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The Idlewild Trust

Grants of up to £7,000 are available to UK registered charities and exempt charities for nurturing early-stage professionals in the arts, including dance, music, theatre and visual arts, and the conservation of objects and works of art.

The Idlewild Trust offers grants to registered charities working in the following two areas:

  • The Arts - Nurturing Early-Stage Professionals: supporting programmes that improve opportunities for professionals working creatively within the arts at an early stage in their career. The Trust will consider activities that:
    • Encourage and nurture the talent of young professional musicians, dancers, actors, writers and artists in the performing, fine and applied arts aged 18 and over. Programmes need to be run by UK registered charities in the arts sector, delivering high quality and professional work with a strong track record.  Programmes should be for talented early-stage professionals with existing training or very relevant experience, and
    • Are for other early-stage professionals working creatively within the arts including composers, curators and theatre-makers (for example, directors and choreographers).
  • Conservation - Objects and Works of Art: supporting conservation of important works of art and objects that are being lost through the lack of funds to look after them.  The Trust will consider activities that:
    • Conserve historic or artistically important objects and works of art including artefacts, textiles, furniture, metalwork, manuscripts, wall paintings, tombs and stained glass of high quality.  Works must be in museums, galleries, places of worship, and historic buildings or their grounds, and be accessible to the public. (The Trust requires applicant organisations to own the object or work of art for which funding is being awarded and to have a completed Conservation Report available.)

Please note that the Idlewild Trust no longer funds conservation projects submitted by places of worship.  There are quite a few exemptions to their funding, so do check the guidance before applying.

Further information, guidance and an online application form is available on the Trust’s website.

The deadline for applications is midday (12 noon) on Saturday 5 September 2026, with applicants expected to be notified by late November/early December 2026.