Design Trust offers grants to individual designers, curators, collectives and non-profit organisations for projects and activities that are relevant to various design disciplines. These grants support projects relevant to the context and content of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. Cities within the Greater Bay Area include: the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and the nine municipalities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province. We support innovative, thought-provoking investigations in various design disciplines from graphics, media, wearables, architecture to the built environment; and actively aim to accelerate creative design and research development of meaningful projects. These projects demonstrate originality, criticality and urgency of the research topic, and include but are not limited to: exhibitions, research projects and creative installations, that can benefit and further advocate the positive role of design in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.
DESIGN TRUST SEED GRANT fosters a culture of experimentation, testing and sharing. It is awarded to individuals seeking to kick-start a meaningful and intellectual project with social, educational, economical or environmental impact for communities. Seed Grants may support applicants who have a project in the pipeline that needs additional resources, as well as emerging designers, and young scholars. Design Trust highly encourages applicants from the region to international applicants to apply for this grant to support their research projects and prototypes focusing on Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area issues to be showcased at international venues, symposium or international biennales, and in return mutually benefit the public realm and knowledge exchange in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.
DESIGN TRUST FEATURE GRANT fosters cross-disciplinary projects focusing on the Greater Bay Area region. Projects awarded have a wide reaching audience and may be sited in an exhibition or biennale venue with international recognition and standing. This grant supports international exchanges between a Hong Kong/ China based collective with an international renowned cultural institution. It aims to excel, share and build new knowledge and unique positions on the value of design, critical research and provocative outcome. Applicants are also encouraged to submit critical and creative ongoing research proposals that advance design competency for the benefit of the public. See here for past Grant recipients.
Objectives:
- Development of research, design and culture of the Greater Bay Area internationally
- To provide funding support for the introduction of vibrant projects and events to the Greater Bay Area.
- Funding for initiatives involving non-profit organisations, designers, curators and cultural practitioners.
Grant amount:
- Design Trust Seed Grants are awarded HKD 50,000.
- Annually, selected Feature Grants are awarded and capped at HKD 300,000. This is available upon special consideration.
- Design Trust may provide full or partial funding on a case-by-case basis.
Eligibility: Applications are accepted from individuals, collectives and certified non-profit organisations who are either based within the Greater Bay Area or are seeking support for design projects related to the region.
Individuals or collectives who have already received and completed two Design Trust Feature Grants, or three Design Trust Seed Grant, are eligible to apply for Design Trust Impact Grant for their new research applications, instead of Feature or Seed Grant. Please refer to the relevant section below for more information on Design Trust Impact Grant.
Application: Applications will be reviewed following two grant cycles annually. Submission deadlines are on the 20th of April and 20th of October. Late submissions will not be considered and have to be re-submitted in the following cycle. We recommend applications to submitted at least 3 to 6 months before the project's commencement. For more details on the application process, please click HERE.