Attention! From Thursday 31 July at 4:00 pm (Dutch time zone) / 10:00 am (Caribbean time zone) until Monday 4 August at 12:00 pm (Dutch time zone) / 6:00 am (Caribbean time zone), the application form for this scheme will be temporarily closed. Find more information here.
Who is eligible?
Visual artists who have been professionally active for at least 1 year and would like to execute a specific plan in a defined work period. Collaborations are also eligible for the Artist Project grant.
The Mondriaan Fund offers Artist Project grants to stimulate talent development by providing visual artists the opportunity to realise an artistic plan that can significantly impact the quality and visibility of contemporary visual art in the Netherlands and/or Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
For what?
This grant is to help cover project costs, such as the execution of a concrete plan for new work, a collaboration, a period of travel or a working period. It may also entail research, mentoring or a stay at a residency in the Netherlands or abroad.
How much?
Fixed contribution:
- A fixed contribution for no longer than 6 months. The standard amount is € 2.785,- per month. Part of this sum is to cover time investment, and part to cover project costs. The duration of the contribution must be justified by a global timeline, included in your plan.
- A fixed contribution cannot be awarded to an artist who received an Artist Start grant less than 1 year prior.
Flexible contribution:
- A flexible contribution for no longer than 12 months. The amount depends on the plan, the duration of the project and the budget. View the budget explanation here.
- Applicants are obliged to contribute at least 10% of the total sum being requested from the Mondriaan Fund. This can be in the form of a personal investment, contributions from third parties, an interest-free loan from Fonds Kwadraat or a contribution raised through crowdfunding. This means that the contribution from the Mondriaan Fund will be for a maximum of 90% of the costs that are eligible for the grant.
If the application involves another party, such as an art venue, museum, gallery, company or client, the financial contribution from this party must be in acceptable proportion to the contribution requested from the Mondriaan Fund. Cultural institutions are expected to subscribe to the Fair Practice Code. Compliance with the Fair Practice Code automatically means that the institution implements the Guideline for Artists’ Fees.
When and how to apply?
Applications can be submitted at any time of the year, using our online application system. You will require an account before you can submit an application. If you do not already have an account, please apply for one on this website. Keep in mind that a 3-month period is required for processing the applications. No grants are awarded retrospectively.
The following is based on the deelregeling Kunstenaar Project (in Dutch), as published in the Staatscourant.
Terms and conditions
Education and working practice
- Applications can only be submitted by visual artists who have been professionally active for at least 1 year:
- If you have completed a Bachelor’s degree programme (HBO) with a visual arts curriculum, the date on your diploma will be considered the start of your professional practice. If there is an interim period between your graduation from the Bachelor’s programme with a visual arts curriculum and the start of your Master’s programme, this period will be considered as part of your professional practice.
- If you have not completed a Bachelor’s degree programme (HBO) with a visual arts curriculum, the date on which you first presented work in professional art circles will be considered the start of your professional practice.
- In order to be eligible for a contribution, you must be artistically and substantively active within the visual arts field, and in this capacity, part of the professional art practice in the Netherlands and/or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
- You cannot apply for or use a contribution while enrolled to study at educational institutions for e.g. Bachelor’s, Master’s or postdoctoral programmes. This also applies to participation in programmes at postgraduate institutions and to PhD programmes. The exception is part-time programmes (not Bachelor’s programmes) of less than 20 hours a week.
Costs eligible for the grant
What is eligible:
- The cost of materials specifically related to the project.
- Rental of equipment and materials.
- If equipment is purchased that is strictly necessary for the project, the depreciation costs can be included in the budget. See more information.
- Travel expenses for a return flight, train journey or mileage allowance to and from the main location as stated in the application. Local travel expenses are part of the contribution covering time investment.
- Hiring third parties (including travel and accommodation expenses, if applicable).
- Residency expenses: Please note that the contribution covering time investment is halved if a residency fee is included in the budget, or if it becomes apparent that the residency covers the following expenses: accommodation and meals.
- In the case of an artist’s book, the contribution may only be used for a special publication that can be considered an autonomous work of art in its own right and is produced in an edition of no more than 3 copies. The Artist Project grant may not be used for other publications, but the Publication grant is available for such projects.
What is not eligible:
- Regular expenses, such as ongoing housing costs and child care are not eligible for a grant.
- The grant is not intended for work for an organisation, for regular work activities, exhibition costs or other costs of presenting work.
- The grant cannot be used to put previously produced work back into production, to frame work or transfer it to a different medium.
- Costs associated with a stay abroad and that are covered by the contribution for time investment include accommodation, meals and local travel expenses. An application can be made for these costs for third parties involved with the project.
- The Artist Project grant may not be used for a working period in a guest studio in the Netherlands or abroad if this studio is offered in the Mondriaan Fund’s Residency
- The Artist Project grant may not be used for activities or a project at institutions/art venues receiving long-term financial support from one of the Rijkscultuurfondsen (public cultural funds) or the Basic Cultural Infrastructure (BIS), unless it concerns non-standard programming.
Previous applications
An Artist Project grant may not be applied for during the term of another financial contribution from the Mondriaan Fund if the fund board is of the opinion that the contribution would cover the same costs.
Within any 48-month period, an artist may be awarded support for a maximum of 24 months. For the remaining period, an applicant can only apply for a flexible grant amount towards project costs (as part of an Artist Project grant).
An artist who was previously rejected for the Artist Project grant on the grounds of artistic performance is not permitted to apply for the following grants within a period of 12 months after the initial application date: Artist Project, Residency, Publications.
Assessment
The Mondriaan Fund staff check the submitted applications and attachments to ensure that they are complete. Once an application is complete, it is submitted to the committee that advises on awarding Artist Project grants.
An Artist Project contribution can only be awarded if the committee gives a positive recommendation.
Due to budgetary restrictions, the Board may decide to award a lower contribution than requested.
The advisory committee assesses your application on the basis of:
- Visual documentation material.
- Explanation of your work and cultural entrepreneurship.
- Curriculum vitae.
- Plan.
The advisory committee takes the following criteria into consideration:
The quality and development of your oeuvre*
- Is there evidence of a distinctive artistic vision and is this convincingly conveyed in previous work?
- Is the work of distinctive quality within the context of professional contemporary visual art? (Consider e.g. the substantive significance of the work, its inherent imaginative strength, the command of the selected mediums and/or techniques and the work’s power of expression.)
- Is there evidence of a convincing development of the oeuvre appropriate to the phase of your professional practice?
The quality of your cultural entrepreneurship*
- Do you make convincing efforts to promote the understanding and appreciation of the intentions of the work? And does this result in increased visibility and appreciation of the practice within professional contemporary visual art circles?
The quality of the plan * **
- Does the project exhibit distinctive quality? Consider e.g. the substantive significance of the concept, the artist’s imaginative strength, the command of the selected mediums and/or techniques, whether the project is convincing and/or whether the plan is realistic in terms of execution.
- Is the proposed project remarkable within the context? And is it expected to result in work of convincing artistic and substantive quality? If applicable: does the plan include a convincing strategy to reach a relevant audience?
*During the assessment, the background and context of the professional practice will be taken into consideration, such as schooling, cultural context and the nature and duration of the professional practice, or the type of work you create.
**The criterion focused on the quality of the plan will hold greater significance, as this is of particular interest within this grant.
Checklist
In order to process your application, the Mondriaan Fund requires various information: details that you can enter in the application form and documents that you can upload. Below is a checklist outlining all of the required information, following the layout of the application form.
Tip: collect all your information before you start filling out the online application form. Your attachments should be uploaded as PDFs. Please note: make sure that your documents meet the stated conditions. Otherwise, we will unfortunately not be able to process your request. Do not exceed the number of pages where a maximum is indicated.
Checklist
Explanation of your work and cultural entrepreneurship (max. 3 pages)
Describe the artistic vision/guiding principles of your work, how you express these in your work, and the selected mediums and/or techniques. How has your work developed, and what have you done to achieve this development? In the case of a collaboration, please outline your role.
Also state what you do to further your cultural entrepreneurship. How do you make efforts to convey the intentions of your work, so that they are understood and appreciated? Which mediums do you use to these ends, and how? Consider e.g. the use of social media and/or a website, investment in your network, collaboration with a gallery or art institution, participation in open calls.
Curriculum Vitae (max. 3 pages)
Include an overview of the most important information about your professional practice, with an emphasis on the last 1 to 4 years, depending on when you began. Consider e.g. exhibitions (indicate whether it was a solo or group exhibition), events, commissions, awards, publications and any sales (with dates). Also mention any ancillary activities, such as teaching, consulting and committee positions.
Plan (max. 4 pages)
Outline the substantive plans for the project associated with the application. If the application concerns an enrichment or collaboration, outline why and how this plan is in line with your oeuvre, contributes to your artistic development and that of your (temporary) partner, if applicable. In the case of a collaboration, outline your role and the added value of the collaboration.
If you are applying for this grant for a residency, for mentoring or participation in a programme or other form of enrichment, outline why this type of enrichment or collaboration in particular will contribute to the substantive development of your practice and/or work.
Indicate how you plan to reach the public with the work associated with your application, e.g. an exhibition, website, blog, open studio or workshop.
(Visual) documentation(max. 20 pages)
You must also upload visual documentation material for this application. Please note! This is mandatory. If you do not do this, your application cannot be processed. Compile a PDF presenting the artist’s most important works from the last 4 years:
- Begin with the most recent work. Ideally highlight a comparable number of works per year, so that the committee can see how your work has developed.
- Include 1 image per page. If you need to show a (spatial) work from different angles, you can include multiple images of that specific work on 1 page. This is permitted on a maximum of 5 of the 20 pages.
- You can also upload audio or video/film fragments totalling up to 15 minutes (the committee will require these if you make films, performances, video installations or audio works).
- Applicants using publications to present or make their work can upload a PDF of a maximum of 1 publication or a short video in which the publication is featured. The publication is for the committee’s perusal and may not be viewed in full. Publications sent to us by post will not be presented to the committee.
Note: You can upload a maximum of 500 MB of images and audio or video/film fragments. See the technical specifications.
Documentation list (max. 2 pages)
Please include a documentation list (in PDF) that corresponds to the visual documentation material, containing a description or caption for each image and/or audio/video fragment information about the title, year, dimensions, technique, duration, and any additional information. For example: 01, title of work, 2024, 20×30 cm, material. See the specifications for the documentation list for more examples.
Please note: do not use (hyper)links in the PDF with (visual) documentation material and in the documentation list. We cannot accept (hyper)links to web pages, for example, because the supplied images may not be adjusted during the processing of the request
Agreement from collaborating party (max. 2 pages)
Please also include a statement of agreement from the receiving organisation or of consent from the person with whom you will be collaborating.
Information about the collaborating party (max. 2 pages)
Include the person’s curriculum vitae and additional information about them/the organisation. If the organisation has a public programme, also include a description of their mission and vision, their programme of activities and an explanation of their public reach and visibility over the past 3 years. Include all of these documents in one PDF.
Collaborating party’s substantive reasoning (max. 2 pages)
If you have been selected for e.g. a residency or open call (exhibition), we require a substantive reasoning from the organisation outlining why you have been (pre)selected.
Statement from participating educational organization (max 1 page)
If you will be realizing your project in the context of an educational organization, upload a statement from that organization confirming that the project for which you are applying for Mondriaan Fund support is not part of a bachelor, master or PhD study.
If you choose a flexible stipend, we also need the following:
Specified budget with financing plan
Please include an itemised budget in the application form. This only concerns the expenses eligible for support from the Mondriaan Fund. See an explanation of the items that can be included in the budget. If third parties are involved in the financing of the plan, upload the total budget with financing plan (please state: excluding VAT), not just the part for which you are applying for support from the Mondriaan Fund. If another party is involved with the application, such as an art venue, museum, gallery, company or client, the financial contribution from this party must be in acceptable proportion to the contribution you are requesting from the Mondriaan Fund. Explain how the sum being contributed by this party is in appropriate balance with the requested sum.
Letters of confirmation of contributions from collaborating parties
If applicable, include a single PDF with all letters in which collaborating parties confirm their contribution to the project.
Quotes
Quotes for notable entries in the budget. Quotes are obligatory for all entries above € 1,000. Please add all quotes in one PDF.
Where applicable:
Personal Information Provision Netherlands Antilles and Aruba (PIVA)
Are you registered in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom? If so, please send a recent extract (no more than 1 year old) from the PIVA/population register.
Personal Records Database extract (BRP)
If you do not have Dutch citizenship, include a recent extract (no more than 1 year old), from the Basisregistratie Personen (BRP, or Personal Records Database) where you live, confirming that you reside in the Netherlands.
Bank details or Kamer van Koophandel (KvK) registration
We need your bank account number to transfer funds if your application is granted. If you have not previously submitted an application to the Mondriaan Fund or if the account number has changed since the previous application, please upload a recent bank statement clearly stating the name of the account holder and IBAN/bank account number of the applicant. Applicants established in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom can provide a bank statement or other document from the bank stating the name of the account holder and bank account number.
If you have a business bank account for your one-person business, include a recent (less than 3 months old) copy of your registration with the Kamer van Koophandel (KvK, Chamber of Commerce), showing that you are the sole proprietor of the account.
The Mondriaan Fund offers more opportunities
Interest-free loan via Fonds Kwadraat
Artists who have received a contribution from the Mondriaan Fund in the past 12 months are eligible for a pre-approved, interest-free loan from Fonds Kwadraat, e.g. to purchase equipment. Read more on the website of Fonds Kwadraat.