There is no single dedicated artist’s fund in Malta in the manner of, say, the Nordic or Benelux artist-salary schemes. Instead, artists access support through ACM’s general and sector-specific funding schemes (7.2.3), through fiscal measures (4.1.4), and through the institutional employment provided by the eleven Public Cultural Organisations (see 2.3 and 3.3).
The principal competitive arts fund is the Arts Support Scheme, ACM’s flagship open-call instrument supporting individuals, groups, registered entities and voluntary organisations to develop and present artistic projects across all art forms (the Financial Estimates retain the historical budget-line name “Malta Arts Fund” for the associated allocation, currently €450,000 in 2026). For a number of years the Arts Support Scheme was complemented by its access-focused strand, the Arts Support Scheme – Right to Culture, which earmarks funding for community-access projects. Other schemes most directly targeted at individual artists include: the Micro Grant, providing one-time capacity-building support of up to €5,000 for creatives who have not received ACM funding in the preceding three years; the Artistic Research and Development Scheme; the Training and Development Support Scheme in two strands (18+ and 8–17); the Apprenticeship Scheme (launched 2024), matching early-career creatives with established practitioners for a twelve-month full-time placement funded at €18,000 per apprentice; and the Young Artist Development Programme (Artivisti), run jointly with Aġenzija Żgħażagħ.
Multi-year programme funding for organisations employing artists is delivered through the Investment in Cultural Organisations scheme (€1.55 million in 2026, up from €750,000; the Financial Estimates use the former budget-line name “Cultural Partnerships Agreements”). The National Fund for Artistic Excellence (€150,000) supports outstanding individual projects and professional development.
The Charter for the Status of the Artist (2024) calls for the introduction of an income-smoothing mechanism for artists between projects and for reform of unemployment-benefit qualifying criteria to accommodate intermittent work patterns (see 4.1.3). Neither measure has been legislated as of May 2026. The COVID-19 Wage Supplement (2020–2022) demonstrated that the social-protection system can be calibrated for cultural workers, but only as an emergency measure.
Fiscal supports functioning as de facto artist’s funds include: the reduced 7.5% income-tax rate for artistic activity (from base year 2022), the VAT reclaim on a one-time purchase of a musical instrument, and the Get Qualified Scheme tax credits for arts-related qualifications.
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