OPEN CALL – The Second Life creative grants, for work responding to Edwin Morgan’s legacy.

Submissions closed.

The Second Life Artist Grants open call invites applications for one of eight £750 grants, funded by Creative Scotland to celebrate #EdwinMorgan100. The call is open to to Scottish community groups, writing collectives, artists, curators, writers, actors, playwrights, musicians and creatives who propose to give Morgan’s work a ‘second life’. This will create opportunities to generate new responses, which will then be showcased during this centenary year, both digitally and (in the future) physically. This open call is a part of a wider grants and commissions scheme, more details can be found here. Supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

About Edwin Morgan:

Edwin Morgan (1920–2010) led a remarkable and wide-ranging creative life. He published 25 collections of his own poetry, and translated hundreds of Russian, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French and German poems too. He also wrote plays, opera libretti, radio broadcasts, journalism, book and drama reviews, literary criticism, and artworks. His work continues to be published, produced, taught and celebrated.

Visit About Edwin Morgan, Edwin Morgan Resources, Selected Poems and Centenary Press pages on this website to gain insight into the life and work of Edwin Morgan. Watch our Open the Doors! video to hear readings and reflections on Edwin Morgan from friends and admirers and read about the Edwin Morgan Centenary to gain insight into the themes and projects that we have worked on so far.

How to apply:

Any individual or group based in Scotland is encouraged to apply. We are particularly interested in applications that respond to Edwin Morgan’s legacy from new and exciting angles.

Creative Scotland have supported eight grants worth £750 each. To make the application as straightforward and accessible as possible, we have limited the application to three questions: How do you describe your practice? How does Edwin Morgan’s legacy relate to your practice? and What would you like to do with a £750 Second Life grant and how would you like to see this project realised (please include what, where, when, how, why)? We do not require any CVs and uploading or linking to previous work is optional.

At the heart of this initiative is a desire to reach people from a range of creative backgrounds and diverse working lives who may not otherwise be aware of Edwin Morgan’s work or see its relevance to themselves/ their communities. We are particularly excited to hear from people who feel under-represented in current conversations and are eager to add their voice to the Edwin Morgan Centenary programme.

Applications will be reviewed to a long list by Siân McIntyre (Centenary Project Manager) and a representative from the Edwin Morgan Trust. Final selections will be made by the Cultural Advisory Panel, which includes Hannah Lavery (Scottish Poetry Library, poet and playwright), Iain Morrison (Fruitmarket Gallery, poet), Robert Softley Gale and Mairi Taylor (Birds of Paradise Theatre), Eoin Dara (DCA), and Seona McClintock (Producer, Gaelic and Traditional Arts Eden Court)

The online application form can be found HERE – deadline is July 20, 2020. We hope to announce the grant awards by the end of August, and expect that the grant-aided work would be completed by February 2021. 

Contact centenary project manager Siân McIntyre at contact@edwinmorgantrust.com for any further details.

The Second Life Grants are supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

About the funders:

Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery.