Bristol City Council has safeguarded its Cultural Investment Programme until 2029 and is working in partnership with the Quartet Community Foundation to deliver its cultural grants for 2026/27.
Bristol City Council’s Culture Fund is now open for grant applications, offering grants to Bristol-based artists, creative freelancers or organisations, of between £500 and £5,000 to support activities and core costs over 6 months that help make arts and culture accessible to everyone.
The fund will prioritise projects, activities and organisations that address inequality, meaningfully engage communities and promote health and wellbeing.
The Culture Fund marks the first step in a shift towards a more dynamic, collaborative and transparent approach to investment which will be at the heart of the new Cultural Strategy for Bristol, which will launch in 2027.
The Fund will be delivered in partnership with Quartet Community Foundation; a leading independent grant-maker in the West of England, established in 1986. Quartet has a permanent endowment of around £67 million, making it one of the largest community foundations in the UK.
The programme will also begin responding to calls for greater transparency on how funding decisions are made, as outlined in the Citizens for Culture Regional Cultural Plan. Members of the Citizen’s Assembly will observe stages of the fund’s delivery to inform recommendations for future investment through the council’s Cultural Investment Programme.
To find out more and apply, please click the link below.
- Deadline for applications is 11am on Thursday 6th August 2026
- Funding period will run from: October 2026 – 31st May 2027.
Apply to the Culture Fund here:
https://ebtk.co.uk/click/UUJRcUYrRURKL1E2S3llRFRTQWd6SnltaGRFMXFoR0xoSnBhRWE1UDZZSDltcHc0V1ByblE3UVRKRUN6MEl1azNJYWFNK2xqbDlEUW0zMXdEbHJoREFnZ1pNeG9rUENIajlZNG9xb2g/UXhzbEV1ND0