Artists win funding as part of new arts grant

Developing your Creative Practice is a £14.4m fund from Arts Council England with Fareham-based circus artist Katherine Kavanagh, who will learn to audio describe for circus performance and Jeannie Driver, a visual artist working with installation and sculpture in Portsmouth.

Phil Gibby, area director for Arts Council England, said: '˜It is immensely exciting to see the first round of awards being made for Developing Your Creative Practice; we're delighted to help unlock the creative talent in this region.

'˜Not only will this fund provide time for individual creatives to innovate but helps to build the foundations of our world-class cultural sector; this round in particular will help to strengthen literature and cross-artform disciplines in the South West.'

Applications for the second round of the fund are now open with grants ranging from  £2,000 to £10,000 to help creatives do work related to any of the Arts Council's supported disciplines.