SPOT grants - general information

SPOT grants are intended to increase the visibility and improve the presentation of The Hague's artists and art scene. The scheme takes account of new forms of presentation and distribution.

There are three SPOT grant categories:
Individuele tentoonstelling (Individual Exhibition)
Groepstentoonstelling (Group Exhibition)
Documentatie (Documentation)

The Individuele tentoonstelling and Documentatie SPOT grants are specifically intended for artists who are registered in the artist database of Stroom. 
The SPOT Groepstentoonstelling grant scheme has a broader scope and can also be applied for by Hague-based collaborative ventures, presentation venues, artists' associations, artist-run initiatives and independent curators based in and outside The Hague. Only non-profit organisations may apply and are eligible for SPOT funding.
The exhibition grants are intended to support presentations of artists' work in professional exhibition venues. 
Presentations at art fairs, biennales and museums abroad are also eligible for SPOT funding, as are presentations of work in the context of an artist-in-residence programme. Such presentations should emphatically be of an audience-friendly nature. SPOT grant applications for a workshop, seminar, symposium or artist's talk will not be accepted for review.

The SPOT grant application process
Applications for a SPOT grant may be submitted throughout the year, and exclusively in digital form. Please visit the Stroom Den Haag website to check whether there is any budget remaining for the quarter in question. Available funding is specified per quarter.
SPOT grant applications need to satisfy a number of substantive requirements, which differ from one grant type to the next. Please refer to the information sections on the individual SPOT grant types for a description of the grant's specific framework, the required information and the review criteria.

An application for SPOT funding will only be accepted if it: 
• Satisfies the requirements that have been set for it;
• Has been received before the established deadline;
• Is complete.

Applications that concern an exhibition that is already being set up, an exhibition or presentation that has been organised by a Dutch museum or the Dutch government or a design fair/exhibition will not be accepted for review.
In addition, before submitting an application, individuals who are registered as a professional artist in the Stroom database are required to update their CV and visual documentation on the website www.haagsekunstenaars.nl. Stroom will not review any SPOT grant applications by Hague artists until this condition has been met.
Within the Stroom grant scheme, a specific proposal may only be awarded 1 grant. It is not possible to simultaneously submit PRO and SPOT applications for one and the same proposal.

Budget 
Stroom requires PRO Grant applications to conform to a standard budget template (modelbegroting). This template can be found on the Stroom Den Haag website. The financial report submitted by the recipient at the end of the supported project also needs to conform to this budget template. Compensations in kind will not be subsidised.
The Richtlijn Kunstenaarshonoraria (Guideline for Artists' Fees) is intended as a guideline for both artists and museums to establish a more professional contract and negotiation practice in the context of exhibitions/presentations without a commercial purpose (i.e. sale of the presented work). Visit www.kunstenaarshonorarium.nl for further details. Stroom endorses this guideline and encourages artists to reach an agreement on this matter with any Dutch institutions organising a presentation of their work. In concrete terms, this will means the organising institution may pay the requisite artist's fee - meaning that this fee will not be eligible for funding via a SPOT grant. 

Grant amount
The SPOT grant scheme has a maximum amount that can be awarded to an individual applicant per calendar year. This maximum amount varies from one grant type to the next and is subject to certain conditions.

The annual maximum for SPOT Individuele tentoonstelling grants is € 1,500; or € 2,000 in the case of funding for exhibitions abroad. 
The minimum grant amount within the SPOT Individuele tentoonstelling grant scheme is € 400, not including VAT. Applications for amounts lower than this minimum will not be accepted for review.

The maximum SPOT Documentatie grant amount is € 600. 
The minimum grant amount within the SPOT Documentatie grant scheme is € 150, not including VAT. Applications for amounts lower than this minimum will not be accepted for review.

Individual artists may apply for an annual maximum of € 1,500 in SPOT funding (either in the form of a SPOT Individuele tentoonstelling grant or grants, a SPOT Documentatie grant, or a combination thereof). If the funding has been awarded for an exhibition abroad, this annual maximum is increased to € 2,000.

The annual maximum for SPOT Groepstentoonstelling grants is € 3,000; or € 4,000 in the case of funding for exhibitions abroad. Applicants may apply for a maximum of 2 SPOT Groepstentoonstelling grants per calendar year, to a maximum amount of € 6,000 per year. 

Stroom's contribution will not exceed 75% of the exhibition and documentation budget that is eligible for public funding. 

The SPOT grant budget is distributed over 4 quarters.
If the quarterly maximum of the grant budget is reached, no more applications can be submitted for that particular quarter. This will be announced on the Stroom website.

Advice
Applicants are free to call Stroom for advice over the telephone, or even request a consultation interview, before submitting their SPOT grant application. In the case of a SPOT Groepstentoonstelling application - and only in the case of this grant type - applicants may also ask Stroom to review the draft application beforehand.
Recommendations made by Stroom in this context will not affect the ultimate review of the grant application.

Review
Stroom will determine whether the SPOT grant application satisfies all the relevant requirements and conditions. If this is the case, the applicant will be awarded a grant and will receive a letter of allocation stating the maximum funding that can be claimed for the project.

Grants are paid from the budget for the calendar year and - within this calendar year - the quarter in which the exhibition opening takes place. 

Subsequent stages
After the review, the applicant will receive a formal letter confirming whether the application has been approved or rejected. In the case of a positive review, the letter of allocation will state the maximum funding that can be claimed for the project. This letter also summarises the specific conditions that apply to the awarded grant.

Terms, conditions and stipulations in the case of grant allocation
Certain terms and conditions apply when a grant has been awarded within the SPOT grant scheme. These can be found in the explanations accompanying the grant type in question.

Allocation and payment of the grant
Within the SPOT grant scheme, the definite grant amount is only allocated and paid out after the recipient has satisfied the requirements set for the final report. This final report needs to be submitted no later than 1 month after the end date of the supported exhibition or no later than 3 months after the realisation of the supported documentation project.
If it turns out a specific grant allocation is unjustified, Stroom Den Haag will revoke the grant. If it turns out the allocated amount was too high, Stroom Den Haag will reduce the awarded amount and will reclaim any excess amounts that have already been paid out. In cases where a project is not fully realised before the close-out date of the grant allocation, Stroom will claim the entire advance amount.
If the submitted budget also outlines other grants/sources of funding for the proposal, Stroom expects the recipient to indeed obtain these supplementary funds if he or she has been allocated a grant. 

Request to extend the grant term
If the recipient is unable to realise his or her exhibition or documentation before the grant close-out date, he or she has the option of requesting an extension of the grant term. This request should include the recipient's motivation for the extension and his or her suggested new end date. If this request for an extension has not been submitted and approved by Stroom Den Haag before the original close-out date, the recipient will no longer be entitled to the grant in question.

Interim changes in the supported project 
Any changes to the funded exhibition or documentation - be they financial or substantive - need to be communicated to Stroom in advance and are subject to Stroom's explicit written approval. In cases where the recipient expects to make substantial changes to the execution, budget or financial plan of his or her exhibition or documentation, he or she is required to notify Stroom in advance, in writing. The PRO Grants Advisory Committee will review the proposed changes and determine whether the recipient is allowed to continue using the allocated grant in this new situation.

Final report
Recipients of a SPOT grant are required to submit an account at the end of the project term. This takes the shape of a written substantive report and financial report, accompanied by the relevant documentation. 

Substantive report
The substantive report consists of a summary of the original proposal, a description of the concrete realisation of the supported exhibition or documentation project and an evaluation of the results, including the recipient's findings and conclusions. 
Further information can be found in the sections that deal with the details of the SPOT exhibition grants.

Financial report
Financial reports are required to conform to a standard budget template (modelbegroting) as found on Stroom's website. 
The financial report consists of a statement of income and expenditure, which is entered in the ‘realisation' column. This statement can be effectively compared to the original budget (as approved by Stroom), which is entered in the ‘budgeted' column. The recipient is required to provide a satisfactory explanation for any significant deviations between budgeted and actual amounts.

Initially, the grant recipient is only expected to submit the aforementioned statement of income and expenditure. However, he or she is required to ensure that all specific documentary evidence in support of the submitted financial final report (such as original copies and/or photocopies of receipts and invoices, bank statements, etc.) are stored correctly and can be reviewed by Stroom for at least two years after the grant's allocation date. At Stroom's request, the recipient is required to provide all information that could be considered relevant to the performance of a financial audit. The grant recipient is required to ensure that his or her accountant or administrative office fully complies with all audit activities undertaken by or by order of Stroom. 

The grant recipient is expected to ensure that all his or her documentation and records for the project are complete and well-ordered and that they present a correct and up-to-date overview of income and expenditure in the context of the project. The administrative records need to include satisfactory documentation for all stated income and expenses that provides clear insight into the nature and scope of the recorded goods and services. 

Documentation
Documentation can consist of a photo impression of the funded exhibition, publicity materials, reviews, a copy of the printed material realised within the project or a link to the realised/updated website.

Digital submission of the final report
PRO grant recipients are required to submit their final report (i.e. the substantive and financial reports and the accompanying documentation) in digital form.
Please refer to the formal criteria listed for each grant type to determine which guidelines apply when submitting these documents.

The sections below provide the following information for each SPOT grant type:
• Further information on the grant type in question;
• An application form for the grant type in question.