Seed funding to get your Accessible Instrument Designs off the ground!
We are thrilled to announce that applications are now open for our fourth round of funding grants to support the creation of new accessible musical instruments.
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About the seed funding
At DMLab we are proud to have supported several new accessible instrument designs that help to overcome barriers faced by Disabled musicians.
We want to continue supporting makers with ideas for new accessible devices. We are therefore offering two seed funding grants of £1,000 each to support the development of brand new accessible musical instruments!
This is an incredible chance for innovators and makers to get your ideas off the ground and create something new to showcase at our future DMLab events.
About DMLab
DMLab is a project for Disabled and Non-Disabled musicians, technologists, and makers to come together and explore accessible music making. We hold regular meetups and events to help build more inclusive music making opportunities.
DMLab London is supported using public funding from Arts Council England.
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Who can apply?
We welcome applications from all creative minds, whether you’re an individual maker or part of a team. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Disabled or Non-Disabled musician, an instrument maker, or a developer – your ideas are invaluable to us. We are specifically seeking Expressions of Interest from those with innovative concepts aimed at addressing specific access requirements for yourself or others.
You must be over 18 and based in England to apply.
Looking for inspiration?
Check out the links below:
- Blogs and videos from our 2025-26 Grantees
- Blogs and videos from our 2024-25 Grantees
- Our 2023-24 Grantees presenting their instruments at DMLab London
- Previous news about instruments and projects we’ve been involved with
- Information about our accessible musical instrument collection
How to apply?
To register your interest, simply complete the short Expression of Interest form along with our Equal Opportunities monitoring form.
You can also submit answers in audio or video format if that is more accessible for you. Please send these to info@drakemusic.org.
The Expression of Interest form will give you the opportunity to introduce yourself briefly, describe your proposed instrument, and outline the access requirement it aims to fulfil. There is space to provide links to your previous work as well as upload any sketches or images of your idea.
The deadline for submitting your Expression of Interest is Wednesday, 14 October 2026, 5:00pm.
If you have any questions about this opportunity or require support to make an application, please email Geo Aghinea at info@drakemusic.org.
We are looking forward to receiving your applications and supporting your creative journey to make music more inclusive and accessible for everyone.
What happens next?
- Wednesday 14 October: Deadline for Expressions of Interest
- Wednesday 4 November: We’ll let you know if you’ve been shortlisted
- Friday 20 November: Meetings with shortlisted applicants
- Monday 23 November: We’ll let you know if you’ve been selected
Once you have submitted your Expression of Interest, we will reply as soon as we can, to acknowledge that we’ve received it. We appreciate that a lot of time and effort goes into submitting an expression of interest.
Alternate formats
You can find the application documents in different formats below:
Microsoft form
Fill in the Expression of Interest Form using Microsoft forms
Fill in the Equal Opportunities Form using Microsoft forms
Text only (docx)
Information Pack (Text Only) | Expression of Interest Form (Text Only)
Large text (docx)
Information Pack (Large Text) | Expression of Interest Form (Large Text)
Audio (SoundCloud)
BSL (YouTube)
Information Pack
Expression of Interest Form
We look forward to receiving your application!