Interview with the 2024 Jury

Since The Supporting Act Foundation was founded, the beneficiaries of our grant program are selected by an independent jury. For 2024, there were 10 members split across two juries, bringing together people from diverse backgrounds and disparate countries. This ensures the process is fair, and brings in a wider diversity of perspectives on who we should help.

To make the process more transparent, we asked three jury members about taking part, the importance of arts funding and what stood out to them.

Why did it feel important for you to take part in the jury?

Shado mag co-founder Hannah Robathan explained that “It felt important to help decide on applications from students, who are at a pivotal moment in their practice and careers,” adding that, “I was thrilled to be asked back on the jury, not only because I had the privilege of being a juror for the 2023 Impact Grant, but also as a grant recipient the year before. I know how it feels to be on either side of the table.”

“The Supporting Act offers a real lifeline to young artists who are locked out of many streams of financial support,” Chrisoula Lionis, Co-Director of Artists for Artists, added. “I was also very happy to work with peers on the jury who clearly had the same drive and commitment to nurturing the careers of young artists and to building more equitable creative industries.”

“In today’s world, where market logic takes over every part of cultural and artistic production, and traditional institutions, programs and media becoming increasingly insignificant,” Severin Matusek, founder of co—matter, reflects, “it’s harder than ever to make it as an artist; even more so when you’re coming from an underrepresented background, community or geography.”

Matusek also commented: “We need new institutions who understand this shifting landscape, and companies like WeTransfer who acknowledge their role in contributing to a healthy ecosystem for artists and creatives.”

How do you hope this grant will support the selected students in developing their artistic careers?

“The recipients of the grant don’t need help with their creative ideas, which are all thoughtful, ambitious, multi-disciplinary and intersectional,” Robathan said. “To put it simply, what this grant offers is essential breathing space in order to keep pursuing their brilliant ideas.”

“I was struck by the structural barriers students faced,” Lionis commented, “but also by their tenacity and commitment. This is an extremely strong cohort of artists who have been able to achieve wonderful things both in terms of their own practice but also for their communities with very little resources and under significant financial strain.”

From your perspective, what made a potential grantee really stand out?


“You can somehow read through the lines when people believe in the mission and importance of what they do,” Matusek explained. “It touches you emotionally and makes you believe that receiving a grant, or simply money, is really just an enablement to push a project further; but never the reason why it exists in the first place.”

Did you notice any shared themes or interests among the cohort?

“Yes, absolutely,” Lionis told us. “Two key issues stood out for me: firstly, diasporic connection to place and diasporic community. Secondly, a concern with issues centered on gender and identity.”

Robathan agreed with Lionis, adding: “What excited me the most were the students who truly embodied their beliefs and engaged with their communities as part of their practice. I think this form of creative and political education—particularly once taken outside of university walls—is crucial. They will be learning from their communities just as much as they are facilitating them, and ultimately this will enrich their artistic careers.”

You can read more about the 2024 cohort, and hear further explanations about the individual grantees from the Impact Grant Jury or the Creative Bursary Jury.