Open Call Contemporary Use of Crafts

This open call is designed to strengthen equal collaboration between designers and artisans to stimulate the contemporary use of crafts. The open call offers room for explorations, new uses or applications of traditional and contemporary crafts.

- This open call is open to projects initiated by professional artisans, designers, makers, observers, agencies or cultural institutions that are related to the fields of design, architecture and digital culture or any crossovers between them;
- The applicant is registered in the Commercial Register of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce or one of the Chambers of Commerce that fall within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Please note:
- Within this open call, grants are not awarded to institutions that have a structural grant relationship with the Dutch Government or that have received a grant from the Fund under the Four-year Institutional Grant Scheme for the Creative Industry 2021-2024;
- Additional conditions apply to collaborations within the workshops and development labs of theTextile Museum (TextielLab), the European Ceramic Work Center (EKWC), and the Glass Museum’s glassblowing studio, as these institutions have a structural grant relationship with the national government. Please contact the fund prior to submitting an application involving one of these parties.

Applications can be made for various activities, such as projects focusing on:
- experiments with materials and techniques;
- research by design or artistic research in which knowledge sharing plays a role;
- a special collaboration within a workplace or lab;
- the development or application of innovative (bio)materials or local raw materials within a craft;
- the application of (digital) technologies within craft processes;
- Preservation of craft methods, materials or techniques.

Examples of previously supported projects within this open call can be found here.

what applications cannot be submitted?

Applications cannot be submitted for:
- regular or ongoing activities;
- the acquisition of property, materials or equipment that will have a value beyond the context or after the end of the project;
- regular company costs, such as rent and office costs.

In order to prepare the application, it is important to acquire the right information based on the following documents:

Grant Application Guidelines

The Grant Application Guidelines - Open Call provide guidance and tips on preparing a grant application. You can use them to draw up your application as completely as possible.

Open Call Contemporary Use of Crafts

Applications are assessed on the basis of the Open Call Contemporary Use of Crafts #4, which describes the reason and objective, design challenges, phases, criteria and procedures. This also states what information and documents your application should consist of. This information is also listed in the second step in ‘steps to take‘ below.

Open Call Grant Scheme

Applications are also assessed on the basis of the Open Call Grant Scheme, which describes the general conditions, grounds for rejection, manner of publication, submission procedure, assessment, the award and any grant obligations.

Applications will be assessed by the advisory committee of this open call. This is done based on the following criteria:

- the proposal’s innovative character, including the intended added value for the craft;
- the artistic/artisanal character of the project;
- the effectiveness in design, methodology and expertise involved;
- the significance of the intended collaboration.

acceptance

When you have submitted your application, the Fund Desk will check if your application complies with the formal requirements of the Open Call Grant Scheme.

assessment

An independent advisory committee will assess your application on the basis of the Open Call Grant Scheme and the Open Call Contemporary Use of Crafts #4. The committee advises the Fund‘s Board.

decision

The Board takes account of the committee’s advice in its decision on the rejection or provision of the grant. You will be notified about the result in a decision.

accountability

If you receive a grant from the Fund, then you will have to comply with the obligations. Two weeks before the conclusion of your project, you will be asked by email to submit your accountability form in the application environment.

Open Call Contemporary Use of Crafts #4
Open Call Grant Scheme
Grant Application Guidelines - Open Call
Format Budget and Finance Plan