Grants of up to £10,000 are available to UK public museums, galleries, historic houses, libraries and archives for projects that provide paid opportunities for full-time university students to gain work-experience that allows them to explore their interest in the visual arts, as well as related future career options before they graduate.
The Art Fund: Student Opportunities programme aims to harness the talents of university students to help realise a project in the visual arts at a UK museum or gallery. Eligible organisations can apply for a grant to pay the students and receive support from the Art Fund to recruit suitable candidates from its network of students.
The Art Fund encourages applications that focus on facilitating public engagement with visual art, whether online or in real life. The Fund will cover the costs associated with paying students for the time they spend supporting an organisation in delivering projects. Student payment is based on the current national and London living wage rates.
Grants of up to £10,000 are available. Although matched funding is not a specific requirement of the scheme, applying organisations will be expected to make an in-kind or cash contribution to their project.
To be eligible to apply, organisations should be UK public museums, galleries, historic houses, libraries and archives that:
- Can demonstrate that they operate to standards of best practice within the sector (eg through Arts Council England accreditation), and
- Have a public presence (for example, a building open to the public) or a public outcome, such as a festival or public art programme.
The deadline for applications is Friday 16 January 2026. One further application deadline in 2026 is scheduled for Friday 26 June.
Once an application has been submitted, the Arts Fund usually takes 8-10 weeks to assess each project proposal and make a decision on whether or not to provide a grant.
Further information, guidance and an application form can be found on the Art Fund website.