a valid Maltese ID, residence permit, or citizenship. The program aims to foster professional growth in the cultural and creative sector by promoting entrepreneurial culture among creative professionals. It provides opportunities to enhance the knowledge base and strategies of cultural and creative enterprises, investing in processes that improve the quality needed to generate artistic work of excellence. The initiative seeks to develop a sustainable creative ecology while fostering job opportunities in the sector.

Discover more on their website.

Jumex Grant Program (Mexico)

Submission Period: September 2025
Eligibility: For Mexican artists

Organized by Fundacion Jumex Arte Contemporáneo and awarded annually through an open call, the Jumex Grant Program was created to support artists and organizations committed to the production, research and promotion of contemporary art. The Public and Educational Program category refers to the educational events that promote and disseminate information and specialized knowledge about contemporary art through dialogue and collective reflection. Accepted projects could be seminars, conferences, workshops, colloquia, symposia, and study groups, among other activities. Accepted projects must have the support of an institution, organization, or association to guarantee their realization.

Check all the info on their website.

Prince Claus Fund (Netherlands)

Deadline: 21 January 2025
Eligibility: For international artists

Each year, the Prince Claus Fund grants the Seed Award to 100 emerging artists who work in contexts where cultural expression is under pressure. Eligible applicants must be from, live, and work in their eligible countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. The award aims to give emerging artists the chance to amplify their practice and interests. Each selected recipient will receive a grant of €5,000 to invest in developing their artistic and cultural practice on their own terms.

More information on Prince Claus Fund's website.

Mondriaan Fonds (Netherlands)

Deadline: Open for applications year-round
Eligibility: For visual artists from the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Mondriaan Fonds provides grants of up to €2,500 to support the growth and enhancement of professional practice for visual artists from the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Artists can use the grant for various purposes, including acquiring new equipment, enrolling in courses, workshops, or mentorship programs, or accessing expertise in technical, creative, or combined areas.

Learn more on their website.

Adam Mickiewicz Institute (Poland)

Deadline: Open for applications year-round
Eligibility: For Polish citizens

The Program Polish Culture Around the World offers financial support of up to zł7,000 (€1,630) for Polish citizens. The program is aimed at artists from all artistic disciplines and creative industries, as well as individuals involved in promoting and disseminating Polish culture. It provides funding for individual participation in events abroad, such as exhibitions, festivals, and tours, covering costs such as accommodation, transportation, and other related expenses. Additionally, the program supports online projects conducted in collaboration with international partners.

More information on the Adam Mickiewicz Institute's website.

Fundación Botín (Spain)

Deadline: 9 May 2025
Eligibility: For international artists

Since 1993, Fundación Botín has awarded Art Grants each year, aimed at artists of any nationality. Each grant provides funding of €23,000 and supports those artists who need resources to carry out a research project or training. The result of this process is displayed in the Itinerarios joint exhibition and in a catalogue. One of these grants will be given in priority to a Spanish artist or resident at least five years prior to the application to this grant, under the age of 30 who have a concrete project of relocating abroad to carry out their project (training, research and production).

Learn more on their website.

Swedish Arts Grants Committee (Sweden)

Submission Period: 15 August - 17 September 2025
Eligibility: For practitioners in the visual arts, photography, design, crafts, illustration, textile art or architecture

The Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s scholarships and grants serve to promote professionally active artists’ opportunities to conduct, deepen and develop their artistic practice, promote artistic development, and support innovative arts. As an individual artist, you can apply for a grant to create a new work in project form, carry out experiments in design, technique and materials, or test new partnerships. You cannot apply for a project grant to exhibit finished works or to cover the printing costs of materials that have already been produced.

See all scholarships, grants, and programmes on their website.

Support for Artistic Creation by the City of Biel/Bienne (Switzerland)

Deadline: Open for applications year-round
Eligibility: For artists under 35 living or working in Bienne

The City of Biel/Bienne provides support for emerging artists under 35 living or working in Biel/Bienne to facilitate their professionalization and cover the costs required to develop a professional artistic activity, such as ongoing training and development programs, rent for studios and rehearsal spaces, purchase of technical equipment and more. The maximum amount covered is CHF 3,000 per project per year. Costs relating to the production and dissemination of artistic projects, which are covered by specific grants, are not covered.

Check more details on their website.

Black Artists Grant by Creative Debuts (United Kingdom)

Deadline: Open for applications year-round
Eligibility: For black artists based in the United Kingdom

Creative Debuts offers the Black Artists Grant (BAG), providing £500 in no-strings-attached financial support to black artists based in the UK. Recipients can use the grant for any purpose, such as creating new work, purchasing equipment or materials, traveling, conducting research, attending exhibitions or conferences, or covering personal expenses. The grant addresses the underrepresentation and systemic under-support of black artists within the art world, providing a vital resource to help them thrive. While recognizing the need for broader industry change to dismantle racist structures, Creative Debuts aims to empower black artists to continue their creative practices and advocate for change.

Learn more on their website.

Fundación Ama Amoedo (Uruguay)

Submission Period: Third quarter of 2025
Eligibility: For artists from Latin America, the Caribbean and the Diaspora

Fundación Ama Amoedo offers four grants of $10,000 to support artists and collectives from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Diaspora, either by nationality and/or cultural heritage, whose practices are focused on the visual art. The grants are intended to support specific research or artistic creation projects that contribute significantly to the development of the artist’s career.

More information on their website.

W. Eugene Smith Grant (USA)

Submission Period: Third quarter of 2025
Eligibility: For international artists

The W. Eugene Smith Grant offers $30,000 for visual storytellers whose work reflects a commitment to social change and photographic excellence. Special focus is given to projects addressing issues like humanitarian concerns, armed conflict, and cultural significance, integrating photography with contemporary practices. Additionally, two $10,000 Finalist Grants will be awarded. Recipients must submit a final report and may have their work included in the W. Eugene Smith Legacy Collection at the International Center of Photography.

Learn more on their website.

W. Eugene Smith Student Grant (USA)

Submission Period: Third quarter of 2025
Eligibility: For international students

The W. Eugene Smith Grant for Student Photographers awards two $5,000 grants to support students whose work reflects W. Eugene Smith’s dedication to compassionate and impactful photographic storytelling. Projects that promote social change, embrace new technologies, and merge the tradition of photography with contemporary practices are given special consideration. These grants provide students with the financial freedom to complete meaningful photographic essays on critical human issues.

Learn more on their website.

National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (USA)

Submission Period: Third quarter of 2025
Eligibility: For Latinx artists in the United States and Puerto Rico

The National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) offers grants of $10,000 to support Latinx artists in the United States and Puerto Rico. This initiative aims to sustain creative work and empower artists in shaping narratives and inspiring generations. NALAC remains committed to advancing Latinx cultural expressions and fostering the transformative power of artistic expression.

More information will be shared soon on their website.

International Women's Media Foundation (USA)

Deadline: Open for applications year-round
Eligibility: For Indigenous and professional, practicing journalists

The Fund for Indigenous Journalists: Reporting on Missing & Murdered Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, and Transgender People (MMIWG2T) offers grants of up to $5,000 to support Indigenous journalists in the U.S. This fund aims to empower journalists to report on violence affecting members of Indigenous nations, both on sovereign ground and in urban settings.

The initiative addresses the dominant media narratives around Indigenous issues, often criticized for perpetuating stereotypes and overlooking survivorship, while highlighting the underrepresentation of Indigenous journalists in U.S. media. Both freelancers and journalists affiliated with media outlets are encouraged to apply. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis by an advisory committee of distinguished Indigenous journalists, editors, and thought leaders.

Find out more on IWMF's website.

Alexia Grants (USA)

Deadline: 17 February 2025
Eligibility: For international artists (both students and professionals)

The Alexia supports visual storytellers addressing significant global issues by offering grants for both professionals and students. These grants provide financial support—ranging from up to $20,000 for professionals to $2,000 for student projects—along with tools such as cameras and lenses, and access to educational resources. The grants empower creators to produce meaningful work that fosters cultural understanding and inspires change through visual storytelling.

Check for all the open grants programs on this website.

Creative Capital (USA)

Submission Period: Spring 2025
Eligibility: For US citizens, permanent legal US residents, or O-1 visa holders

The Creative Capital Award offers grants ranging from $15,000 to $50,000, providing unrestricted project funding that can be utilized over a multi-year period. In addition to financial support, recipients gain access to bespoke professional development services and community-building opportunities. Creative Capital aims to support individual artists who are creating conceptually, aesthetically, and formally innovative, risk-taking, and groundbreaking projects.

Full details will be soon on Creative Capital's website.

Innovate Grant (USA)

Submission Period: Open for applications year-round
Eligibility: For international artists

The Innovate Grant provides quarterly $1,800 grants to support visual artists and photographers. Each quarter, one Visual Artist and one Photographer receive this financial boost to focus on their innovative work. Additionally, 12 honorable mentions (6 in art and 6 in photography) are featured on the website, joining a dynamic community of creative individuals.

More information on Innovate Grant's website.

The Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant (USA)

Submission Period: Spring 2025
Eligibility: For international artists under 25 years old

The Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant (IPPG) supports young and emerging photographers, offering £10,000 for their chosen projects. Winners receive a year-long loan of Canon equipment, publication of images with media partner The Guardian, and inclusion in the Hamburg portfolio review. They may also participate in the Canon Transmissions Programme at Visa Pour L’Image in Perpignan, receive conflict training, and personal mentorship with renowned photojournalist Giles Duley. Additionally, long-listed candidates are spotlighted by industry judges, and the Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence may be awarded at the judges’ discretion.

Find out more on their website.

Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists (USA)

Deadline: 2 July 2025
Eligibility: Black trans women working in visual art and based in the United States

The Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists is an annual $10,000 grant awarded to provide critical support to Black trans women whose work has often been under-recognized in the visual art field. Now in its 5th year, the Illuminations Grant was developed and named in partnership with Mariette Pathy Allen, Aaryn Lang, and Serena Jara. Selected artists will receive additional professional development resources and further guidance to bolster their creative development in the field.

Learn more on their website.

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This list is meant as an ongoing resource to be updated and extended in time. If you are an organization offering funds that support education, or if you have one to suggest, feel free to reach out at support@phmuseum.com to help this article being as exhaustive as possible.

The PhMuseum Online Masterclasses Program is dedicated to providing a comprehensive learning experience for all participants, emphasizing quality teaching while alternating practice with theory. Applications for 2025/26 are open until 5 June 2025, with classes running October 2025 - May 2026. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates.