About Grand Plan
Grand Plan was created by a trio of artists in Spring 2021 to award £1,000 grants to artists of colour in the UK.
What’s our approach?
We want this fund to be as simple, accessible, and as transparent as possible. And we hope that our grant-making practice can inspire larger institutions to reassess some of their own processes and the barriers faced by so many artists.
Since launching in May 2021, we’ve awarded over 150 grants. Our grantees have written children's books, made short films, produced Indian classical dance, purchased pottery kilns, launched trans music nights, set up black community archives, and so much more.
Why £1,000 grants?
Countless artists’ careers are kick-started by an invisible, middle-class, leg-up. The gift of money, permission, time or equipment from a family member or personal networks.
Our £1,000 grants extend this transformative opportunity to those who don’t have access to it.
Why artists of colour?
The combined impacts of race and class still have significant impacts on who gets to be an artist in the UK:
Only 2.3% of named artists in GCSE Art exams are from Black or South Asian backgrounds
Just 3% of the workforce in museums, galleries and libraries are from minority ethnic backgrounds
Black and minority ethnic people in the UK are still 2.5 times likelier to be living in poverty
(Data sourced from a combination of research by the Runnymede Trust and Freelands Foundation)
Our Team
Grand Plan was jointly created by Tom Rosenthal, Marina Diamandis and Siddharth Khajuria in Spring 2021.
Tom and Marina are now two of our Trustees, and we retain an intentionally-small structure (0.8FTE) with all staff paid the same, flat day rate.
Savena Surana - Program Manager
Savena is an award-winning creative communicator and producer. For over seven years she’s told stories of social good for clients such as the United Nations Foundation, Museum of London and Lego, crafting narratives that inspire change and challenge the status quo. She is also the co-founder of Identity 2.0, a creative studio working at the intersection of digital rights, identity and technology.
Siddharth Khajuria - Director
Siddharth’s an independent producer, curator and artist. He develops creative projects that emerge from unlikely communities of artists, researchers, writers, poets, designers, curators, activists, and more — often co-creating new forms of work to explore a shared question. Most recently, he was Director of Science Gallery London, before which he worked at the Barbican for a decade.
Our Judges
Final decisions on the grants we award are always made by an independent panel of practising artists. Each year, we appoint a new panel of four judges from across the arts and cultural fields and our judges for 2023/24 are:
Abigail Maria Sol
Abigail has worked in the arts and culture sector for nearly a decade as a Director of Theatre and Film, Dramatherapist, and Entrepreneur.
"Access to funding and resources is one of the greatest barriers we face as creatives, particularly those of us who come from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds. I am honored to be a part of the Grand Plan judging panel and contribute to making the arts more accessible.”
Balraj Samrai
Balraj is a musician, facilitator, youth worker and record label director.
“I believe in the ethos and mission of Grand Plan and I'm excited to be a judge on their panel. It's important to support and uplift creative people of colour working on cultural projects to access resources as applying for funding is often long-winded and overcomplicated.”
Matthew Arthur Williams
Matthew is a visual and sound artist, photographer and DJ based in Glasgow.
“As someone who has been award a number of opportunities from panels in the past i know how vital it is for your practice and existence to be seen in this way. It is only my duty at this stage to continue supporting others on their journey.”
Zakiya Bishton
Zakiya is the founder of Mindwalk Yoga, creative content consultant and part of the founding team for the radical pro-black funding organisation, Baobab Foundation.
“Supporting marginalised creatives in the UK is essential to ensure the unseen, unheard, and unfinanced are centred. The Grand Plan is an exciting initiative I’m so excited to participate in.”
Acknowledgements
A huge thank you from us (the co-founders Marina, Sidd and Tom) to our community of judges, ambassadors, supporters, and the people whose advice and guidance has helped us develop Grand Plan. April Brown (one of our first judges) gave us wisdom and direction at the earliest stages. Sophie Chapman worked with us to develop the application process, and managed the fund for its first year. Alison Godfrey helped us navigate the world of the Charities Commission. Anna Leach’s wizardry helped make the website as warm and approachable as it is. Lucy Musgrave (now a Trustee) has provided so much invaluable guidance and grown the community of people who are supporting our work. Eleanor Nairne advocated for the fund and introduced us to some of our supporters. And our previous judges who have reviewed applications with a wealth of dedication and care: Travis Alabanza, Akinola Davies, Antonia Odunlami, Nikesh Shukla, Bolanle Tajudeen, Keisha Thompson and Sarra Wild.
Thank you to all these people, and all those we haven’t mentioned!
Our Trustees
We’re registered as a charitable incorporated organisation (1193497) in England and Wales, and governed by three trustees:
Marina Diamandis
A critically acclaimed Welsh-Greek singer songwriter. Her four albums to date have charted in the top 10 in the UK as well as achieving international acclaim. Of her involvement in 'Grand Plan' she says “art mirrors culture and history. Great artists absorb the fabric and issues of our times and reflect them back to us. So, If we want to see real change, we need to see and hear more work from non-white artists. We all digest art everyday and it has the power to influence our perspectives, therefore we need to change the culture within creative industries to make sure everyone has equal opportunities, regardless of the colour of their skin.
Tom Rosenthal
A singer-songwriter who’s released 5 albums, amassing well over 250 million streams. He’s done so as an independent artist and has commissioned many creative people in fields such as animation, illustration, and filmmaking. He has always sought to work with young and developing artists and give them opportunities to express themselves free of restrictions. He has seen how too many labels, especially the big ones, use exploitative structures that restrict artists in several ways. Recently, he’s sought to do something about this by setting up Tinpot Records, an independent record label designed with the artist at its heart. He’s aiming to move beyond just musicians and do a similar thing with Grand Plan.
Lucy Musgrave
Lucy Musgrave is the founding director of Publica an urban design practice and a director of Publica’s Community Interest Company which promotes a vision for inclusive and collaborative city-making. Over the past 30 years she has been contributing to a global conversation on urbanism and social architecture and how the vitality of urban neighbourhoods can be cared for in the midst of rapid growth and development. Lucy is a Design Advocate for the Mayor of London, with Publica contributing research and policy to make the city child-friendly, to have practical tools to understanding how we can plan and design the city for women and gender diverse people, and leading the policy agenda on the evening and night-time. Lucy has been an ambassador for Grand Plan since its inception.