LGW x Henry Moore Foundation x Tia Collection Exhibition Grant 2026: £20,000 for a UK Sculpture Exhibition

LGW x Henry Moore Foundation x Tia Collection Exhibition Grant 2026: £20,000 for a UK Sculpture Exhibition

The LGW x Henry Moore Foundation x Tia Collection Exhibition Grant is a focused opportunity for a UK non-profit organisation planning a qualifying solo sculpture exhibition. The fund was created by London Gallery Weekend, the Henry Moore Foundation and the Tia Collection for an institutional project connected to an artist’s work or exhibition presented by a gallery participating in London Gallery Weekend from 4 to 7 June 2026.

Applications are open from 7 September through 2 October 2026. One successful applicant will receive the full £20,000 fund. The Henry Moore Foundation and the Tia Collection are each contributing £10,000. The official guidance says the application is for a solo exhibition of an artist presented by a participating London Gallery Weekend gallery, and the exhibited medium must be sculpture. Sculpture can include sound, installation, performance and other three-dimensional work.

This is not a general artist bursary and it is not a fund for an individual’s studio practice. The applicant is the UK institution or organisation that will deliver the exhibition. The organisation must have operated as a non-profit for at least 12 months. The opportunity is therefore most useful for a gallery, museum, arts centre or similar non-profit body that can document its status, its history and its relationship to the qualifying London Gallery Weekend presentation.

Key details

The amount is unusually clear, but the eligibility is narrow. Before preparing a full application, confirm all parts of the connection: the gallery participated in London Gallery Weekend, the artist or exhibition was presented during the specified 4 to 7 June dates, the proposed project is a solo exhibition, and the exhibition’s medium is sculpture in the broad sense used by the partners.

What the £20,000 grant supports

The official special-fund page describes the award as an institutional project grant. It does not publish a line-by-line eligible-cost list on the announcement itself, so applicants should use the application form and the applicable Henry Moore Foundation terms to build the final budget. The fund is intended to help turn a qualifying exhibition idea into a public institutional project. That could include the practical costs that make a sculpture exhibition possible, subject to the fund’s rules and the offer letter.

The fund is jointly built by three partners, but it is presented as one £20,000 award to one successful applicant. The Foundation and the Tia Collection each contribute £10,000. Do not describe this as two separate £20,000 grants or as a £20,000 award for the artist personally. The recipient is the organisation responsible for the exhibition.

The word “emerging” in the official description matters. The project should have a clear relationship to the artist’s work or exhibition shown through the London Gallery Weekend network. A proposal for an unrelated artist, a general programme of community workshops, or a personal studio project would not address the published purpose. The exhibition also needs to be solo. A group show that includes several artists may be interesting, but it is not the project described in this call.

The medium requirement is not limited to traditional carved or cast objects. The Foundation says the exhibited medium can include sculpture that takes the form of sound, installation, performance or other three-dimensional work. Applicants should explain the sculptural basis of the proposed exhibition in plain language, especially where the work is interdisciplinary. Do not assume that a project qualifies simply because it is contemporary art. Make the connection to sculpture easy for a reviewer to see.

Who can apply

The lead applicant must be a UK institution or organisation that has operated as a non-profit for at least 12 months. The Foundation’s general eligibility guidance says it supports non-profit organisations and welcomes applications from around the world, but this special fund specifically asks for a UK institution or organisation. Treat the special-fund rule as the controlling condition for this opportunity.

The 12-month rule concerns the organisation’s operation as a non-profit, not merely the date a website was launched or the date a project was conceived. A new organisation should gather the documents that show when it began operating in the required capacity. If the applicant is a museum, gallery, university unit, charity, incorporated arts organisation or another structure, explain its legal and operating status accurately and use the documents requested by the Foundation.

The project must be an institutional solo exhibition. That means the organisation should be able to describe its role as producer, host or presenting institution and should have a credible plan for delivery. The official page allows the artist to be of any nationality or location, but the exhibition must involve an artist whose work was presented by a gallery participating in London Gallery Weekend from 4 to 7 June 2026. An artist’s nationality is not a substitute for the required London Gallery Weekend connection.

The exhibited medium must be sculpture. The partners expressly include installation, performance, sound and three-dimensional work, so an interdisciplinary proposal can fit. The application should still identify what makes the project a sculpture exhibition and how the public presentation will be structured. A project that uses sculpture only as a small incidental element may be a weak fit because the official guidance says the exhibited medium must be sculpture.

Finally, both the lead applicant and the organisation must be registered on the Henry Moore Foundation grants portal. Registration is an administrative requirement, not proof that the project will be funded. If the organisation is not listed, the Foundation’s general guidance asks applicants to contact the Grants Manager with the organisation’s full postal address, website, general enquiries email, telephone number, charity number where applicable, and confirmation that it has operated as a non-profit for at least 12 months.

A practical fit check before you apply

Use a four-part fit check before drafting. First, identify the London Gallery Weekend participating gallery and the 2026 presentation that establishes the connection. Save the relevant public record, exhibition page, catalogue entry, press release or correspondence. The Foundation may not need every item, but you need enough evidence to describe the link precisely rather than relying on a vague statement that the artist appeared during London Gallery Weekend.

Second, define the proposed solo exhibition. Name the artist, the host organisation, the venue, the expected public format and the central exhibition idea. If the artist’s work has changed since June, explain how the new exhibition grows from the presented work. The call is about an institutional project emerging from that presentation, so the relationship should be visible in the curatorial logic.

Third, test the medium. Write one short paragraph that explains the sculptural character of the work for a reader who has not seen it. For installation, sound or performance, describe the spatial, material, bodily or three-dimensional experience. This is not a place for dense theory. A clear account of what visitors will encounter is more useful than a long list of art-world references.

Fourth, check the organisation’s capacity. A strong concept will still need a realistic venue, production schedule, budget, artist agreement, public opening plan and responsible staff. The grant is competitive and one organisation receives the fund. Make the proposal show that the exhibition can be delivered, not merely that it would be desirable.

How to request the application link and apply

The special-fund guidance says applicants should contact London Gallery Weekend from 7 September 2026 to request a link to the application form. The published contact is [email protected]. In that message, identify the organisation, the proposed exhibition, the qualifying gallery connection and a contact person. Keep the request short and factual. The email is a route to the form, not a replacement for the application.

The lead applicant and organisation must also be registered on the Henry Moore Foundation grants portal. The Foundation’s general grant instructions say that an individual account is required and that, for grants other than Research and Travel, the personal account should be linked to the organisation applying on whose behalf the application is made. If the organisation is not yet listed, begin registration immediately. The Foundation says registration requests must arrive one week before the application deadline to be considered for that round. For the 2 October deadline, that implies a practical registration-request date of 25 September 2026, subject to confirmation from the Grants Manager.

The Foundation’s general application FAQ says the dynamic form always asks for the project name, aims, start and end date, project budget, details of other funding already in place, and information about artists involved. A first application also requires details of the organisation’s non-profit status. The special form may add fields or change the order, so use the live form as the final checklist.

Complete the eligibility screening honestly. The Foundation says applications that manipulate the eligibility criteria will be rejected. Do not stretch a group exhibition into a solo exhibition, describe a non-profit partner as the applicant when it is not responsible for the project, or imply a London Gallery Weekend connection that cannot be documented. A clear ineligible answer saves time and protects the organisation’s credibility.

Timeline and deadline

The application window runs from 7 September to 2 October 2026. The official page does not publish a time of day in the special-fund paragraph, so do not assume that a late-night submission will be accepted. Request the link, create or confirm the required accounts and submit well before the closing date.

The Foundation’s general grants guidance says each round is open for one month, partial applications are not considered, and applicants can save work and return to it before the deadline. It also says eligible applications are assessed first, shortlisted projects go to the Grants Committee, and applicants are contacted after the committee decision. Those general timings help with planning, but the partners should be treated as the authority for any special-fund selection timetable.

Work backward from 2 October. In the first phase, confirm the qualifying gallery and artist connection and request the application link. Next, resolve portal registration and assemble the organisation-status documents. Then develop the exhibition plan, budget and artist materials. Reserve a final review period to check the solo-exhibition description, sculpture fit, dates, funding request and attachments. A complete application sent early is safer than a rushed submission that depends on a portal or email response on the final day.

Budget and evidence strategy

Build a project budget that shows how the £20,000 would be used and what other support is already secured or being sought. The general Henry Moore guidance says the application form asks for other funding in place, and its project-cost FAQ says the Foundation generally expects to see other funders because it will not usually cover a whole project. The special-fund page does not spell out a separate cost-share rule, so read the live form and terms carefully. Do not treat a general rule as a confirmed special-fund condition without checking it.

Make the budget specific. Separate artist fees, fabrication or production, transport, installation, access, interpretation, documentation, marketing and other project costs where relevant. Include fair artist payment. Explain which costs are essential to the proposed solo exhibition and which are covered by organisational resources or other funders. A reviewer should be able to trace the request from the exhibition plan to the numbers.

Evidence should match the claims. If the proposal says the artist’s work was presented by a participating gallery during London Gallery Weekend, provide the clearest supporting reference available. If the organisation has operated as a non-profit for more than 12 months, prepare the relevant status evidence. If other funding is confirmed, identify it accurately. If it is pending, label it as pending rather than presenting an application as an award.

After an award: terms, marketing and reporting

The special-fund page says the Henry Moore Foundation’s £10,000 contribution is subject to the Foundation’s standard terms, conditions, marketing and reporting requirements. The general guidance says a successful applicant must accept or decline the offer through the grants portal within three months. To claim a grant, the applicant submits a marketing plan, obtains full marketing approval before publication, and completes the documentation and claim form with the required signed offer and evidence.

These obligations should shape the project plan from the start. Assign one person to manage the grant account, keep the offer letter and supporting evidence together, and leave time for marketing approval before posters, listings or other promotional material are published. Do not add partner logos or describe the award publicly in a way that skips the Foundation’s approval requirements.

The Foundation’s general reporting guidance says the final report, visitor data form and SORP report are due within six months of the project ending. The special fund may contain additional instructions, so follow the offer letter and the live terms. Keep attendance information, photographs, project outputs, budget records and changes to the project as it develops. If the venue, dates or artists change, contact the Grants Manager rather than waiting until the claim or reporting stage.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most serious mistake is missing the special connection. This fund is not open to any UK sculpture exhibition. The project must emerge from an artist or exhibition presented by a London Gallery Weekend participating gallery during 4 to 7 June 2026. Confirm that fact before drafting.

Another mistake is applying as an individual artist. The applicant must be a UK institution or organisation operating as a non-profit for at least 12 months. An artist can be central to the project, but the organisation submits and delivers the institutional exhibition.

Do not describe a group show as a solo exhibition, and do not leave the sculpture element implicit. Interdisciplinary work can fit, but the proposal needs to explain its sculptural character. Also avoid presenting the £20,000 as automatic full project coverage. The fund pays one successful applicant, and the application still needs a credible budget and delivery plan.

Finally, do not leave registration until the deadline week. The Foundation says new organisation registration requests should be received one week before a deadline. Request the application link and resolve portal access early enough to handle questions without sacrificing the quality of the project narrative.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the grant?

The total fund is £20,000, and one successful applicant receives the full fund. The Henry Moore Foundation and the Tia Collection each contribute £10,000.

Who is the applicant?

The applicant is a UK institution or organisation that has operated as a non-profit for at least 12 months. This is an institutional exhibition grant, not a personal-practice award.

Does the exhibition have to feature a traditional sculpture?

No. The official guidance says the exhibited medium must be sculpture and may include sound, installation, performance and three-dimensional work. The proposal should make the sculptural basis clear.

Can the artist be based outside the United Kingdom?

Yes. The special-fund information says the artist can be of any nationality or location. The applicant and organisation still need to meet the UK non-profit requirement, and the artist or exhibition must have the required London Gallery Weekend connection.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2 October 2026. The application window opened on 7 September 2026. The official page does not state a closing time in the special-fund notice, so submit early.

How do I get the application form?

Contact London Gallery Weekend at [email protected] from 7 September 2026 to request the application link. The lead applicant and organisation must also be registered on the Henry Moore Foundation grants portal.

Can a new organisation apply?

Only if it has operated as a non-profit for at least 12 months and meets the other conditions. If it is not already listed on the portal, the organisation should request registration at least one week before the deadline and provide the information requested by the Foundation.

Official links and next steps

Start with the Henry Moore Foundation’s official grants and further-information page. Read the section titled “LGW x HMF x Tia Collection Exhibition Grant,” then contact London Gallery Weekend at [email protected] for the application link. Use the Foundation’s grants portal for account and organisation registration.

Before submitting, document the 4 to 7 June 2026 London Gallery Weekend presentation, confirm that the proposed exhibition is solo and sculpture-focused, verify the organisation’s UK non-profit status and 12-month operating history, and prepare a realistic project budget. Request portal registration early, complete every required field and submit before 2 October 2026. The live form and the grant terms control if any detail changes after this guide was checked.