Midlands Arts Grants for 2024

Here are a selection of the Arts Grant funding available now throughout the midlands. The funding is essential to ensure a standard of high quality art is produced by artists in the region. It serves It offers to support artists for a period of time, and in so doing responds to the needs of those who are making, presenting and supporting work. Note some of the closing dates are very soon. Let’s take a look.

Youth Arts Project, Offaly

Offaly County Council Arts Office are inviting professional artists, individuals or groups, to work with youth organisations to submit a proposal for the delivery of a Youth Arts Project for the cohort of 13 to 25 year olds within Offaly. The commission is open to submissions from all art disciplines including visual arts, film, animation, digital arts, performing arts, literature, or sound art. The commission can concentrate on one art form or a range of art forms but must include the participation of/engagement with a professional artist. Young people’s active participation and the co-creation of work should be central to the youth arts project.

A maximum budget of €5,000 is available per project, with a maximum of three projects funded. The closing date for applications is 4pm on February 15 and for online applications visit Youth Arts Commission 2024 : Application

Laois Arts Grants

Laois County Council have announced details of Arts grants and opportunities. Laois County Council Arts Service will also host two information sessions. The first session will take place in-person at the Dunamaise Arts Centre on Thursday 18th January 2024 at 7:00pm. The second will take place online via Microsoft Teams on Tuesday 23th January 2024 at 7:00pm. Email artsoff@laoiscoco.ie to register.

The Creative Ireland Laois Film Bursary is open for 2024. This funding of €10,000 is to fund the making of a short drama film or short documentary film. A prerequisite of this award is that it is produced and/or written by a Laois born or Laois resident. The film must be filmed on location in Co Laois and completed by the year end in 2024. Closing date for receipt of these completed applications is Thursday 22 February 2024. T: 057 8664163 E: artsoff@laoiscoco.ie W: www.laois.ie.

*On set in Rosenallis of ‘The Light Within – A Quaker Story’. Supported by Creative Laois Pic: Alf Harvey.*

Westmeath Creative Community Grants

As part of Westmeath County Council’s Creative Ireland Programme for 2024, they invite applications for the Westmeath Creative Ireland Community Grant.

The Westmeath Creative Ireland Community Grant is a county-wide call to community groups, organisations, venues, and individuals working in the creative arts including arts, culture, and heritage. The call encourages the development of high-quality creative projects and programmes which enable groups and individuals to realise their full creative potential and develop and encourage greater access, knowledge and appreciation of the arts, culture, and heritage.

Projects must involve a community group working with at least one creative professional. A group may make the initial approach to a creativity professional with a view to developing a project or vice versa.

They invite applications that specifically address one or more of the following strategic priorities:

Creative Industries: cultivate opportunities that connect with local industries, creative practitioners and communities, to support cultural and creativity activities that drive economic returns locally.

Diversity and Access: Facilitate the capacity of culture and creativity to innovate and collaborate in achieving priorities locally around social cohesion, greater health and wellbeing, with cognizance for the rural and urban makeup of the county, and the growing diversity of our communities.
Creative Youth: empower young people through cultural and creative processes and strategies to realise their potential and enhance individual potential.
Climate Action and Sustainability: Harness the power of culture and creativity to animate greater awareness, behavioural change and meaningful engagement on the profound environmental changes we are witnessing.
Westmeath Culture Team: support capacity building of the Culture and Creativity Teams to lead on the development of collaborative strategies of scale, that benefit the county and in the broadest sense its creative communities.

Budget and Closing Date

Awards of between €500 and €5,000 are available within this scheme. The closing date for submission is on or before 5pm, Wednesday 14^th February 2024. See more here

Longford Arts Service – Arts Project Grant, Arts and Cultural Promotion Grants

Arts Project Grant

To support the development of ambitious art projects that significantly benefit the cultural well-being of citizens
Amount Min €1,000 / Max €5,000
Timeline: Opens 29 January, closes 1 March. Awards issued 14 March 2024
Examples: Arts based events, festivals, ambitious art works in development

Arts and Cultural Promotion Grant

To support artists / arts organisations promoting the artistic and cultural output of County Longford nationally and internationally
Amount: Min €200 / Max €500 available – Fund limit €5,000
Timeline: rolling application – calendar year
Examples: Invitation to participate in a prominent international exhibition

Contact: artsoffice@longfordcoco.ie

Longford – Backstage Activate Residency, 2024

There is a call out to Artists for the fifth annual Activate Residency Programme at Backstage Theatre in 2024. The 2024 Activate Programme offers bursaries and short term residencies at Backstage Theatre to Artists across three different strands:

Strand 1 || Open || open to artists from all genres

Strand 2 || Dance || delivered in collaboration with Shawbrook, Longford

Strand 3 || Young People, Children & Education

Successful applicants will receive:

A bursary of up to €5,000 to support the development of work.
Access to our studio space for one to two weeks
Accommodation for the lead and guest artists, arranged and financed by the theatre up to a maximum cost of €1,200
Technical and admin support and artist mentorship.

Activate is kindly supported by Arts Council Ireland & Creative Ireland, Longford.

How to Apply

If you are interested please send a proposal to admin@backstage.ie before 5pm on Thurs 1st Feb.

Creative Ireland (CI) and Cruinniú na nÓg (CnÓ)

Longford County Council is inviting applications to fund innovative, creative, and cultural initiatives as part of an open call grant for the following:

CI: Events and projects involving arts, creative industries, heritage, film, animation and others. Projects ‘as Gaeilge’ are also welcome.
CnÓ: Events and projects focused on creating a day of free creative activity for children and young people up to 18 years of age.
Open to: Individuals, organisations, community groups, cultural/creative artists.
Grant Amounts: Creative Ireland: Up to a max of €5,000 per application.
Cruinniú na nÓg: Up to a max of €2,500 per application.
Applications Closing Date: 19 February 2024 at 12noon.
Funding letters: March 2024 with terms and conditions of funding.
Project Completion Timeline: Creative Ireland: March – 1 November 2024. Cruinniú na nÓg: Must start or end on Saturday, 15 June – completed by 6 July.