Initial support of £72,000 available to projects from people of colour
Sky Arts boss Phil Edgar-Jones and Netflix’s global production strategy chief have signed up as ambassadors to a charity offering grants to people of colour.
Screen industry talent can apply to the Grand Plan charity, which is offering three £1,000 grants per month for at least its first two years.
Edgar-Jones and Netflix’s Sophie Taitt are two of the ambassadors alongside the likes of former National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner and Dishoom owner Shamil Thakrar.
The charity was co-founded by Marina Diamandis – also known as the singer Marina and the Diamonds – alongside singer/songwriter Tom Rosenthal and former BBC producer Siddharth Khajuria.
Ideas will be assessed by a panel of judges and the Grand Plan hopes to increase its number of grants shortly, develop means of supporting grantees beyond the £1,000 and hire one-to-two staff.
The founders were driven to act after observing cultural organisations “perform public commitments to change but failing to follow up with meaningful action” in the wake of last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests.
“In our different professional and creative lives, we’ve observed some of the sustained and structural barriers which contribute to an under-representation of artists and creative people of colour in British arts and culture,” they added.
“With Grand Plan we’re trying to do something nimble and useful, and have been struck by the warmth and generosity with which our community of ambassadors have responded in recent months.”
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