Offering one award of £100,000 and two of £25,000, the platform will recognise work undertaken by arts organisations operating in the most challenging of circumstances brought about by the pandemic.

Conceived to celebrate the ‘green shoots’ of innovation that have emerged despite widespread despair across the culture sector, the platform will also be utilised to highlight the role arts organisations can play in helping to shape the nation’s post-pandemic future.

“In this time of crisis, which has been described as Britain’s greatest peacetime challenge, arts organisations have responded in their communities in a variety of meaningful and inspiring ways,” notes Andrew Barnett, director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s UK arm.

“We created this Award to recognise and celebrate this important and ongoing work; it is part of a suite of initiatives being supported by the Foundation in response to the pandemic.”

The Award, which is funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, with King’s College London serving as the academic partner, will “celebrate those arts organisations that are re-conceiving their civic purpose despite, or in response to, these challenging times”, according to Baroness Bull, vice president and vice principal of King’s College London, who will chair the judging panel.

Applications are now open, with the deadline closing at 1pm (GMT) on 30th November. A shortlist will be announced in early January, with the three successful awardees discovering their fates in March 2021.

Guidance on eligibility and the application process can be found here.

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