Creative Industries grants and funding in Greater Manchester

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Only for Greater Manchester 16

Manchester Connecting Communities Fund: grants up to £5,000 for youth sport, movement and performing arts projectsmax award £5,000 · closes 2 Nov 2026 · with City in the Community (Manchester City): Manchester Connecting Communities Fund (EURO 2028)
Manchester's Rising Stars Fund: grants up to £5,000 for young Mancunians, including to start a businessmax award £5,000 · closes 3 Nov 2026 · with We Love MCR Charity: Manchester's Rising Stars Fund (grants up to £5,000 for young Mancunians)
Hot Bed Press open call: £500 to £10,000 for public art in Salford's Makers District (closes 9 Nov)award £500–£10,000 · closes 9 Nov 2026 · Salford · with Hot Bed Press (Salford): open call for public art projects in The Makers District
Culture Bolton Micro Grants: up to £500 for Bolton creative practitioners and organisationsmax award £500 · closes 14 Dec 2026 · Bolton · with Culture Bolton (Bolton Council): Small Grants Programme - Micro Grants
Greater Manchester Production Fund: £50k to £750k for film and TV made in Greater Manchester (grant or recoupable investment)award £50,000–£750,000 · total pot £10.5m · open all year · with Greater Manchester Production Fund (GMCA) - film and TV
MITIH Grant Fund Round Threeaward £10,000 · open all year · with MediaCity Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub (MITIH): grants, labs and programmes
HOME Arches Seed Residenciesmax award £1,500 · with HOME Manchester: Artist Opportunities (commissions, residencies, calls)
Digital, Creative & Media Innovation NavigatorExpert advice and navigation to resources, researchers and funding; described as fully-funded support · with GM Business Growth Hub: Digital, Creative & Media Innovation Navigator (incl. AI)
MASH UP 2026 at Oldham Coliseum: free mentoring and a sharing day for Oldham creatives aged 18-25 (closes 1 Nov)non-cash support · closes 1 Nov 2026 · Oldham · with Oldham Coliseum Theatre: MASH UP 2026 call-out (young Oldham creatives 18-25)
Artist Network — Lowrynon-cash support · with Lowry (Salford): Artist Development (Developed With etc.)
Artist Network, Manchester Jewish MuseumRegular network meetings, networking support, development of work, artist-specific events and workshops, training opportunities, and newsletters and callouts. · with Manchester Jewish Museum: Artist Network opportunities
Creative Industries Acceleratornon-cash support · with GM Business Growth Hub: Creative Industries Accelerator (Creative Exchange Accelerator)
EnterprisingYounon-cash support · with EnterprisingYou (GM self-employment and micro-business support)
HOME Arches free artist studio spacenon-cash support · with HOME Manchester: HOME Arches free artist studio space
VERSA Lab unscripted format developmentAccess to studio facilities, production infrastructure, virtual production technology and industry expertise. Selected projects may be developed into fully funded pilots within the VERSA ecosystem. · with VERSA Studios (Manchester): VERSA Lab unscripted format development
NORMGROUND — Lowrynon-cash support · with Lowry (Salford): Artist Development (Developed With etc.)

Open across the North West 32

Film Exhibition Fundnon-cash support · closes 23 Oct 2026 · with Film Hub North: film exhibitor funding (Film Exhibition Fund, Pitch Pot, Bursary Fund)
Film Exhibition Fund round 3: up to £10k for independent cinemas, film festivals and film societies in the Northmax award £10,000 · closes 23 Oct 2026 · with Film Hub North: Film Exhibition Fund round 3 (up to £10k for independent film exhibition in the North)
Blackpool Creative Market: £350 commission to run a festive family workshop (apply by 25 Oct 2026)award £350 · closes 25 Oct 2026 · with Aunty Social / Blackpool Creative Market: artist workshop callout (£350, 5 Dec 2026)
BFI NETWORK Early Development Fund: £3k-£5k for debut feature writers in the Northaward £3,000–£5,000 · closes 11 Nov 2026 · with BFI NETWORK
Access Funding Scheme for High-end TV Deaf, Disabled & Neurodivergent Crew 2026 - 2027free training (ScreenSkills funded) · closes 16 Nov 2026 · with ScreenSkills training and opportunities (ScreenSkills-funded courses)
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Bursariesaward £100–£2,000 · closes 3 Dec 2026 · with Museum Development North: MD North grants (Open Grants, Learning and Engagement Grant, CPD Bursary)
Great Northern Read Award: £2,500 and literary agent mentoring for unpublished northern novelists (closes 11 Jan)max award £2,500 · closes 11 Jan 2027 · with New Writing North: Great Northern Read Award 2027 (Johnson & Alcock)
Hachette Children’s Novel Awards 2027max award £3,000 · closes 11 Jan 2027 · with New Writing North: Northern Writers' Awards (all awards and submission windows)
Pitch Pot: rolling micro-grants of up to £3k for film screenings and events in the Northmax award £3,000 · closes 12 Feb 2027 · with Film Hub North: Pitch Pot micro-grants for film exhibitors (up to £3k, rolling)
Open Grantsaward £5,000–£7,500 · closes 12 Mar 2027 · with Museum Development North: MD North grants (Open Grants, Learning and Engagement Grant, CPD Bursary)
Awards for Young Writers 2027award £150–£500 · closes 15 Mar 2027 · with New Writing North: Northern Writers' Awards (all awards and submission windows)
Arts and Humanities Research Council IAAaward £5,000–£50,000 · open all year · with Arts and Humanities Research Council
Film Exhibition Fund: Pitch Potaward £3,000 · open all year · with Film Hub North: film exhibitor funding (Film Exhibition Fund, Pitch Pot, Bursary Fund)
Brenda M King Prize for Critical Writing in Textilesmax award £2,000 · with The Textile Society (awards)
Hachette Children’s Novel Award — New Writing North: Northern Writers' Awardsmax award £3,000 · with New Writing North: Northern Writers' Awards (all awards and submission windows)
Artist support requestsnon-cash support · open all year · with Z-arts: artist support requests (theatre for children and families)
Museum Development North museum mentors accreditationnon-cash support · with Museum Development North: MD North grants (Open Grants, Learning and Engagement Grant, CPD Bursary)
Jazz North Northern Line: 18 months of mentoring, a festival showcase and a touring bursarycloses 2 Nov 2026 · with Jazz North: Northern Line (touring bursary, mentoring and Manchester Jazz Festival showcase)
Factory International x ENO Artist Takeover: six days in Aviva Studios' North Warehouse plus a production budget (North of England artists)closes 9 Nov 2026 · with Factory International: Artist Takeover (Think Big! with English National Opera)
Castlefield Gallery New Art Spacesnon-cash support · with Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces (low-cost artist studios)
Creative Incubatornon-cash support · with English National Opera x RNCM: Creative Incubator (North West artists)
No 7 Museum Street: Artists' Studio Spaceaward £150 · with CuratorSpace
Advanced Leadership and Management for HETV professionalsfree training (ScreenSkills funded) · closes 25 Oct 2026 · with ScreenSkills training and opportunities (ScreenSkills-funded courses)
Cutting content in the digital agefree training (ScreenSkills funded) · closes 13 Nov 2026 · with ScreenSkills training and opportunities (ScreenSkills-funded courses)
Good Work Practices in Locations in Scripted High-End TV and Filmfree training (ScreenSkills funded) · closes 14 Nov 2026 · with ScreenSkills training and opportunities (ScreenSkills-funded courses)

Showing 25 of 32. See them all in the finder →

UK-wide 192

The Elephant Trust Main Fundaward £2,000–£5,000 · closes 18 Oct 2026 · with The Elephant Trust
Creative Foundations Fund (CFF) Round 2 - Strand 1award £100,000–£1,000,000 · closes 23 Oct 2026 · with Arts Council England
Sustainable Darkroom Futures Residency: £3,400 grant and six-month mentored residency for UK artistsaward £3,400 · closes 23 Oct 2026 · with Sustainable Darkroom Futures Residency
PPL Momentum Music Fund: £5,000 to £15,000 for UK artists and bands at a career tipping pointaward £5,000–£15,000 · closes 26 Oct 2026 · with PPL Momentum Music Fund (PRS Foundation)
British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grantsaward £500–£10,000 · closes 28 Oct 2026 · with British Academy funding
Music Creators Growth Fund: £10,000 to £20,000 for artists, bands and producersaward £10,000–£20,000 · closes 29 Oct 2026 · with Arts Council England - Music Creators Growth Fund
PRS Foundation Early Career Promoter Fund: up to £3,500 for independent music promoters in Englandmax award £3,500 · closes 29 Oct 2026 · with PRS Foundation Early Career Promoter Fund
Windrush Day Grant Scheme 2027: £5,000 to £25,000 for projects celebrating the Windrush generationaward £5,000–£25,000 · closes 29 Oct 2026 · with Windrush Day Grant Scheme (MHCLG, run by Near Neighbours)
BBC Children's Northern Star Project: about £17,000 to develop a children's drama idea (closes 30 Oct)max award £17,000 · closes 30 Oct 2026 · with BBC Children's (Salford) with DR, NPO, NRK and VRT: The Northern Star Project development opportunity
Clore School Choirs and Singing Programmeaward £50,000–£100,000 · closes 30 Oct 2026 · with Clore Duffield Foundation
BRAID Creative Commissions: £8,000 to £12,000 to make work about responsible AIaward £8,000–£12,000 · closes 2 Nov 2026 · with BRAID - Creative Commissions (Responsible AI)
EPSRC-Defra Reimagining Circularity: full stagemax award £4,328,000 · closes 3 Nov 2026 · with Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
National Churches Trustaward £10,000–£100,000 · closes 3 Nov 2026 · with Action Together: find funding
British Academy-CIFAR Global Scholarsnon-cash support · closes 4 Nov 2026 · with British Academy funding
VAULT Creative Arts | Playwriting Awardmax award £2,500 · closes 6 Nov 2026 · with BBC Writers (Salford): writing opportunities listing
Teacher Development Fund — Paul Hamlyn Foundationmax award £165,000 · closes 11 Nov 2026 · with Paul Hamlyn Foundation
iX Challenge: AI Attribution and AI Authenticity for Ethical Cultural Contentaward £25,000–£50,000 · closes 13 Nov 2026 · with Innovate UK Business Connect (opportunities incl. ICURe)
National Archivesaward £25,000–£30,000 · closes 16 Nov 2026 · with Action Together: find funding
Green Future Fellowships: up to £3m over 10 years for climate-tech researchers and innovatorsmax award £3,000,000 · closes 17 Nov 2026 · with Royal Academy of Engineering: Green Future Fellowships (UK route)
Audible Emerging Playwrights Fund: paid audio drama commissionscloses 18 Nov 2026 · with Audible Emerging Playwrights Fund
Radical Sabbatical 2027 Residenciesaward £3,500 · closes 20 Nov 2026 · with Artquest
Sadler's Wells 'The Future Remembers': three £6,000 dance-film commissionsmax award £6,000 · closes 22 Nov 2026 · with Sadler's Wells Digital Stage - dance-film commissions
BFI Skills Fund pilot call: up to £150,000 for a technical and craft skills framework in screenmax award £150,000 · closes 24 Nov 2026 · with BFI National Lottery Skills Fund: Pilot Projects (Call 1)
Call Open CoSTAR National Lab: Inclusive Multisensory Experienceaward £20,000–£40,000 · closes 24 Nov 2026 · with CoSTAR Network (creative technology R&D labs)
Shoeburyness Commissionmax award £10,000 · closes 24 Nov 2026 · with Artquest
UK Global Screen Fund Minority Co-Production: funding for UK companies partnering on international film and TVcloses 24 Nov 2026 · with BFI UK Global Screen Fund: Minority Co-Production
Unlocking advanced capabilities in conservation and heritage scienceaward £500,000–£1,500,000 · total pot £6.2m · closes 25 Nov 2026 · with Arts and Humanities Research Council
Music Growth Fund: £1,000 to £40,000 for music businessesaward £1,000–£40,000 · closes 26 Nov 2026 · with Arts Council England - Music Growth Fund (Music Growth Package)
Neighbourhood Heritage Grants for Communities 2026max award £15,000 · closes 27 Nov 2026 · with Historic England
Attendance and engagement at UK sporting, cultural and heritage sitesaward £1,100,000–£1,320,000 · closes 1 Dec 2026 · with Arts and Humanities Research Council
Public Engagement Spark Awards 2026Baward £5,000–£20,000 · total pot £100,000 · closes 10 Dec 2026 · with UK Research and Innovation funding finder
ARRIVAL Grantaward £100 · closes 31 Dec 2026 · with Artquest
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Artist Grantscloses 31 Dec 2026 · with Artquest
Jerwood x Royal Court Commissioning Scheme: up to £6,000 towards a new play commissionmax award £6,000 · closes 11 Jan 2027 · with Jerwood x Royal Court Commissioning Scheme
Theatres Trust Small Grants Schemecloses 25 Jan 2027 · with Theatres Trust
Early Career Fellowships — Leverhulme Trustaward £6,000–£56,000 · closes 18 Feb 2027 · with Leverhulme Trust
Unscripted TV bursaries for senior development rolesmax award £3,000 · closes 19 Mar 2027 · with ScreenSkills training and opportunities (ScreenSkills-funded courses)
Content Fundaward £100,000–£250,000 · closes 31 Mar 2029 · with UK Games Fund (Content Fund)
AHRC Catalyst Awards: applicant-led modeaward £100,000–£300,000 · open all year · with Arts and Humanities Research Council
AHRC Collaborate with researchers in Luxembourg: applicant-led modeaward £300,000–£1,500,000 · open all year · with Arts and Humanities Research Council

Showing 40 of 192. See them all in the finder →

International, open to UK applicants 11

Innovation Projectscloses 30 Oct 2026 · with EIT Culture & Creativity Innovation Projects (commercialisation grants)
NLnet open-source grants (Restack and CodeSupply): €5,000 to €50,000closes 3 Nov 2026 · with NLnet / NGI open calls (Restack and CodeSupply)
Anthropic Fellows Program: four-month paid AI safety research fellowship (£2,310 a week), London or remote in the UKopen all year · with Anthropic Fellows Program
Emergent Ventures: fellowships and grants for high-impact ideasopen all year · with Emergent Ventures (Mercatus Center)
International Showcase Fund — British Councilmax award £5,500 · open all year · with British Council (arts and creative economy opportunities)
Sequoia Open Source Fellowshipopen all year · with Sequoia Open Source Fellowship
Thiel Fellowship: $250,000 for founders aged 22 or underopen all year · with Thiel Fellowship
WINGS Fund - Business Support Servicesnon-cash support · open all year · with Wings Fund (indie games)
a16z speedrun SR008: up to $1M for early-stage startupsnon-cash support · open all year · with a16z speedrun
ID@XBOX independent developer programmenon-cash support · open all year · with ID@XBOX independent developer programme

Showing 10 of 11. See them all in the finder →

Contracts in Greater Manchester and the North West 2

RFQ Proposals - OLDHAM PLACE MARKETING STRATEGY. A Borough-Wide Place Marketing Strategy for Oldhamcloses 23 Oct 2026 · Oldham · with The Chest (North West councils e-tendering portal, via Proactis ProContract)
Bolton Urban Cricket Centre — The Chestcloses 2 Nov 2026 · Bolton · with The Chest (North West councils e-tendering portal, via Proactis ProContract)

Questions

How many opportunities are open for Creative Industries in Greater Manchester?

On 18 October 2026 Bearings lists 251 live opportunities a business based in Greater Manchester can apply for: 128 grants, loans, investment and prizes, 49 programmes, advice and support, 74 training offers. 16 are only for Greater Manchester, 32 are open across the North West and 203 are UK-wide or international.

Which funding closes soonest?

The Elephant Trust Main Fund (closes 18 Oct 2026)
Film Exhibition Fund (closes 23 Oct 2026)
Film Exhibition Fund round 3: up to £10k for independent cinemas, film festivals and film societies in the North (closes 23 Oct 2026)

How do I hear about new ones?

Other sectors in Greater Manchester

Creative Industries in other areas

Bearings is free and independent, and not affiliated with any funder. It checks its sources every day; always check eligibility, amounts and deadlines on the provider's own page before applying. Updated 18 October 2026.

Creative Industries funding and support in Greater Manchester