This year, to mark the occasion of Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, The Arts Council have designed the Small Grants Programme. This programme is an opportunity for organisations to deliver concepts linked to future plans and promote creativity within the community while catering to a new audience.
The Arts Council are searching for projects from variable organisations that can provide proof of belonging to a legal constitution. If you are a registered charity, a collective of organisations working together to deliver specific projects or formally constituted parent-teacher associations you can apply today.
The Small Grants Programme is designed to support those working at grassroots and local community level across a wide range of activities. Providing grants and support to help charities and social enterprises changes the lives of the people they work. In doing so, The Arts Council aims to reflect the diversity of Northern Ireland’s society and culture through the support of activities which benefit the people of Northern Ireland or that help arts organisations carry out their work.
During the covid-19 pandemic much of the public had a period of reflection whereupon self-expression ousted itself through the form of painting, music, decorating and much more. Creativity emerged as a form of love- an artistic voice that announced the flourishment of art as more than a hobby but a need. The Small Grants Programme is an endeavour that pursues this passion and brings it to reality, allowing the world to recognise the creativity to be found in Northern Ireland. While Ireland may be relatively small compared to other countries, it is a place of heritage and value with something to say. The future is art.
The Arts Council distributes National Lottery funds across the art sector, delving into a variety of artistic modes of expression from theatre and literature to art in the community. In working in partnership with hundreds of artists, organisations and venues, The Arts Council are enabling creativity with knowledge and respect as advocates. Their belief in art as having the ability to reach across boundaries and bringing people together ensures the support of a programme that cares. The commitment to placing the work of arts organisations at the heart of Northern Ireland’s social, economic and creative life, advocates the recovery and the preservation of our small and vital sector which will be key in the wider societal recovery process. As a universal form of communication whereupon the sharing of ideas is a sensory experience, art can provide and this grant is essential for organisations that are willing to showcase that.
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland and as such, they are offering a maximum grant of £10,000 your organisation can deliver a project that exceeds expectation in the promotion of creativity within Northern Ireland.
Successful projects must be completed by the end of 2022 as the Platinum Jubilee Central Weekend will be on 5 June 2022. The submission deadline is Friday 31st March at 12pm. For further information, or to find out if your organisation can apply for funding, please visit: http://artscouncil-ni.org/…/scheme/small-grants-programme