This is more of a question than a blog.
As a funding deadline approaches, I’ve finally had some feedback on the draft application I sent to an institution that has to submit the funding bid. They like my project and want it to happen, but they have told me it doesn’t show enough evidence of demand from disadvantaged groups, and advised I set up some unpaid workshops to demonstrate demand for my project. A community arts organisation that had agreed in principle to partner the project, has been on leave for the whole month and not available for discussion.
As an unpaid freelancer who can only fund projects if they involve community participation (which I’m quite happy about), I find myself knocking on the doors of institutions that themselves feel underfunded and understaffed, and having to do all the legwork with no guarantee of success.
Does this situation resonate with other artists, and how do they cope?
