Travel Bursary: Pilgrim’s Art Postcard

About PAP

Designed to support low-income, early-career creatives to travel across the Midlands, PAP offers creatives funding to cover minor travel and related expenses. This travel bursary makes it easier to visit art shows, events, exhibitions, and other inspiring places that you might not be able to get to otherwise. Ten grants of £50 each will be given out during this second round of funded PAP trips.

PAP supports early-career creatives engaging with the Midlands arts scene. To capture these journeys, we ask bursary recipients to send a purchased or handmade postcard from their pilgrimage to us, to join our unique collection. These keepsakes document the places, reflections, and creative practices of those exploring cultural and creative venues in our region.

Successful applicants will receive £50 to support the expenses following their art pilgrimage. The bursary is designed to cover the complete cost of your proposed journey and could be used for:

• Travel: covering transportation expenses within or around the Midlands. We encourage environmentally friendly travel options wherever possible.
• Food and drink, or other essential costs incurred during your travels.
• Admission fees: Paying for entry to exhibitions, galleries, or other arts events.
• Pilgrimage documentation: Purchasing a postcard, or the materials to make one, and a 2nd class stamp to document and share your journey with us
• Access Needs: where required.

The application procedure is simple to reduce the amount of work required of creative applicants.

Key Dates

Round 2 of PAP is open for applications until 11pm on Tuesday the 30th of June 2026. There are ten bursaries of £50 to award in round 2. Journeys funded in round 2 must be complete by the 31st of July 2026.

Following Submission 

Once you submit your application to PAP, the team at No Jobs in the Arts will carefully review your submission and contact you with the outcome as soon as possible. No Jobs in the Arts will take into account the purpose of the trip, the overall value of investment, and the geographic distribution of creative destinations in the Midlands region when choosing bursary recipients. Please allow up to three weeks for notification after sending in your application. Thanks for being patient while we review each application thoroughly.

Successful Pilgrimage

On receipt of a grant, successful applicants must undertake their pilgrimage and invoice for the full (£50) grant before the 31st of July. You must provide evidence of your pilgrimage (such as tickets or receipts). 

After completing your pilgrimage, we ask that you send us a postcard from your travels within 4 weeks of your journey. Sending a postcard remains optional, but is highly encouraged. This simple act offers a moment for self‑reflection and contributes to a lasting legacy of documentation from the project.

Eligibility

PAP is open to early-career creatives over the age of 18, who are working in a visual arts discipline, in the Midlands. Whether you are working, studying, living, making, or visiting in or around the Midlands (the central part of England), you are welcome to apply.  No Jobs in the Arts does not use a single standard to define what constitutes an “early-career creative,” nor do we means-test income. It is entirely up to you to decide if this applying to this bursary would benefit your creative journey.

Additional Notes

• The Award Limits: we aim to maximise the fund’s reach, ensuring that every pound spent offers the best value to support as many creatives as we can. Successful applicants are eligible to receive only one grant award from PAP, across all rounds. If you are not successful in a particular round, you are welcome to re-apply in future rounds.
  
• Complete Journeys: The PAP fund is meant to finance the entire planned itinerary. It cannot be used for expenses incurred retrospectively or to part-fund more expensive trips.
  
• Tax Responsibilities: Successful applicants are responsible for managing their own tax affairs and payments with HMRC. If you receive benefits or any other form of financial support, it is your responsibility to check whether the grant may affect your entitlements or payments.

Supporters

PAP is jointly supported by No Jobs in the Arts, CVAN East Midlands, and CVAN West Midlands. If you are interested in supporting this project, you can make a donation here.

Add your logo here: we’re searching for partners to help support Round 3. Contact the team if this is you’d like to support creative journeys in the region.

Questions

If applicants require any further assistance related to PAP please contact the No Jobs in the Arts team at nojobsinthearts@hotmail.com