As of 2025 the trustees of the Stanley Picker Trust are taking steps to reshape the charitable awards scheme that has been in place since 1976. The trust is proud to be able to continue to offer annual scholarship or fellowship funding to students in arts education of all kinds.
The Trustees intend to continue to prioritise their charitable expenditure on educational grants as well as the ongoing project to preserve the Picker House and collection. In the coming years they will also be looking for new funding opportunities that support apprenticeship programmes within the wider arts and theatre employment sector as well as schemes for early career artists.
There will remain, as always, a provision for the highly regarded Picker Fellowships in art and design in collaboration with Kingston School of Art and The Stanley Picker Gallery.
The trustees will continue their longstanding relationships with organisations such as Matt’s Gallery (with provision set aside for their curatorial training programme) and support of youth schemes such as the Tate St Ives ‘schools outreach’ programme.
The remaining funding will be allocated to petitioners who apply to the trust within the allotted application window and via an educational institution. The Trust will not accept applications from individuals.
The trustees will provide up to ten individual awards during each funding cycle, ideally to candidates named in advance by their school, university or educational programme, who show exceptional promise but would benefit from financial support, for example, to be used for course costs, materials or exhibitions costs.
To ensure your application for funding is successfully considered for an award, please incorporate the following;
A cover letter
A brief description of your organisation, its history and mission
A description of the scholarship or fellowship programme, project or individual you are applying to fund
Testimonials from previous awardees or programme leaders who can speak to the value of support
Photographic documentation for previously supported projects, exhibitions or events
Updates from current awardees
Any supporting financial data including a brief budget for how funding will be used
Applications should be no longer than 10 pages, and if your materials deviate from the above list please acknowledge and note the reasons in the cover letter
The Trustees will endeavour to support students, young people and early career artists from within a variety of arts disciplines and age groups, including vocational programmes, internships, craft and design as well as the more traditional arts courses provided by mainstream education.
The institutions and students supported will be selected from across the whole of the UK, applicants should aim to demonstrate their own diverse and equitable selection processes for their student body and factor this in to the students put forward to be considered for support.
The trustees are fully aware that the current economic climate and cost of living crisis will impact many students ability to support themselves through a sustained period of study, however they will no longer consider applications designating awards towards ‘hardship funds’. While this may seem harsh, it is a necessary distinction the trust wishes to make in order to preserve Stanley Pickers legacy of philanthropy in the arts begun by him during his lifetime.
The trust prides itself on providing a ‘humane’ experience during its funding cycle as we know first hand how impersonal and dispiriting it can be to fundraise for events and projects. We are aware that many people use generative text machines (AI) to help them write applications and emails, while you may find this useful please bear in mind that we want to hear your authentic voice, to understand what makes your application distinct and why your programme is worthy of support. The trustees will respond well to applications written with integrity and originality rather than computer generated In turn, we will always endeavour to communicate in person with specificity with all our applicants, including offering feedback to unsuccessful applicants if desirable.
The Trustees hold an annual funding meeting in April, and will select and notify the institutions by May. The grants will then be paid in September of that year.
If you have any questions about the application for your institution, please do not hesitate to contact Sofia and she will assist you.