The DAS Collections Access Grant

The DAS Collections Access Grant

The Decorative Arts Society is an independent charity, founded in Brighton in 1975, financed by subscriptions and donations from its members and revenue from its events.

The DAS encourages and supports the study and appreciation of all aspects of the decorative arts and design from 1850 to the present. In its activities and publications, the DAS embraces the different media on an international basis - furniture, ceramics, glass, metalwork, textiles, jewellery and fashion, as well as architecture, interior and industrial design, and the graphic arts.

Aims and eligibility

The DAS has established a small Collections Access Grant which aims to support curators in extending access to, and knowledge of, the decorative arts in their collections.

The Grant:

• provides funding for practical costs to help curators from publicly-funded museums that are open to the public to enhance access to their collections through display, publication  or digital media
•  is available to fund individual curatorial activities or shared projects
• gives priority to objects falling within the period 1850 to the present.

What we will support

Applications from individual UK curators may include requests for funding:

• to  improve or update displays in the decorative arts in a publicly-funded museum
• to fund a small decorative arts display in whole or in part
•  to assist with publication, both printed and in online form, for example, by funding in whole or in part a short-term post to create database records or images.

We are willing to consider funding other kinds of activity, provided the applicant can make a substantive case for its contribution to public access to decorative arts objects.

Applicants can also request support towards additional activities to extend existing museum projects.

Size of grant

For the first year of grant-giving, the DAS has earmarked the sum of £2000 for the Grant. If completion of the project depends on receiving funding from other sources, this should be indicated, with a timescale.

How to Apply

Please set out a submission of no more than 1000 words specifically indicating:

• how the grant will be spent (with a rough budget breakdown), and a realistic timeframe for when it will be needed
• details of the project and how it will develop curatorial expertise and collections access in your museum
• why you are applying for a grant and why the project cannot be funded from elsewhere

Please also attach a short CV of no more than a side of A4 and a letter of support from your Director or equivalent.

The deadline for applications for the 2014 Grant is 30 September 2014

Applications should be sent to the Chairman on chairdas@gmail.com who is happy to answer any queries on 020 7228 1472.

The successful applicant will be expected to acknowledge the support of the DAS by displaying its logo in the project, and to write a short report for the DAS Newsletter or Journal. If appropriate, the project might be used as the subject for a DAS museum study day.