A Look Back at my DYCP Project
Or why you need to apply for funding, because you might just get it...
“I’m never successful with these things, I’m not going to even bother trying” is something I’ve heard many people say when it comes to exciting-sounding opportunities. I’ve said it myself, in my head at least, if not out loud. Or sometimes my subconscious has got there first and dismissed something before I’ve even properly considered it.
But I don’t say that now, and neither should you, because it turns out that sometimes we ARE successful! Since I was granted a load of dosh by Arts Council England from their Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) program, I’ve heard, helped and met several other ‘normal’ people who have been recipients too. So if you’re even a teensy bit tempted to apply for the next round (I think it’s in March) this is your friendly kick up the bum to DO IT.
A fun thing my brain likes to do, is provide me with all the possible barriers and potential problems I might encounter if I embark upon something. Over time I’ve got looooads better at ignoring this, and learned to have more confidence in my ability to adapt and swerve and improvise when necessary. I’m mentioning this because when I was making my DYCP application, I found it difficult to plan and budget for a whole year ahead (the length of my project) because how can I know what would happen? And guess what? I got it wrong, and the year did indeed go differently than I had accounted for, and in fact my DYCP project took a whole year longer than I could have known at the start - but it’s OK! Better than ok, actually, it’s been brilliant.
Here’s a list of some things I did thanks to Arts Council England:
Online classes with Orange Beak
Visiting Bologna Book Fair 2023
Research trips to museums and galleries
Mentoring with the marvelous Sara O’Leary
Colour Workshop with the fabulous Juliet Docherty
Picture Book Course with the bangin’ Good Ship Illustration
Bought a heap of new materials to experiment with and make new work
Gave myself TIME to dedicate to my own picture book project about…..PUFFINS
That’s an abbreviated list of course because we’re all busy people, but I wanted to write it because I want to emphasise that I could not have done ANY of these things without funding from the arts council. And I am a pretty standard issue human with all the pros and cons that involves, proving it’s entirely possible to be successful with this fund.
If you need any further encouragement to battle through the paperwork, here are some things I learnt thanks to my DYCP project:
Greater sense of confidence after being endorsed by the Arts Council
A host of new contacts met through loads of events/networking
Experience with a bunch of new materials & techniques
Resources for life gained from the excellent courses I took part in
Inspiration for future illustration projects
An better understanding of Bologna Book Fair and the global PB market
I am actually capable of sticking with a book idea through a million rounds of revising and editing when I have the time and resources I require.
That I should - and will - apply for more opportunities because I deserve them
I have now finished my DYCP journey (yuck, sorry) now, but what I learned throughout the time will stick with me and continue to inform my creative self going forward into the rest of my career. I’m so grateful to Arts Council England. And so grateful to myself too, for ignoring that fretful little voice in my head. Shhhhhh.
P.S If you want more from me about the DYCP fund and my tips on putting together a proposal, I wrote about it here. Hope it helps.x