What We’ve Funded

The Sputnik Patrons scheme has funded a huge variety of projects since 2017.

We’re busy putting together the archive of all these projects! In the meantime, for a handful of interviews with some of our Grant recipients, see our Grants page.

November 2025 Grants

Caleb Wilson

We supported musician and educator Caleb Wilson with his excellent plan for a local music program in his home town of Dudley — making music education more accessible, building confidence and improving mental health.
Claire Harrison

Claire Harrison is a conceptual and visual artist based in Teesside, exploring the spaces between light and dark, seen and unseen. Our grant went towards equipment to support art workshops around death, dying and bereavement, and other creative health projects.
Ashleigh Beattie

Fine artist Ashleigh Beattie is embarking on an ambitious and fascinating new body of work exploring the memory of place — featuring concrete sculptures, salvaged fragments of materials and a series of cyanotypes on large dust sheets.
Lacey Ferri

Lacey Ferri is an artist-designer with a truly astounding style, evoking medieval illumination while sitting in its own unique, modern space. We funded her to obtain some new equipment which would help her to teach more pattern and paint-making workshops in the form of short courses.
Haverin

Orkney’s own close-harmony folk group Haverin approached us with an offer we couldn’t refuse: they wanted to commission illustrator @jennifer.litts.artist (a long-time friend of Sputnik) to illustrate their debut album cover. It’s a double-win for us.
Verity Hayhow

We could not resist funding Verity Hayhow’s graphic novel, ‘Moon Creature’ — a fish-out-of-water story with some deep and resonant themes, aimed at young adults. To be hand-painted in gouache, no less! We can’t wait to read it.

July 2025 Grants

Jennifer Sturrock

Jen Sturrock is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, curator and researcher integrating couture, installation work and poetry — she does it all, and we were dutifully blown away. We gave Jennifer a grant towards an exhibition taking place in the Chester Beatty Museum.
Rebecca Rocker

Rebecca Rocker is a powerful, slam-winning spoken word poet based in Swindon, writing in particular from lived experience of faith, infertility, miscarriage and motherhood. Rebecca got a ‘personal development’ grant to support her as she shifts her work from arts educator to community poet.
Clare Currie

We supported poet and playwrite Clare Currie in taking her one-person theatre piece, ‘Cold Snap’, on tour. It’s a powerful work grappling with her love of sport, the strains of the aging process and the demands of modern life.
David Smout

David Smout is a songwriter and music producer, rapidly gaining experience in producing music for others. We gave David a grant towards studio equipment as he works on projects with local artists and develops his skills.
Rihanna Morris

Rihanna Morris is an extraordinarily driven filmmaker with an impressive run of short films under her belt. We supported her new project of an “old school, romantic and deeply human” short that she intends to shoot on film, rather than digital formats.
Siskin Green

Contemporary Scottish folk trio are working on their sophomore album, funded in part by a Sputnik grant. Siskin Green’s work weaves close harmony singing with ethereal folk arrangements, fiery protest songs with mystic hymns.
Yellowbox Theatre

Brixton-based Yellow Box Theatre creates contemporary theatre, film, radio and community projects, with a collaborative, people-centred approach. We gave YBT a grant towards producing their full-length radio play, ‘Mi Gyals’ — an exploration of sisterhood and the diverse cultural experiences of gender-based violence.

March 2025 Grants

Hannah Kelly

Writer, artist and art educator Hannah Kelly—winner of the 2019 Scottish Emerging Writer Prize—applied for funds towards a writing retreat, enabling her to complete a draft of her next novel.
Reece Joseph

Musician and producer Reece Joseph is creating a short film for his upcoming single, ‘Easier Said Than Done’. Our grant is going towards the production costs of this film.
Dohyun Baek

Fine artist Dohyun Baek will be completing a Morphe Art Residency at St Barnabas Church Dalston, London, with the aim to create a new body of work; which our grant will help to support.
Michael Coppelov

Painter Michael Coppelov is completing a book and series of paintings based around the Transcontinental Race: he applied for a grant to support him in the 2025 Race so that he can finish the project!
Beth Pickett

Printmaker and illustrator Beth Pickett has been offered a solo exhibition space in Thrive Cafe in Cambridge. We are supporting the production costs (framing, promotion, transportation etc) to help this happen.
Rachel Ho

Rachel Ho, a ceramicist inspired by the art of kintsugi, is undertaking a public art project in her home of Macclesfield, called ‘Gift to the Town’. Our grant is helping with the material costs behind it.