The Statens Kunstfond can become even better at helping visual artists with, among other things, application guidelines and better letters. These are some of the recommendations the foundation has received from a focus group consisting of visual artists.
The participants in the focus group study had signed up themselves on the basis of an open invitation from the Statens Kunstfond. The purpose was to find out what visual artists who apply for support think about the foundation's current support schemes, pools, response letters, refusals and service in general, and what can be done better.
And overall, the conclusion is that the foundation can become better at helping visual artists with clear letters, better application instructions and better advice, says the Statens Kunstfond now in a press release.
Satisfied users, but room for improvement
Various user surveys have previously shown that there is great satisfaction with the guidance and service that the Statens Kunstfond offers visual artists who apply for support. But there is also feedback that shows that especially application instructions, rejection letters and advice can be improved.
Based on the focus group survey, the foundation has noted many proposals for both small and large improvements. Here are some of the most important:
- Clearer reasons for refusal: According to the law, the Statens Kunstfond is obliged to give precise reasons for refusal based on the support criteria. Since the main criterion for support is artistic quality, it is not possible to avoid reasons for refusal that refer to quality in particular. But the Statens Kunstfond will continue to try to improve language and wording in the rejection letters, so that the reasons for rejection are clearly communicated.
- Shorter instructions: Several artists say that they find the scope of the application instructions on www.kunst.dk to be unmanageable. The intention is to provide applicants with relevant information, but in future the application instructions must be made shorter and only the information that is important at the time of application must be highlighted.
- More advice: In order to make it easier to see what Statens Kunstfond attaches importance to in processing applications in addition to the described criteria, Statens Kunstfond will in future prepare a list of good advice and tips for the application, which artists can choose to read if they need to before that. It could, for example, be information that you, as an applicant, are writing to a specialist committee and therefore do not need to formulate yourself more fully than in other contexts.
- Greater impact in the public debate: In general, the artists demand that the Statens Kunstfond becomes more visible and impactful in the public debate about the role of art in society and about the importance of the fund in that connection. It falls well in line with the fact that the Statens Kunstfond is in the process of increasing the visibility of how art makes a difference for citizens throughout the country.
– 30 June 2017.