Scholarship Program: Downloads & FAQs

Eligible are artists in the early stages of their work with existing main residence or a focus of work in Bavaria (deadline: January 01, 2022):

• Artists who complete the last year of study at an art college or at a comparable training institution or
• within the period 01. January 2016 - May 01, 2022 have completed an artistic study or training at a Bavarian art college or at a comparable educational institution,
• within the period January 01, 2016 - May 01, 2022 by other means an artistic activity for the first time or after a break of considerable length have resumed.

Parental and care periods are not counted towards the five-year period. The time limit is extended by the corresponding period.

For the creditability of child-raising periods, § 56 of the Sixth Book of the Social Code (SGB VI) applies.

An artist is anyone who performs an artistic activity within the meaning of § 2 KSVG.

An artist is also considered to be someone who combines his or her artistic activity with a pedagogical or art mediating activity, provided that the artistic part is not completely subordinate.

The application must be accompanied by the following evidence:

• Proof of studies in the last year of study at an art college  or at a comparable educational institution according to No. 4.1 for applicants (for applicants of the 6th call: before the beginning of the 6th call). Call: before the start of the 6th call) or
• Proof of studies completed within the deadline (January 01, 2016 - May 01, 2022) according to No. 4.2 of the guidelines at an art university or a comparable educational institution (for applicants of the 6th call: before the start of the 6th call). Call: before the start of the 6th Call) or
• Proof of completed other artistic training within the deadline (January 01, 2016 - May 01, 2022) according to No. 4.3 of the guidelines (for applicants of the 6th Call: before the start of the 6th Call).
• For writers and literary translators, proof of a first publication or a first published literary translation in the period 01 January 2016 - 01 May 2022 is generally considered as proof of artistic activity.

Cross and re-entering artists and artists from disciplines for which there is no educational institution in Bavaria: 

• current proof of insurance through the Artists' Social Insurance Act and proof of the start of insurance in the period 01. January 2016 to -  01 May 2022 or
• current proof of membership in an artistic professional association or in a collecting society such as VG Wort as well as proof of the start of membership in the period 01 January 2016 to -  01 May 2022.
• A statement of the break of considerable length or
• current reference from a competent person or body (professional association, agency, label, publisher) providing information on the membership started or resumed in the period 01 January 2016 to -  01. May 2022 started or resumed artistic activity of the applicant can give or
• proof of the establishment of an artistic business (tax advisor, tax office) in the period 01 January 2016 to -  01 May 2022.

The free text information is a necessary part for the application and must be filled in. The fields "List of works" and "Awards" are not mandatory fields, however.

Career and education as well as the list of works and the awards and sponsorships experienced so far can be presented in tabular form.

To ensure comparability for the examiners, background and education must be entered in the text fields. (This can be done by copy&paste method)

Here the previously achieved as well as the desired artistic goals for the development of a professional artistic existence should be briefly described. The application form contains for this purpose guiding questions such as:

• Where am I currently in my artistic development?
• What have I achieved so far artistically?
• What goal am I striving for in my artistic development?
• What would be a meaningful next step in my work biography?
• What do I want to achieve in the next few years?
• What topics do I want to explore artistically?
• With whom I would like to realize a joint project?
• Which social effectiveness I want to develop with my work?
• In what way I want in a few years a full-time artistic activity (content orientation, targeted clients, programs for project funding, income from royalties, planned PR and advertising measures, etc.)?

The fellowship is intended to enable artistic work on a concrete project in the respective period of approval. The project may have already been started before this period. Please describe one project to be realized with the help of the grant. Eligible projects include started and not yet completed as well as new artistic, art education, or art pedagogical projects, such as. compositions, visual works, literary publications and translations, comics, films and film-related projects, forms of interpretive art practice (performances of works and their preparation, development of musical programs), performances and staging of own works, the conception and implementation of presentations of one's own work (also in digital form), digital or hybrid formats for art and art education formats, models for networking and interaction between artists and with art recipients, as well as research projects, also in the sense of artistic research. A project is also a combination of individual related projects or parts of a group project, which must be clearly distinguished from each other. In particular, musicians can be cited here for the development of work interpretations. The creation of necessary conditions for the described project through investments are considered part of the project and can also be described: Measures to optimize artistic skills and methods (advanced training, online courses, mentoring), acquisition of working materials, material and digital expenses. A quantification of the costs does not have to be provided as part of the application.

Scholarships are awarded with a lump sum of €5,000 to support work on an artistic project in the respective grant period (but the project may have been started before). You can use this sum for the conception or implementation of an artistic project, as well as for any investment measures that contribute to the fact that you can carry out this project optimally and that contribute to the further development of your artistic work and professionalization.

Examples of a use of the scholarship (This list is not exhaustive):

Writers*innen, Comic Zeichner*innen, literary translators*innen: Your project: You write on a literary work, draw a comic, translate a substantial literary work. With the scholarship you can realize this project and finance for it individual coaching, editing or mentoring or other types of training with all the associated costs. You can purchase and optimize the material and digital equipment you need for your professionalization and artistic creation itself, especially for the realization of your project, books, drawing materials, hardware and software, have a website set up, develop virtual presentation formats. You can use the grant to set up and realize digital readings and workshops. You can hire service providers for this and take advantage of consulting services. In the second half of the year, research trips may be possible again. Of course, you can also fund labor- and cost-sharing group projects through the grant. Possibly you have a writing office or studio, for which costs are incurred.

Musicians, dancers, actors: Your project: You are working on a difficult program, a composition, you are preparing a performance. With the scholarship you can realize this project and purchase necessary instruments and sheet music, costumes or working materials and stage equipment of any kind. You can take lessons, finance individual coaching, mentoring or training, or pay for other expenses related to your artistic activity that will help you practice your skills and develop your abilities. You can use the grant to set up and realize digital performances and presentations, workshops and teaching models. You can purchase the necessary digital tools for this, create a website, hire service providers for this, and take advantage of consulting services. Of course, you can also fund labor- and cost-sharing group projects through the grant. You may have a studio or practice space.

Facial artists: Your project: You are working on a body of work or preparing for an exhibition. With the scholarship you can realize this project and cover ongoing costs incurred for it: Studio rent and material costs, tools and equipment, artistic research, third-party services, archiving measures, purchase and optimization of hardware and software, develop creation of a website or other presentation formats, coaching, workshops, mentoring and any kind of training with all associated costs, hiring service providers.

Since it is hardly possible to quantify the loss of income in the case of newcomers to the profession, a description of the individual situation is sufficient here. As far as possible, exhibitions, events, readings or performances that will be cancelled in the next few months can be mentioned here. If it is possible to quantify revenue losses, this is helpful for documentary purposes. A presentation of revenues and shortfalls is not expected.

With the grant notice, you are required to submit an electronic activity report with approximately 5,000 characters of text. Links/references to websites may be provided.

Costs are not to be quantified here.

The activity report is to be submitted unsolicited by applicants of the 1st to 4th Calls by 31. August 2022, for applicants of the 5th and 6th call by February 28, 2023 at the latest to the office named in the notice of approval.

Application and approval documents as well as receipts are to be kept for five years.

No, costs and expenses are not to be reported in the activity report.

No costs are to be quantified or substantiated within the scope of the activity report.

The funding agencies are supported by Bayern Innovativ (bayernkreativ), especially in the professional and technical support of the application process as well as the professional review of the application requirements. Expert reviewers can be included for the technical review.

The final review, approval and payment is carried out by the following granting agencies: 

• Government of Upper Bavaria
• Government of Lower Bavaria
• Government of Upper Palatinate
• Government of Upper Franconia
• Government of Middle Franconia
• Government of Lower Franconia
• Government of Swabia

The scholarship is transferred to the applicant's account as a one-time fixed amount of 5,000 euros immediately after the granting office issues the notice of approval.

The approval period for the 1st to 4th Call covers January 01, 2021 - June 30, 2022, for the 5th and 6th Call the period January 01, 2022 - December 31, 2022 (RL 5.1). The early start of the measure is generally considered to have been granted (RL 6.2.4). Awarded funds from the Scholarship Program Bavaria must be used for the funded project within the respective approval period. A use of funds after the grant period is not permitted. "Use" means concretely: the funds must be spent or a legal reason for the use must be created (for example, a contract for an expenditure must be concluded). By the general granting of the early start of measures, projects already started before the beginning of the respective grant period can also be funded.

Any investment measures within the grant period that have contributed to the implementation of your project can be applied. This includes, for example, all types of training, working materials such as drawing materials, books, hardware and software, tools, instruments, hiring external service providers, research trips, instruments, costumes, stage equipment, creation of websites, rent for workspaces, recording studio, etc.

The working fellowships are awarded in the form of time-limited calls for an application ("calls"). The start and end dates for the individual calls are announced in each case by the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and the Arts. Only one application attempt is possible per applicant per call. Whoever has already received a grant or approval of a grant from the scholarship program cannot submit another application.

The sixth call starts on May 01, 2022. Applications can be submitted for this until June 30, 2022.

A breakdown of costs incurred by applicants is not to be provided as part of the application process.

You can also apply for the scholarship if you receive benefits under SGB II (e.g. unemployment benefit II), but the scholarship benefits should be reported immediately to the social benefits approval offices. The Job Center will decide whether the scholarship will be counted as income towards your SGB II benefits. To ensure that your basic welfare benefits are not reduced by the Jobcenter, you should be able to prove that the scholarship benefits are not used to secure your livelihood.

The application or the grant is always related to one individual. However, the project described may be part of an overall project in which several people are participating. The application must identify the project as part of a larger project and describe the part of the project related to the individual. It is not mandatory that all other artists participating in this project submit an application.

A scholarship can not be granted if other public funding is already being disbursed for the project on the basis of other legal provisions (prohibition of double funding). Scholarship benefits granted under the Free State of Bavaria's scholarship program "Young Art and New Paths" are counted as public support benefits pursuing a different purpose and not as revenue. These are thus only counted towards benefits under the Free State of Bavaria's solo self-employment program in the event of overcompensation.

Applications can only be submitted by students for projects that are carried out outside of their studies or are planned for the time after graduation. The scholarships are not aimed at supporting a graduation or examination performance, but are intended to facilitate the entry into a professional artistic existence. Study or final projects are obligatorily realized within the framework of the studies and with the use of state resources. However, projects that build on and further develop final theses may be eligible for funding.

In any publication, performance, exhibition or other form of public presentation of your project, reference must be made to the financial support provided by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts. For this purpose, the following wording is suggested: 

"This project was supported within the framework of the scholarship program of the Free State of Bavaria Young Art and New Ways." The use of the logo of the Bavarian State Ministry is requested. You can find the logo at this link: https://www.stmwk.bayern.de/medien/stipendium_jknw/logo_stipendium.zip