💰 Funding & Opportunities

Grants · Bursaries · Learnerships

Discover funding, bursaries, learnerships and financial support available to South African artists and creatives.

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Grants & Funding

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Bursaries

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Learnerships

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Internships

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Residencies

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Learnerships — Get Paid to Learn

SETA-accredited learnerships offer monthly stipends (R2,500–R3,500) + nationally recognised NQF qualifications. Open to unemployed SA youth aged 18–35.

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Internships — Gain Real Industry Experience

Paid internships at leading SA arts institutions and broadcasters. Monthly stipends of R4,500–R8,000. Open to graduates and final-year students in arts, culture and creative disciplines.

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Bursaries — Study Without the Debt

NSFAS and private bursaries cover full tuition, accommodation and living costs for qualifying arts students at SA universities and TVET colleges.

💰 GrantNational Arts Council of SA

National Arts Council (NAC) Project Grant

Supports South African artists and arts organisations to produce, present and distribute arts and culture across all disciplines.

Up to R500,000Rolling applications

MusicVisual ArtFilmTheatreDanceCraft

💰 GrantArts & Culture Trust

Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Grants

ACT supports individual artists and organisations committed to arts development and community engagement across SA.

R10,000 – R200,000Quarterly

MusicVisual ArtCommunityEducation

💰 GrantDept. of Sport, Arts & Culture

DSAC Presidential Employment Stimulus (PESI)

Government stimulus providing income support and work opportunities for South African artists and creative practitioners.

R3,000 – R20,000/monthProgramme cycles

EmploymentAll DisciplinesGovernment

💰 GrantDept. of Sport, Arts & Culture

Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) Grant

Funds arts and culture events, festivals, exhibitions and flagship projects that grow the creative economy in South Africa.

R50,000 – R5,000,000Annual – rolling

FestivalEventsHeritageCommunity

💰 GrantNational Film & Video Foundation

NFVF Film Development Fund

Supports development, production, post-production and distribution of South African films and screen content.

Up to R2,000,000Annual – March

FilmDocumentaryAnimationTVScreenwriting

💰 GrantSABC / ICASA

SABC Education Content Fund

Funds production of educational and local South African TV content across all provinces and languages.

R100,000 – R2,000,000Annual

FilmTVEducationMedia

🎓 BursarySAMRO Foundation

SAMRO Foundation Scholarship

Music composition scholarships and bursaries for South African musicians and composers pursuing formal music education.

R50,000 – R150,000Annual – June

MusicCompositionScholarshipEducation

🎓 BursaryRecording Industry of SA

RISA Music Bursary

Bursary support for South African music students and emerging recording artists through RISA member labels.

VariesAnnual

MusicRecordingEmerging Artists

💰 GrantSasol / Pretoria Art Museum

Sasol New Signatures Art Competition

One of SA's most prestigious open visual art competitions for painters, sculptors and mixed media artists.

R100,000 (top prize)Annual – July

Visual ArtPaintingSculptureCompetition

💰 GrantSpier Arts Trust

Spier Arts Trust Grant

Supports South African visual artists in developing sustainable careers, residencies and public art projects.

R20,000 – R200,000Rolling

Visual ArtCraftResidencyCommunity

💰 GrantCDI / WESGRO

Craft & Design Institute (CDI) Support Fund

Supports ceramists, textile artists, jewellers, woodworkers and product designers to develop market-ready craft work.

R10,000 – R80,000Quarterly

CraftCeramicsTextileDesignFashion

💰 GrantCity of Johannesburg

City of Joburg Public Art Programme

Commissions public murals, graffiti, sculptures and outdoor art installations celebrating Joburg's creative communities.

R30,000 – R500,000Annual

GraffitiMuralPublic ArtStreet Art

💰 GrantInnovation Bridge / SEDA

Innovation Bridge AI Arts Grant

Supports South African artists and studios integrating AI, generative art and emerging tech into creative practice.

R25,000 – R250,000Rolling

AI ArtDigitalInnovationTechnology

💰 GrantMeta (Facebook/Instagram)

Meta Spark Creative Fund

Funds AR, AI and digital creative projects for creators on Facebook and Instagram, open to African creators.

USD $5,000 – $25,000Annual

AI ArtARDigitalSocial Media

💰 GrantBritish Council South Africa

British Council SA Arts Grants

Supports South African artists collaborating internationally with UK creatives — music, theatre, visual arts, literature.

R50,000 – R500,000Rolling

InternationalCollaborationAll DisciplinesUK

🌍 ResidencyGoethe-Institut South Africa

Goethe-Institut SA Artist Residency

Artist residency in Germany for South African visual artists, musicians and performers. Full accommodation provided.

Full residency + stipendAnnual – September

ResidencyVisual ArtMusicInternationalGermany

💰 GrantSwiss Arts Council

ProHelvetia Swiss Arts Council SA

Cultural exchange grants for South African artists collaborating with Swiss institutions in music, visual art and performance.

CHF 5,000 – 50,000Rolling

InternationalResidencyCollaborationMusic

📋 LearnershipCATHSSETA / SETA

CATHSSETA Creative Arts Learnership

Accredited NQF learnerships in music production, performing arts, visual arts and film — includes monthly stipend. Open to unemployed youth 18–35.

Full stipend + training (NQF 4–6)Annual intake – February

LearnershipMusicFilmVisual ArtNQFStipend

📋 LearnershipMERSETA

MERSETA Design Learnership

Manufacturing and design-focused learnerships for young creatives in fashion, textile and industrial design sectors.

R3,500/month stipendAnnual intake – March

LearnershipDesignFashionTextileNQF

📋 LearnershipMICT SETA

MICT SETA Digital Media Learnership

Structured learnership programme in digital media, animation, video production and web content creation for SA youth.

R3,000/month stipendAnnual – January

LearnershipDigital MediaFilmAnimationNQF

📋 LearnershipSASSETA

SASSETA Arts & Security Learnership

Community arts and events management learnership combining arts administration with practical community engagement skills.

R2,800/month stipendRolling intake

LearnershipCommunity ArtsEventsNQF

📋 LearnershipW&RSETA

W&RSETA Retail & Creative Learnership

Retail learnerships for creatives in fashion, craft and design retail environments, combining NQF training with workplace experience.

R2,500 – R3,200/monthAnnual intake

LearnershipCraft RetailDesignFashion RetailNQF

🎓 BursaryNational Student Financial Aid Scheme

NSFAS Arts & Culture Bursary

Government bursary covering full tuition, accommodation and meals for qualifying students in accredited arts and culture programmes at SA universities.

Full tuition + living allowancesAnnual – November

BursaryTuitionStudentsAll DisciplinesUniversity

🎓 BursaryOppenheimer Memorial Trust

Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Bursary

Supports talented South African students pursuing creative degrees at leading SA and international universities, including postgraduate studies.

R50,000 – R200,000Annual – July

BursaryUniversityAll DisciplinesPostgrad

🎓 BursaryMarket Photo Workshop

Market Photo Workshop Bursary

Provides training bursaries, equipment and mentorship for emerging South African documentary and fine art photographers.

Full bursary + equipmentAnnual

PhotographyDocumentaryBursaryJohannesburg

🎓 BursaryZenex Foundation

Zenex Foundation Arts Bursary

Bursaries for South African students studying arts, music and creative subjects at TVET colleges and universities of technology.

R25,000 – R80,000/yearAnnual – August

BursaryMusic EducationVisual ArtStudentsFET

🎓 BursaryRCL Foods / Lereko Trust

RCL Foods Next Generation Bursary

Holistic bursary for creative and design students covering tuition, accommodation, meals and a monthly stipend.

Full tuition + R5,000/monthAnnual – September

BursaryDesignCreative BusinessUniversity

💼 InternshipNational Arts Council of SA

NAC Arts Administration Internship

Structured 12-month internship programme in arts administration, grant management, and creative sector development for recent graduates.

R5,000 – R8,000/monthAnnual – January

InternshipArts AdminJohannesburgGraduate

💼 InternshipNational Film & Video Foundation

NFVF Film Industry Internship

12-month internship in film development, script assessment, funding coordination and post-production management at NFVF offices.

R6,500/monthAnnual – February

InternshipFilmMediaGraduateJohannesburg

💼 InternshipIziko Museums of South Africa

Iziko Museums Creative Internship

Work-integrated learning placement at Iziko Museums covering curation, heritage management, education and community programming.

R4,500/monthAnnual – March

InternshipMuseumsCurationHeritageCape Town

💼 InternshipSABC

SABC Digital Media Internship

Hands-on internship in broadcast media, digital content production, journalism and programme management at SABC.

R5,000/monthQuarterly intake

InternshipBroadcastMediaDigitalProduction

💼 InternshipZeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa

Zeitz MOCAA Curatorial Internship

Prestigious internship at Africa's largest museum of contemporary art — assisting curators on exhibitions, acquisitions and public programmes.

R5,500/monthAnnual – May

InternshipCurationContemporary ArtCape TownMuseums

💼 InternshipDSAC

Department of Arts & Culture Internship

Government internship programme for graduates in arts, culture, heritage and creative economy policy implementation across SA.

R6,000/monthAnnual – November

InternshipGovernmentArts PolicyCultureAll Provinces

💰 GrantZeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa

Zeitz MOCAA Emerging Artist Award

Annual award for emerging African contemporary artists, including a solo exhibition at the Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town.

R100,000 + solo exhibitionAnnual

Visual ArtContemporaryEmerging ArtistsCape TownAward

💰 GrantDSAC / IDC

Spring Creative Economy Fund 2026

2026 spring cycle funding for creative enterprises and collectives producing new work, festivals and community programmes.

R50,000 – R750,000Closes 30 Sep 2026

All DisciplinesEnterprise2026Government

💰 GrantNational Film & Video Foundation

NFVF 2026 Production Cycle

2026 production funding call for South African feature films, documentaries and animation projects with distribution plans.

Up to R2,500,000Closes 15 Oct 2026

FilmDocumentaryAnimation2026Production

📋 LearnershipCATHSSETA

CATHSSETA 2026 Youth Learnership Intake

2026 national intake for unemployed youth (18–35) into accredited NQF learnerships across music, film and performing arts — monthly stipend included.

Full stipend + NQF trainingCloses 30 Aug 2026

LearnershipYouth2026MusicFilmStipend

🎓 BursaryOppenheimer Memorial Trust

Oppenheimer Trust 2026 Postgrad Bursary

2026 postgraduate bursary call for South African creatives pursuing honours, masters and doctoral studies in arts disciplines locally and abroad.

R80,000 – R250,000Closes 30 Nov 2026

BursaryPostgrad2026UniversityAll Disciplines

Disclaimer: Grant and bursary information is updated regularly but may change. Always verify deadlines and eligibility directly with the funding organisation. SAACN is not affiliated with these funders and does not guarantee accuracy of third-party information.