Arts Funding Crisis Deepens After Grantium Collapse, Thousands Left in Limbo
Thousands of artists and arts organisations are still struggling to come to terms with the collapse of Arts Council England's (ACE) online grant processing platform, Grantium. The website went down in July, leaving hundreds of funding applications in doubt – a situation that persists months after it reopened.
Individuals and institutions have reported receiving less money than initially offered by ACE, and some have seen their funding applications revoked due to the collapse of the portal. Many artists are now facing financial hardship, with some having had to cover expenses from their personal savings.
Grantium's collapse has led to widespread criticism, with many calling for a "transformation" of the system to make it more streamlined, equitable and transparent. Figures including Shakespeare's Globe chief executive Stella Kanu and Actors Touring Company boss Matthew Xia have spoken out about the need for reform.
One artist, Pepa Duarte, received a £28,000 grant from ACE but was underpaid by £1,500 due to the Grantium crash. She described the experience as "cruel" and said she had struggled to submit her final report manually in a Word document, which left her with no support for the maths.
Others have reported similar issues, including Jo Hunter of 64 Million Artists, who was told that an extension to apply for grant funding had been revoked after the Grantium crash. The organisation had to rethink its programme and look elsewhere for funding.
Arts unions have highlighted the impact of the Grantium outage on artists, with Equity saying it is just the latest in a litany of governance failures that are struggling artists who pay the price.
The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has said there would be no extra financial support available to overhaul ACE's grant application system. However, an Arts Council England spokesperson has said that they have made new application processes to ensure artists and organisations can access funding as straightforwardly as possible.
Despite this, many are still concerned about the future of arts funding in the UK. The collapse of Grantium has highlighted the need for a more efficient and transparent system, and many are calling for reform.
Thousands of artists and arts organisations are still struggling to come to terms with the collapse of Arts Council England's (ACE) online grant processing platform, Grantium. The website went down in July, leaving hundreds of funding applications in doubt – a situation that persists months after it reopened.
Individuals and institutions have reported receiving less money than initially offered by ACE, and some have seen their funding applications revoked due to the collapse of the portal. Many artists are now facing financial hardship, with some having had to cover expenses from their personal savings.
Grantium's collapse has led to widespread criticism, with many calling for a "transformation" of the system to make it more streamlined, equitable and transparent. Figures including Shakespeare's Globe chief executive Stella Kanu and Actors Touring Company boss Matthew Xia have spoken out about the need for reform.
One artist, Pepa Duarte, received a £28,000 grant from ACE but was underpaid by £1,500 due to the Grantium crash. She described the experience as "cruel" and said she had struggled to submit her final report manually in a Word document, which left her with no support for the maths.
Others have reported similar issues, including Jo Hunter of 64 Million Artists, who was told that an extension to apply for grant funding had been revoked after the Grantium crash. The organisation had to rethink its programme and look elsewhere for funding.
Arts unions have highlighted the impact of the Grantium outage on artists, with Equity saying it is just the latest in a litany of governance failures that are struggling artists who pay the price.
The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has said there would be no extra financial support available to overhaul ACE's grant application system. However, an Arts Council England spokesperson has said that they have made new application processes to ensure artists and organisations can access funding as straightforwardly as possible.
Despite this, many are still concerned about the future of arts funding in the UK. The collapse of Grantium has highlighted the need for a more efficient and transparent system, and many are calling for reform.
I mean, come on, £28,000 underpaid? That's just savage! ACE needs to get its act together ASAP. And what's with the "no extra financial support" from Lisa Nandy? Like, aren't artists already struggling to make ends meet? This is exactly why we need a more efficient system in place - so that people like Pepa Duarte don't have to resort to using Word documents for their maths 
. And can we please get some real accountability here? I mean, who's responsible for this mess? The fact that the culture secretary just brushes it off without addressing the root issues is super concerning. We need to see some concrete changes, not just empty promises 
I'm so worried about all these artists struggling to get their funding on time... it's not fair that they have to use manual Word documents to submit their reports 
. And what really gets me is that culture secretary Lisa Nandy said there won't be any extra financial support to fix the system, while ACE just keeps on saying new processes will make things better 
. Meanwhile, I've seen people struggling to cover their own expenses and it's heartbreaking 
. Something needs to change for our arts community... we need a streamlined system that's transparent and works for everyone 
. What do you think? Should the government provide more support or just let ACE sort it out on its own? 
. I feel so bad for them having to deal with this stress & financial uncertainty. It's like, you'd think they could count on the system being in place, but nope! The whole Grantium thing has been a nightmare 
Maybe it's time for some serious reform and a fresh look at how arts funding is handled in this country? 
. first, grantium crashes & hundreds of funding apps go down the drain 
, then u get told ur gonna have 2 pay from ur own pocket 
, & now ppl r sayin we need 2 revamp the whole system 
i think this is actually an opportunity 4 ACE 2 step up its game & make things more transparent & equitable 
. it's not just about fixin the tech issues, it's about lookin at the bigger picture & makin sure artists r taken care of 
... so lets keep a positive vibe & hope they get it right this time 
. We need to fix this ASAP and make sure arts funding is more transparent and equitable. I've been seeing all these posts from artists who are just trying to do their job, but the system is collapsing around them 
. It's like they're being penalized for someone else's mistake. We need to get this sorted out before more people get hurt 
Artists are pouring their hearts into their work, and then they get screwed over by a broken system. It's just not right 
. I hope something gets done about this soon, because this is just too much for artists to handle 
u gotta wonder how they got funding in place in the first place. need a major overhaul ASAP 
cant have ppl gettin underpaid or havin their applications revoked it just dont sit right 
! i mean, think about all those artists who were counting on that grant to make ends meet... now they're stuck in limbo because of some website crash 
. and what's with all these governance failures 
. they're calling for a transformation of the system, which is so needed 
. fingers crossed those things actually work out 
. The fact that some people had to cover their own expenses from personal savings is just heartbreaking 
.
u r all right tho its like they cant even manage one small thing like this grantium thing... i mean what happens when u got 1000s of ppl waiting 4 funding? some1 gotta step in n sort out this mess ASAP!! 
. Thousands of artists left high and dry because some tech thingy went down? It's just a miracle nobody has lost their mind yet 
. And don't even get me started on the culture secretary saying there won't be extra funding... like that's ever gonna happen 
. We need real change, not just some half-baked solutions 
. And what's with the word "transformation" everyone keeps throwing around? It sounds like just another fancy way of saying "we'll fix it eventually"... not exactly reassuring 
.
.
). but the culture secretary is all like "no extra funding" 
. so what do you think should be done? 
! I mean, I've heard of artists being left in the dark, but this is ridiculous! £1,500 off their grant? That's like taking a £1,500 hug away from someone's heart 
. And what's with no extra funding support? It's not like Lisa Nandy has a magic wand to wave and make arts funding appear out of thin air 
.
– unless you're an artist, then just wing it and hope for the best 
!