The Alan James Creative Bursary and Residency Programme is now open.
The Alan James Creative Bursary:Residency and Research Programmes aim to support artists exploring new creative ideas inspired by and sourced from traditional folk music relating to England. This programme provides artists with an opportunity to undertake creative exploration without the pressure of a final product.
The awards on offer
We will be awarding two bursary:residencies and two research bursaries.
Full Bursary
● a bursary of up to £2,000
● research facilities at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (online and in person) and support from library and archive staff.
● up to five days of rehearsal space at Cecil Sharp House, London or the Glasshouse International, Gateshead. Applicants that wish to work elsewhere will be considered but no additional funding for space hire will be available.
● additional funding for Access needs.
Research Bursary
● a bursary of £500
● research facilities at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (online and in person) and support from library and archive staff.
Alan James was a former Chair of EFDSS who died suddenly in April 2019. In the spirit of Alan’s eclectic musical tastes and his ability to foster exciting artistic collaborations, we are particularly interested in receiving applications which explore folk music in the context of cross-genre or cross-art form collaborations.
The award is aimed at artists with a track-record as professional creative artists. An application can be from one artist or a group of artists, and from existing groups/bands or new collaborations. Your application must clearly explain how your proposal is creatively developmental for you and your collaborators.
While applications can be for cross-genre or cross-art form projects, the primary art form needs to be music and the project should take its inspiration from folk music.
The lead artist or artists should be resident in the UK but collaborating artists can be resident overseas.
Previous bursary awardees have gone on to develop their R & D work further to produce material for recording and performance. Recent examples are albums from You Are Wolf ‘Hare//Hunter//Moth//Ghost’; Tamsin Elliott and Tarek Elazhary ‘So Far We Have Come’; and Angeline Morrisons ‘The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience’.
Closing Date: Sunday 31 May 2026, midnight
Applicants will be informed of the outcome by Tuesday 14 July 2026.
Projects can take place between 1 August 2026 and 31 July 2027.
Please contact Zoe Nicol ([email protected]) or Katy Spicer ([email protected]) with any questions.
Please see the News Page for more information.
Bursaries for 2025 were awarded to:
Please see the News Page for more information.
Access
Additional funding will be available for Disabled artists with additional access needs.
Cecil Sharp House is step free with a lift from street level to all floors and has a car park. There are gender neutral accessible toilets on the foyer and lower ground floors. A portable hearing loop is available as there are no integrated hearing loops in the spaces used for residencies. Assistance dogs are welcomed. English Folk Dance and Song Society - Access (efdss.org)
The Glasshouse International is step free with lifts to all floors and to the car park. It has gender neutral accessible toilets and a Changing Places toilet. Assistance dogs are welcomed. Further information can be found on the Glasshouse website. Access information | The Glasshouse (theglasshouseicm.org)
Some stories about recent bursaries
All these bursaries are funded by individual donations, and grants from PRS for Music Foundation Talent Development Partner scheme and Arts Council England. They come under the umbrella of EFDSS’ Artists’ Development Programme, which provides professional development support, both creative and business, to artists at all levels of their career.
Each bursary is worth up to £2,000, and supports artists’ creative research and development together with use of rehearsal space at Cecil Sharp House and access to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
We are a founder signatory to Sound and Music’s Fair Access Principles – a code of best practice for running successful, open and inclusive artist development programmes, competitions and awards.
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Partner (2024 & 2025)
The Glasshouse is a world-class centre for performance, education, and artist development in the North East of England. Their Artist Development Programme helps emerging music creators thrive, offering a holistic approach to talent cultivation.
EFDSS is a member of the PRSF Talent Development Network which supports and brings together organisations working at the frontline of talent development across the UK – ensuring transformational support is available to a broad range of music creators based in the UK working at any career level and in any genre.
