The music, arts and environment charity Murmur has unveiled the first recipients of its 2024 funding programme, as well as the launch of Murmur Artist Support, a new initiative that will work with artists who want to speak up on climate and on behalf of the planet.
In 2024, over £240,000 donated by art and music organisations will be given to projects which drive and inspire change in the art and music industries and across the wider world, and the recipients fall into three areas: ‘Change The Industry’, ‘Change The Conversation’ and ‘Change The World’. The recipients have been selected by expert advisory boards working across these three areas.
Murmur Artists Support (MAS) is part of Murmur’s ‘Change The Conversation’ initiative, and is a programme to support artists and musicians to tell stories and advocate for positive action. MAS will bring artists together with communications experts and environmental organisations, supporting them to change the climate conversation.
The programme has been developed in consultation with leading artists, and the Expert Advisory Board which awarded the grant was chaired by DawBell PR’s founder Rich Dawes and includes Caius Pawson, founder of both Murmur and Young, Brunswick Group’s Ellie Fallon and Groundswell’s Matthews Phillips. Karen Edwards has been appointed director of MAS and will start the new role in November.
To create the environment for real change, we need people talking about this subject in a positive, heartfelt way – and this is a vital part of the work that Murmur is doing and that our partners are enabling
Caius Pawson
Elsewhere, for Murmur's 'Change the Industry' initiative, Climate Partner (in partnership with the Music Climate Pact and the Vinyl Alliance) is launching a project on the record manufacturing supply chain, whilst Impala, the Independent Music Companies Association, will also receive funding to support the development of the Impala Carbon Calculator, the first bespoke carbon calculator and environmental impact measurement tool for the independent recorded music sector, Powered By Julie's Bicycle. For 'Change the World', recipients include Repórter Brasil, an NGO that works at the intersection of supply chains, human rights, slave labour and environmental issues, as well as Friends of the Earth Europe and European Coalition for Corporate Justice.
“Culture is upstream of politics,” said Pawson. “Cultural values, beliefs, and norms precede and influence the formation of political structures and policies. When artists successfully talk with their audience about subjects they care deeply about, things can change extremely quickly. To create the environment for real change, we need people talking about this subject in a positive, heartfelt way – and this is a vital part of the work that Murmur is doing and that our partners are enabling.”
“Artists are key to changing the climate discussion because they inspire millions of people that love and respect their art,” added Chris Stark, Murmur’s trustee. “Thanks to Murmur we finally have the right platform and funding to engage the right actors and empower them to have real agency over the climate problem.”
