The Scheme enables individuals, groups, and organisations to plan, develop, be represented in, and deliver artistic projects in line with ACM’s Strategy2025 – primarily addressing communities and creative practitioners. The Scheme pursues Strategy2025 by actively seeking to:

• Nurture creative potential and support its development, encouraging co-creation, collaboration and experimentation;
• Invest in artistic excellence by encouraging creative risk taking, experimentation, and active engagement of communities while supporting quality projects as well as identifying talent and encouraging its development;
• Document and explore Malta’s past and present artistic and cultural communities, as well as Malta’s cultural and artistic legacy;
• Promote and support diversity, inclusivity and community development – enabling collaborative arts projects, knowledge development and dissemination of good practice;
• Provide disadvantaged groups with accessibility to a wide range of artistic and cultural experiences and opportunities for meaningful engagement with art and culture
• Facilitate the creation of platforms for young promising talent, intergenerational engagement, as well as intercultural engagement.

In line with ACM’s overarching commitment to cultural rights, this Scheme recognises the central role of artists and cultural and creative practitioners in the creation and production of diverse artistic and cultural expressions. The Scheme encourages applicants to address specific community needs, such as cultural participation, solidarity, social justice, environmental responsibility, sustainability, community development, and increased holistic well-being. The Arts Support Scheme supports artists, cultural and creative practitioners and communities to:

• Take creative risks to discover new opportunities, develop their knowledge, and develop new work through experimentation and collaboration;
• Carry out exploratory research projects that allow them to test new work, engage, be duly represented, collaborate, and develop their ideas further.

This scheme comprises of two main areas of focus each subdivided into types of activities. Applicants may choose to focus on one or more of these areas or types of activities within their projects:

1. Artistic practice , namely:
o Artistic projects – including the production and programming of quality-driven creative work – which push the boundaries of engaging creative experience for the artists, cultural and creative practitioners, the relevant sectors, and the communities;
o Production relating to Malta’s artistic communities, designed to document Malta’s cultural and artistic legacy in an open and sustainable manner.

2. Community and audience engagement, namely:

o Artistic production and/or programming which enable and promote cultural participation, creative expression, and/or awareness and appreciation relating to the collective memory, and the cultural and artistic legacy of the community;
o Exploration of participatory and innovative approaches to audience engagement set to deepen engagement with existing and new audiences through artistic practice and/or research;
o Exploration of ways to improve access to the arts, and to promote inclusive participation and greater diversity within the arts.


This scheme provides support to artists, cultural and creative practitioners, and communities, throughout the development and implementation phases, and covers the time and resources needed for creative professionals and their collaborators to develop their projects.

In line with its commitment to supporting the arts through its sustainable and accountable approach to public investment:

Applicants are encouraged to give due consideration, as appropriate, to the principles explained in the Right to Culture – Resource Pack when developing their proposal in relation to how they engage with communities and the considerations of everyone’s cultural rights in their work. This resource pack is aimed at increasing awareness regarding inclusivity and supporting the implementation of cultural rights in our day-to-day practice.

Applicants are also expected to give due consideration, as appropriate, to the main principles outlined in the Charter for the Status of the Artist when proposing their operational and programming activities to ensure fair and just working conditions for artists. These include the right to artistic freedom, improved accessibility, formal/informal/non-formal skill recognition, decent socio-economic conditions, non-discrimination and equity, ethical considerations and adherence to intellectual property rights and international labour law. The Charter for the Status of the Artist is meant to provide a dynamic frame of reference for any legislation, policy, or initiative which directly or indirectly impacts artists and cultural and creative sectors, ensuring that any action is aligned with the ultimate long-term vision of elevating the status of artists in Malta in line with their tangible value to society.