GrantRadar

The Elephant Trust

The Elephant Trust Main Fund

Grants usually of £2,000 to £5,000 for making or producing new work or exhibitions in the visual and fine arts in the UK, for artists and for small organisations and galleries. Founded in 1975 by Roland Penrose and Lee Miller, the Trust favours imaginative projects that depart from the routine and would not find support elsewhere; projects with total budgets above £30,000 are not supported. Individual artists are the main recipients, but small organisations and galleries are given equal priority in the guidelines.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£2,000 – £5,000
Closes in
Closes today
Where
UK-wide
UK-wide

Who can apply

  • Artists in the fine arts and small organisations and galleries proposing new work or exhibitions taking place in the UK
  • The guidelines do not specify a legal form or registered-charity status for organisations; charities organising community projects, theatres, festivals and students are excluded
  • Successful applicants must leave at least two years before reapplying for a new project

What it funds

  • New work: imaginative proposals for making or producing new work or exhibitions in the fine arts, from artists and from small organisations and galleries, with a bias towards the visual arts
  • The Trust aims to help artists and those presenting their work to complete projects frustrated by lack of funds, and art institutions or galleries that 'depart from the routine'
  • Grants are usually £2,000 to £5,000 (larger grants are made possible by the Shelagh Wakely Bequest, and the George Melhuish Bequest supports artists in the South West of England through the main fund)
  • Awards can be used to leverage other funding such as Arts Council support

What it will not fund

  • Arts festivals
  • Group exhibitions
  • Charities organising community projects
  • Students
  • Educational or other studies
  • Residencies or research
  • Symposia or conferences
  • Theatres
  • Catalogues and monographs
  • Projects taking place outside the UK
  • Projects with a total budget exceeding £30,000
  • Organisations or individuals supported by the Trust in the past two years

How to apply

  1. Read the guidelines and the list of categories not supported on the Apply page
  2. Apply online through Submittable (Elephant Trust Deadline 18 October 2026 round) during the open round, which opened on 18 September 2026
  3. Submit by midnight on 18 October 2026
  4. If you have not heard within six weeks of the deadline, your application has not been successful

Email applications are not accepted, and applications that do not follow the format may be discarded.

The Joanna Drew Travel Bursary, also run by the Trust, is by invitation only.

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