Talent Development

What characterises the design sector is the great diversity of practices, disciplines and approaches. But there is also an important common denominator. Product designers, landscape architects, coders, illustrators and biodesigners – all of them can only realise their social added value when investment is made in the development of their specific artistic and creative capacity. Both the starter who has just graduated from art college, and the self-taught designer or the advanced talent have a need for new impulses and investments.

Talent Development Grant Scheme

The Talent Development Grant Scheme offers designers and professional makers in the field of design, architecture or digital culture the space to invest in their own artistic and professional development for one year. Research, experiment and substantive deepening go hand in hand during this year with the search for collaborations and methods to make their work visible, and therefore with strengthening their own cultural entrepreneurship. To connect the makers with one another and give an impetus to their network, introductory sessions and theme days are organised, and a final presentation takes place organised by the Fund.

Talent Platform

Since 2013, the Creative Industries Fund NL has supported more than 250 emerging designers and makers in establishing their personal practice through the Talent Development Grant Scheme. We showcase this on Talent Platform. We portray the individual practices of the supported designers and offer a source of inspiration for other makers and commissioners.

Open Calls

To expand the reach of the Talent Development Grant Scheme, there are open calls for self-taught makers and designers who have completed a vocational qualification. This way, talents who have developed outside of regular design education are also selected.

In addition, various open calls are continuously developed, for example for cross-sectoral collaborations, knowledge exchange between emerging makers, or to introduce young people to design culture.

Other Schemes

With the exception of the schemes aimed at cultural institutions, emerging designers and makers can also submit applications to our other grants. Applications can be submitted for projects whose theme, research question, set-up, methodology and expertise involved are determined by the applicant themselves. Such as the Architecture Kick-start Grant Scheme for small-scale projects, experiments and preliminary research in the field of architecture.