
Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund
These grants range from £5,000 to £35,000, covering all costs associated with securing, displaying and promoting loans.
Sign up to our Museum Bulletin for arts professionals to be the first to hear about new funding opportunities from Art Fund.
The Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund helps regional and smaller museums to borrow works of outstanding quality and significance from national and major lending institutions.
The programme is generously supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation. Since its launch in 2017, we have delivered nine rounds of funding, awarding £1.9m to 106 museums and galleries. The scheme increases access to notable objects, shares resources across the UK, helps develop relationships, and brings lasting benefits to borrowers, lenders and audiences.
Grants of up to £35,000 are available to cover the practical elements of strategic loans projects. The programme also funds activities to maximise the impact of the loaned items and to develop the skills of museum professionals.
By selecting and displaying high-profile objects, a borrowing institution can elevate its own collection and status, increase its capacity, engage different communities, and draw out new stories of local relevance.
This year, we will be accepting all application forms and supporting documents via email. We will not be using the online form due to changes to our system. Please download the templates on our website, complete them, and send them to programmes@artfund.org (with klloyd@artfund.org in the Cc line). Please ensure the application form remains as a Word file (as opposed to PDF); this will enable us to process the information more easily.
What we can fund
Who can apply
Key dates
How to apply
Your application
Read the guidance
Download the Guidance for applicants (also available in Cymraeg) which explains our criteria for funding, helps you apply for a grant and gives you guidance on filling out the application form.
Get in touch
If you haven’t found what you need in the Guidance for applicants, get in touch with Katie by email to discuss your application: klloyd@artfund.org.
Submit your application
This year, we will be accepting all application forms and supporting documents via email. We will not be using the online form due to changes to our system. Please download the templates on our website, complete them, and send them to programmes@artfund.org (with klloyd@artfund.org in the Cc line). Please ensure the application form remains as a Word file (as opposed to PDF); this will enable us to process the information more easily.
After you've applied
Acknowledgement of application
We will inform you as soon as the panel has made a decision.
Claim your grant
If your application is successful, we will send you our offer paperwork with more details on how to claim your grant.
Follow on relationship
After you’ve claimed your grant, and once you are a partner of the National Art Pass network, we’ll help you promote your venue and support you thanks to our expert teams.