Seed Awards Frequently Asked Questions

WHEN IS THE FINAL DEADLINE FOR MY APPLICATION FOR THE PRINCE CLAUS SEED AWARDS?

You can submit your application online until February 23, 2023 at 23:59hrs Amsterdam Time. After this time, our online system will automatically close and you will no longer be able to submit your application.

THE COUNTRY WHERE I AM FROM/LIVE IS NOT LISTED ON THE ELIGIBILITY COUNTRY LIST. CAN I STILL APPLY?

No. To be eligible, an individual must come from and be living and working in one of our eligible countries. Please note that if you are a national of one of our eligible countries but are currently living and working in a country not listed in our eligible country list you are not eligible to apply. 

We understand that there is a dire need for support in many places in the world. The Prince Claus Seed Awards are financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the framework of contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, for which the focus is on OECD’s DAC listed countries. The OECD’s DAC stands for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Development Assistance Committee. Due to the provenance of our funding, Prince Claus is limited to grant Seed Awards only in OECD’s DAC listed countries.

WHAT DISCIPLINES DOES THE PRINCE CLAUS FUND SUPPORT?

We hold a very broad disciplinary understanding of arts and culture. We do not, however, support academic research, work that is purely developmental, or art practices that are not socially and politically engaged. 

CAN I SEE WHAT THE APPLICATION FORM LOOKS LIKE BEFORE SUBMITTING ONE?

Yes. You can create an account/log-in into our Prince Claus Awards Platform and see the application form and its steps before filling it out and submitting your application. Once you begin filling out the form, you can save it at any point and return to complete it later as long as this is before the deadline. 

WHAT IS A GOOD PITCH? WHAT SHOULD I INCLUDE IN MY PITCH?

A pitch is a presentation where you introduce yourself, your work and most importantly, you answer to the question What drives you as an artist/author/cultural practitioner?. We ask you to present your pitch in the format of a video or audio media of maximum 3 minutes long. We encourage you to be creative – this is our chance to get to know you a bit better!

WHAT IS A REFERENCE LETTER AND WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN ONE?

A reference letter is a short letter which is written by a person or on behalf of an organisation that knows your work and/or has worked with you in the past, and can recommend your work. The letter should explain how the referee knows your work and why they recommend you for the Prince Claus Seed Award. The reference letter should be signed and contain the contact details of the person referring you. 

WHAT ARE SUPPORTING MATERIALS?

Supporting materials refer to any information about you and/or your work that have not been shared within the application form but are still important to be considered during the assessment phase. These could include, but are not limited to: samples of your previous or current work (images, videos, texts, etc.), a portfolio, reviews, interviews, extra references, or any links to social media or YouTube that you would like to share. 

HOW DO I KNOW THAT MY APPLICATION HAS BEEN RECEIVED?

You will receive an email confirmation within 10 minutes after submitting your application. If you have not received a confirmation, please make sure that the application is completed and that it was submitted. Additionally, you can check the status of your application on the Prince Claus Awards Platform under ‘My Submissions’. A completed application should read ‘submitted’ rather than ‘in progress’. 

WHEN WILL I HEAR ABOUT THE FINAL DECISION ON MY APPLICATION?

You will receive an email with the final decision on your application by September 2023.

AM I ELIBIGLE TO APPLY AGAIN IF MY APPLICATION WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL THE LAST TIME?

Yes. Provided that you are eligible, you are always welcome to apply again this year if your application has not been successful the previous time.

AM I ELIBIGLE TO APPLY AGAIN IF I HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED A PRINCE CLAUS SEED AWARD?

No. The Prince Claus Seed Awards is awarded on a one-time only basis; successful award recipients are not eligible to apply again to the Prince Claus Awards. You are, however, encouraged to apply for the Prince Claus Fund Mentorship Awards.

CAN I RECEIVE INDIVIDUAL FEEDBACK ON MY APPLICATION?

Due to the number of applications received we are not able to provide personalised feedback to all applicants. The Prince Claus Fund will provide all non-successful applicants with a general report on the common mistakes we received overall in the applications and will share the major points for improving applications in the future.