Form Filling & Gut Busting

What a relief - finally the form to the Arts Council, along with all accompanying material has at long last been sent off. The form to try and secure another year's grace for Spoken/Written in the form of support for a big new back issues website and an information stall to tour events to tell more people about Spoken/Written Bulletin S.W., and gain not just more readers, but crucially advertisers, contributors, sponsors, donors and all interested in partnerships of all kinds. It can be an isolated job being an editor of an e-newsletter - so much work done via e-mail and on the net. So it's time to get some printed editions out there and a stall in the 3D world! 

   It was an epic task, what with all the usual admin for the Collective, rehearsing, recording new audio for the website, preparing for workshops, chasing up shops about books, and always the newsletter itself with its suddenly looming deadlines (not to mention all the stuff going off with the Collective and related matters - probably worth starting a separate blog for!), it's been tough fighting for the space to get together the new application. A 30 page form, a 7 page proposal, 4 pages of supporting testimonials, 2 page resume and 15 pages of a recent edition...making for a 57 page application...No wonder I've been so wired the last couple of weeks. I just hope it'll be worth all the work...Awful thing is, after all that, you end up feeling like you've done the work for the money asked for, already...!

   Thinking of grants and funding, one of the artists in the Collective came up and took us storytelling faction out to lunch recently and she asked me about funding applications. I told her more than she could possibly have wanted to know, and she suggested I host grants consultations, saying there was a real need for people unaccustomed to these huge forms, and missing or not hearing about things like the Arts Council's advice days, to get advice from another source. Then it occurred to me that a London based friend's partner and media producer/video artist had also asked my opinion on funding, and had even asked for a copy of a previous application proposal! So, if anyone needs advice on filling in one of these things...

   Did I mention it's a relief to have got the form off? Now just a six week wait.........