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The Mo Siewcharran Fund announces 2024 grants
The Mo Siewcharran Fund has awarded its latest round of grants, with recipients including the Women’s Prize Trust and academic publisher The Association of Laboratory Medicine.
In its sixth year, the funding body continues to support a breadth of creative organisations in its mission to enable young people from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse backgrounds to break into publishing and theatre.
The grants contribute to the salary of an intern for a six-month traineeship and a full programme of support from Creative Access to ensure the trainee thrives in their new role.
One of this year’s successful recipients, the Women’s Prize Trust, supports women writers at all stages of development, providing coaching and resources to unlock potential, boost confidence and increase skills.
Claire Shanahan, executive director of the trust, said: “At the Women’s Prize Trust, we value the full spectrum of talent, which applies to all of us who work in the world of books as well as writers and creatives. So we are thrilled to be awarded the funding to take on a trainee from an ethnically diverse background as they embark on their career.
“Thank you to the Mo Siewcharran Fund for the financial support and to Creative Access for their expertise and recruitment services; we know that we will be a stronger organisation benefiting from this grant and the role it enables.”
Other recipients include the non-profit academic publisher the Association of Laboratory Medicine (ALM) the Edinburgh-based theatre organisation Imaginate and puppet theatre Little Angel Theatre.
Victoria Logan, c.e.o at ALM, said: “We are delighted to receive the Mo Siewcharran grant from Creative Access, enabling us to bring a talented intern into The Association for Laboratory Medicine. They’ll get hands-on experience in publishing and communicating scientific content to our members. We are excited to support and mentor this emerging professional, thanks to Creative Access’s generous support."
The fund was established in memory of Nielsen Books’ former director of marketing and communications Mo Siewcharran by her husband John Seaton, who wanted to honour Siewcharran’s work on improving accessibility and representation in publishing and theatre.
Seaton said: “Two highlights for me in the year are when the applicants for the Mo Siewcharran Fund are assessed. The successful companies this time bring to the fore publishing and theatre. They do so with panache and with a fierce sense of needing to bring about fairer and more representative workplaces.”
Josie Dobrin, executive chair at Creative Access, said: “Each cohort of trainees represents real positive change and brings fresh perspectives to the creative industries. I am confident that this group will follow in the footsteps of previous interns who have gone on to achieve incredible things.”
The fund is opening for other theatre, publishing or music organisations wishing to support internships for those from under-represented communities. For more information, contact lucy@creativeaccess.org.uk. The deadline for the next round of applications is midday 29th November 2024.
