The Chelsea Arts Club Trust/Awards

The Trust has established a range of bursaries and awards for practicing artists and designers, emerging art and design graduates, and secondary schools. The aim is to recognise and enable talent, create opportunities for those lacking funds, support research, and set artists and designers on the path to long term professional careers.

Please note that all awards have currently been allocated and there are no open submissions at present. Any future invitations for applications will be posted here.

Working closely with London art schools such as Goldsmiths, Chelsea College of Art and Design, The Royal College of Art, the Royal Academy, and The Slade School, The Trust has given a range Special Project Awards for MA students to fulfil a major research project which otherwise would not have been possible. These awards have proved to be inspiring and even life changing. Award recipients are selected by the professors at their respective schools.

In collaboration with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, The Trust has established a 3 year Artist's Studio Bursary comprising of a rent free artist's studio and materials grant. The RBKC/CAC Trust Studio Bursary supports emerging talent in the visual arts and puts newly graduated artists on the road to a successful long term career.

The Ian Davidson Award for a Young Architect.

This award was set up at the instigation of leading architect Alex Lifshutz in remembrance of his late architectural partner, Ian Davidson, who sadly died of a heart attack aged 48 in 2003.

Ian Davidson was a successful architect who cared deeply about the next generation. He was external examiner at the Mackintosh School, the Architectural Association, and the Bartlett School; He was a member of the RIBA's Education Committee, the Architects' Registration Board, and the European Commission's advisory committee on Architectural Education. He was a keen cyclist, and in his last summer raised £15,000 for charity with his daughter, Lucy, cycling 450km across China.

Chelsea Arts Club Trust is committed to encouraging art and design education and as part of this objective has created awards for secondary schools to stimulate students’ interest and involvement in learning. These awards take the form of financial bursaries given directly to schools.

The schools are selected by the Trustees of Chelsea Arts Club Trust and are invited to submit a detailed proposal to extend and compliment the schools’ Arts Curriculum. The first two schools to be selected for these awards are the Chelsea Academy and the Forest Gate Community School.

Thanks to a specific donation from the William and Katherine Longman Charitable Trust, a new award of Junior Research Fellow has been created to support a recent graduate from Chelsea College of Art and Design.

Overseen by the Director of Exhibitions at CHELSEA space this award offers an opportunity for academic research and practical training in a professional art world environment. A set of transferable core skills and standards will give valuable insights and enhance the recipient’s potential future employability. Graduating BA students from Chelsea College of Art and Design are invited to apply at the end of their final year and are interviewed by a panel including representatives of the school and the Chelsea Arts Club Trust.

Artist-Run-Space Award

This award was established to support those who set up experimental galleries and project spacesto create a platform for artists at the outset of their professional career paths. These fledgling spaces offer visibility at a crucial formative moment - an opportunity to experiment and develop creative ideas, a chance for furthering professional development, and an encouragement to form networks and support systems. Often sited in relatively neglected parts of the city, these spaces can help the regeneration of an area, actively promoting an interaction with the local community and encouraging the participation of the broadest possible audience.

Publications Award

One of the Trusts aims is to disseminate information on, or related to, art and design. To this end, a Publications Award has been established to assist with the funding of catalogues, artists' books, art and design journals etc.

Chelsea Arts Club Trust are delighted to be working with Acme Studios, the renowned artists’ studios provider who have been supporting art and artists since 1972.

The Chelsea Studio Award was initiated by two second-year students at Chelsea College of Art and Design and provides a fine art graduate with a rent-free Acme studio for six months. The award holder will also receive a cash bursary and professional mentoring. With the support of Chelsea College of Art, the role of organising the award will be taken on by a second year student, offering invaluable experience of working with professional arts bodies. The initial idea came from two art students and was supported by Acme. It has been embraced and developed by Chelsea College of Art and is now supported by Chelsea Arts Club Trust to create a valuable award which provides a supportive bridge between leaving college and entering the world of professional practice.