Artist Start

Higher visual arts education and working practice

• You have been working as a professional visual artist for at least 1, but less than 4 years.
• You are artistically active in the visual arts and in that capacity embedded in the professional visual arts practice in the Netherlands and/or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
• Artist Start grants cannot be used to finance study. You may not make use of an Artist Start grant while attending courses, including bachelor, master, graduate or postgraduate programmes.
• At the time of your application, you may not be receiving any other financial support from the Mondriaan Fund that covers the same costs.
• Applications can be submitted up to 4 years after completing your studies. The date of the diploma or degree, or the date you ended your studies if you did not graduate, is taken into account. Artists who have been practicing professionally for 4 or more years can apply for an Artist Basic grant.
• Visual artists who have completed a master’s degree programme may apply up to 4 years after the date of their degree or, if no degree was obtained, the date of leaving that programme. If there is a period of time between obtaining the bachelor’s degree and starting the master’s programme, this interim period will be deducted from the four-year limit. The interim period is considered part of the professional art practice.
• Participation in a post-academic or post-graduate programme, such as the Rijksakademie, de Ateliers, the Jan van Eyck Academy, BAK or EKWC, is considered part of the professional art practice.
• Periods during which the applicant is studying do not count towards the duration of the professional practice. An exception to this is participation in post-academic or post-graduate programmes: these periods are considered as professional practice.
  Visual artists who have followed a master in visual arts programme without a bachelor in visual arts beforehand can apply up to 2 years after leaving the master’s programme. The date of the degree or diploma will be taken into consideration.

If no higher arts education has been followed

• The applicant must then have a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 4 years of professional practice as a visual artist. The moment when the artist first presents his or her work within the professional visual arts circuit is considered the start of the professional practice. A recent (less than 3 months old) registration extract from the Kamer van Koophandel (KvK, Chamber of Commerce) or comparable foreign organization must be included to confirm that you are registered as a visual artist.

Previous applications

• Only one Artist Start grant is awarded to any artists.
• An artist who has previously been rejected on the grounds of artistic performance may not apply for an Artist Start grant within 12 months after the first application date.
• An Artist Start grant may not be applied for during the term of any other financial support from the Mondriaan Fund if the board believes that the contribution could cover the same costs.

Taxable income

• The taxable income of an Artist Start applicant must not exceed € 55,000 in the period for which the grant would apply.