Find out about Residencies, Scholarships, Grants and Bursaries - for Artists
Botanical artists benefit from opportunities for funding or tuition,
which helps them develop their knowledge, skills and careers as botanical artists
Botanical artists benefit from opportunities for funding or tuition,
which helps them develop their knowledge, skills and careers as botanical artists
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This page covers
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Those specifically covered are:
BOTANICAL ARTIST RESIDENCIES
Please note not all are current, but are included to provide ideas and guidance for other organisations also wishing to develop and provide support. Please let me know of any other opportunities worth highlighting to those endeavouring to develop their education, experience and skills. (please complete form at the bottom of this page) |
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
This is about the Botanical Artists in Residence Program offered by the Oak Spring Garden Foundation. The Botanical Artist in Residence Program is a three week program during which time botanical artists can create new artwork inspired by the plants found in the Oak Spring gardens and landscape.
This program supports botanical artists working to a high national and international standard who create beautiful and accurate depictions of plant species.
The Oak Spring Estate - home to the Oak Spring Garden Foundation - from above (House and gardens bottom left and Library top left) in Upperville, Virginia
THE 2024 RESIDENCY
The Call for Applications for 2026 has been published - and applications close at midnight on 31 May 2026
The Call for Applications for 2026 has been published - and applications close at midnight on 31 May 2026
- This is a copy of the 2025 OSGF Residency Handbook
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Call for Entries: Botanical Artists in Residence Program at the Oak Spring Foundation is my blog post about last year's call for submissions for residencies in 2020.
- Latterly, OSGF has run two sessions of between two and four weeks each
Our residencies are open to practitioners at all stages in their practice or research, and we understand that individuals might be at varying stages in their career and personal development when a residency might be beneficial.
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THE RESIDENCY
What is on offer
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VENUE
The residency will be at the Oak Spring estate in Upperville, Virginia - the former home of Rachel "Bunny" Mellon who was a philanthropist and patron and botanical art book and art collector.
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ELIGIBLE ARTISTS
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This residency programme is not available to those who produce:
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ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE (2020 to date)
The botanical artists selected for Residencies (of between 2 and 4 weeks) are:
The botanical artists selected for Residencies (of between 2 and 4 weeks) are:
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2020
2021
2022
2023
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2024
2025
2026
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Denver Botanic Garden from above
This is about the Artist Residency Programme at the Denver Botanic Gardens
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
The SBAI at Denver Botanic Gardens has had a number of botanical artists participate in their Residency Programme including:
SCOPE OF THE RESIDENCY
Botanical illustrators are included within this program to work with the School of Botanical Art & Illustration alongside the Gardens Research & Conservation team in particular.
[IN THE PAST] The scope of this residency features two key elements:
FUNDING AND RESOURCES
The resident must provide their own art supplies and equipment, as well as their own travel,
transportation, accommodation and related living expenses. However the Gardens offer:
ELIGIBILITY
The residency is open to
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
The SBAI at Denver Botanic Gardens has had a number of botanical artists participate in their Residency Programme including:
- 2015: Ikumi Kayama (USA) and Benjamin Cardenas Valderrama (Colombia)
- 2016: Lauren Bassing (USA) and John Pastoriza-Piñol
- 2017: Katherine Rudebusch (USA) and Isik Guner
- 2018: Asuka Hishiki
SCOPE OF THE RESIDENCY
Botanical illustrators are included within this program to work with the School of Botanical Art & Illustration alongside the Gardens Research & Conservation team in particular.
[IN THE PAST] The scope of this residency features two key elements:
- Creation of a body of work supporting the mission of Denver Botanic Gardens, particularly focused on plants native to Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region.
- Leading one 3-day workshop for 12 students in the Gardens’ School of Botanical Art and Illustration. This workshop will focus on a technique or media that the resident specializes in, subject to the approval of the Gardens. Dates of the workshop will be determined based on the residency timeframe. PLUS interaction with visitors is optional though highly encouraged, promoting public understanding and appreciation of the natural world and offering an opportunity for visitors to see the Gardens through the eyes of an artist.
FUNDING AND RESOURCES
The resident must provide their own art supplies and equipment, as well as their own travel,
transportation, accommodation and related living expenses. However the Gardens offer:
- a stipend is paid up front to offset costs of travel and transportation, art supplies, and living expenses.
- The Gardens offers space to work inside or outdoors en plein air and access to the Gardens’ collections, including pressed plants, preserved fungi, and other preserved herbaria collections, living plant collections, rare books, archival materials, art collections, and books and periodicals in the Garden’s library.
ELIGIBILITY
The residency is open to
- all illustrators who have completed a certificate program in scientific illustration, botanical art or illustration, nature illustration or equivalent qualification or experience.
- Artists working in all media
- International applicants who are proficient in English are encouraged, although additional tax documentation may be required.
Artist in Residence | Royal College of Physicians (discontinued)
Although this "artist in residence" scheme is no longer running, it does provide a useful model for others wishing to develop a similar proposal.
The Royal College of Physicians in London has had a garden of medicinal plants since 1965. You can view the plant database
Between 2010 and 2015 it offered a one year residency for an artist. This involved an exhibition of the artwork produced at the end of the year.
EXAMPLE: The artists who have become artist in residence are:
Since 2015, the RCP also had a group of artists who worked to produce a Florilegium Exhibition for the RCO's 500th anniversary - see my blog post about the Illustrated College Herbal Exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians in London has had a garden of medicinal plants since 1965. You can view the plant database
Between 2010 and 2015 it offered a one year residency for an artist. This involved an exhibition of the artwork produced at the end of the year.
EXAMPLE: The artists who have become artist in residence are:
- 2010-2011 Mayumi Hashi
- 2011-2012: Gillian Barlow
- 2012-2013: Patrice Moor - and had an exhibition Life and Death in the Garden. (subsequently in 2014-15 she was the Artist in Residence at the Botanic Gardens, Oxford University)
- 2014-2015: Nina Krauzewicz.
Since 2015, the RCP also had a group of artists who worked to produce a Florilegium Exhibition for the RCO's 500th anniversary - see my blog post about the Illustrated College Herbal Exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians
ARTIST SCHOLARSHIPS
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Facts about the Scholarship
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Conditions of Scholarship
Are you an artist or aspiring illustrator in the LGBTQ community and from various racial and ethnic backgrounds? We encourage you to apply for this scholarship. Denver Botanic Gardens’ core values guide programs and support the creative expression of people from diverse backgrounds. |
It appears this programme may have been discontinued as there is no longer any reference to it on the Kew website and Christabel King has retired.
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OBJECTIVES
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The MMFP (administered by the Foundation and Friends of the RBG Kew) enabled Brazilian botanical illustrators to study in the UK.
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Gustavo Marigo is one of the Margaret Mee Scholars - funded by the Margaret Mee Fellowship - who are taught at Kew by Christobel King. Marigo was the MM Scholar in Botanical Art in 2015. They are pictured in the Brazil - a powerhouse of plants exhibition at Kew in 2016 - see Christobel King and the Margaret Mee Artist Scholars
Banner Image: Gustavo Marigo with two of his paintings at Kew
Gustavo Marigo is an award winning natural history and botanical illustrator (MM Scholar 2015). In 2016 he won 2nd prize in the Margaret Flockton Award and had three of his paintings (purchased by Shirley Sherwood) included in 'Brazil - A Powerhouse of Plants' exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew. Currently he works on illustration commissions for scientific articles and books and teaches via workshops at the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro plus classes, courses and private lessons.
Banner Image: Gustavo Marigo with two of his paintings at Kew
Gustavo Marigo is an award winning natural history and botanical illustrator (MM Scholar 2015). In 2016 he won 2nd prize in the Margaret Flockton Award and had three of his paintings (purchased by Shirley Sherwood) included in 'Brazil - A Powerhouse of Plants' exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew. Currently he works on illustration commissions for scientific articles and books and teaches via workshops at the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro plus classes, courses and private lessons.
Margaret Mee Fellowship Programme Artist Scholars at Kew
Curtis's Botanical Magazine Volume36, Issue3 September 2019 Pages 289-306 provides an account of the programme.
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1989-1999
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2000-2009
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2010- date
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My sketch of Margaret Mee's Paintbox on display at Kew Gardens
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TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIPS
Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
Arts and Culture covers all aspects of the arts, crafts and creative industries, including their social, cultural and economic aspects. It is one of the eight universal themes which form our grantmaking framework and allow us to address every aspect of society. Fellows’ stories
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Botanical artists have successfully applied for travel scholarships to paint plants in different parts of the world.
EXAMPLE: Caroline Frances-King was awarded a travelling fellowship to travel to China to paint plants discovered by the Irish plant collector Augustine Henry in the late 1800’s. |
GRANTS AND BURSARIES
GRANTS FOR BOTANICAL ARTISTS /ORGANISATIONS - £10,000 +
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The SBA Fellow Grant was a brand new initiative for the Society of Botanical Artists in 2024.
Potential uses of the grant funding were identified as including:
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Click the link below to view the profiles of the expert Judges for the Grant: (Note I was one of the Judges and also chaired the Panel of Judges)
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This year, we focused on supporting multiple smaller awards, enabling a diverse range of meaningful projects to come to life. The judges were deeply inspired by the incredible applications received from across the globe. Interestingly, although the grant was announced as £10,000, most applicants proposed projects requiring less funding—allowing us to support even more artists
Award winners included:
- First Prize (£5,850): Sabine Loos - Project: Secrets of the Thuringian Forest – Rare Tree Species and Their Mycorrhizal Fungi
- Rare tree species and their mycorrhizal fungi – unveiling an ancient relationship
- creation of most detailed tree portraits in watercolor of 10 – 12 species (A3 to A1)
- creation of symbiotic fungi (tree specific) portraits (watercolor)
- exhibition (Schloss Heidecksburg, Rudolstadt), in cooperation with the Natural History Cabi
- Rare tree species and their mycorrhizal fungi – unveiling an ancient relationship
- Second Prize (£1,600): Hege Gjerde - Project: Plants in Jotunheimen National Park
- botanical illustrations showing the diverse flora of Jotunheimen National Park. Fieldwork will include sketching plants in their natural habitats.
- botanical illustrations showing the diverse flora of Jotunheimen National Park. Fieldwork will include sketching plants in their natural habitats.
- Third Prize (£850): Ines-Hermione Mulford @ineshermioneart - Project: Macro-Landscapes!
- a 2-week exhibition in Edinburgh exhibiting my body of work "Macro-Landscapes"; drawings and paintings depicting the macro world of bryophytes and lichens.
- a 2-week exhibition in Edinburgh exhibiting my body of work "Macro-Landscapes"; drawings and paintings depicting the macro world of bryophytes and lichens.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: The Prize Process is currently under review and an announcement will be made in 2025.
Up until 2024, this has been a £10,000 prize open to applications from organisations rather than indiviudals. Prizes are awarded to UK and Irish botanical art groups and organisations, not to individuals. Examples of eligible groups which may apply are:
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The prize is awarded biennially. It is aimed at groups and organisations which are looking to go beyond their day-to-day activities, and recognises those which have helped to raise the profile of botanical art. Projects might include (but are not limited to) a new education programme or the development of an existing course, exhibition, publication, event or collaborative project.
Reference:
GRANTS FOR BOTANICAL ARTISTS / ORGANISATIONS - UNDER £10,000
RHS - Dawn Joliffe Botanical Art Award (£1,000)
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This is the only RHS Bursary dedicated to botanical art. The Dawn Jolliffe Botanical Art Bursary was established in in June 2005 to
In terms of who can apply for the bursary:
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RHS Bursary recipients produce reports from their experiences which are judged by the RHS Bursaries & Awards Committee. The best of these reports receive prizes |
ASBA Grants (Variable - in number and value)
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The American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) have been making grant awards to their member artists for a number of years.
Features of grants are
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You can find out more on their Artists Grants page in the Education section of their website
(Note: I only record information on this website which is in the public domain) The Grant Application Guidelines are below. You need to login as a member first to find out about them |
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PLEASE USE THE FORM to let me know about any any other opportunities - anywhere in the world - worth highlighting to those endeavouring to develop their education, experience and skills.
I need to know:
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