The role of the Foundation is to promote Danish creative arts. The Foundation's area of activity includes the visual arts, literature, music, crafts and design, architecture, cinema, and theatre, as well as other comparable forms of creative art that do not have other avenues for state support.

The Danish Arts Foundation was established by the Danish Government in 1964. The Foundation's sphere of activity is defined by the Arts Foundation Act. The Foundation’s funding is determined by the annual Finance Act.

Organisational structure of the Danish Arts Foundation
The Foundation's tasks are performed by:

• Eight three-person expert committees
• A governing and coordinating board
• A council of representatives
• A secretariat, which is part of the Danish Arts Agency and performs the administrative work

The eight three-person expert committees are:

• the Committee for Environmental Art
• The Committee for Visual Arts Purchases and Grants
• The Committee for Literature
• The Committee for Classical  Music
• The Committee for Popular Music
• The Committee for Crafts and Design
• The Committee for Architecture
• The Committee for Film and Theatre

The Foundation's council of representatives appoints two members of each committee, and the Minister for Cultural Affairs appoints one member. The Minister appoints the chairperson of the committees from the three members. The tenure for members of the expert committees is three years.

The Foundation’s board is made up of the chairpersons of the three-person committees and is responsible for managing the Foundation, co-ordinating the work of the committees, and

representing the Foundation publicly.

The members of the council of representatives are appointed for a four-year period by artists' organisations, artistic and cultural institutions, the political parties in the Danish Parliament, universities, etc. The council of representatives appoints two of the members of the expert committees, monitors the activities of the Foundation, and functions as a link between the Foundation and the Minister for Culture. The Council makes recommendations to the Minister for Culture for lifelong artists’ grants.

Grant areas
The three-person committees independently administer the funds they are allocated and define their own spheres of activity. The decisions of a committee may not be appealed to the Minister for Culture or any other authority.

The decisive criterion for the award of grants by the Danish Arts Foundation is the quality of artistic production and artistic talent. 

The funds of the Danish Arts Foundation are utilised for the following purposes:

• Grants to artists in the form of scholarships, awards, commissions, honoraria, and prizes
• Purchases of works of visual art, crafts and design to be housed in state institutions
• Providing works of visual art for public buildings and facilities
• Other measures appropriate to the Foundation's purpose

Grants are primarily allocated on the basis of an application process. The appropriations for 2007 were distributed the following way:

For scholarships, work grants, travel grants, prizes, commissions, honoraria, purchases of works of art, environmental/public art projects, competitions, etc.:

Committee for Environmental/Public Art	10,6 mill.
Committee for Visual Arts Purchase and Grants	19,6 mill.
Committee for Literature	16,7 mill.
Committee for Classical Music	6,3 mill.
Committee for Popular Music	6,3 mill.
Committee for Crafts and Design	11,4 mill.
Committee for Architecture	7,7 mill.
Committee for Film and Theatre	7,0 mill.
for joint expenses - for all Committees	1,6 mill.
including grants to dependents of deceased artists	0,6 mill.
Total	DKK 87,1 mill.

Lifelong grants

for artists' grants	22,2 mill.
for widows' grants	0,8 mill.

Read about the Danish Arts Agency