Supporting artists

Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the British Council have extended their partnership to 2024.

Now in their tenth year of working together, the two bodies aim to develop Northern Ireland’s arts sector internationally.

The partnership does this by supporting international showcases and running an annual £50,000 Artist Development Fund.

British Council Arts Director, Skinder Hundal, says the two organisations have mapped out a clear framework for continued international cultural dialogue and exchange.

“We are delighted to continue our partnership. Together over the past nine years, we have increased the number of cultural connections between Northern Ireland and the rest of the world, developing vital long-term partnerships.”

The Theatre Artists Fund has distributed grants of £500 to 1,003 theatre freelance workers in its latest wave of funding aimed at those working in the performing arts and facing financial hardship.

It says the £500,000 total grant, its sixth round of funding, was made possible after a donation from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.

Since July 2020, the Fund has raised £7.8m in donations from over 3,000 individuals, foundations and businesses. 

To date, 8,294 grants have been delivered to freelancers across 38 performing arts professions.

“Although theatres around the UK can now open to full audiences, uncertainty and financial instability remain a significant issue for the thousands of freelance theatre workers in the UK, and there is still a high demand for Theatre Artists Fund support,” the fund says.

Brighton's Malborough Productions has opened applications to the fourth year of its New Queers on the Block development programme.

The programme will award three LGBTIQ+ performing artists £12,500 each, funding full-time residencies from January to June next year without the expectation of delivering a show or fixed outcome at the end.

Project alumni have worked across live art, theatre, dance, cabaret, film, spoken word and visual art.

Malborough Productions Creative Director Tarik Elmoutawakil and Executive Director David Sheppeard say the programme focuses on community engagement to "sow the seeds of a cultural and community-centred revolution".

Applications are open until November 4, with more information available on the programme website.

The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) has distributed £5.6m in payback royalties to 86,000 visual artists this year.

The Payback scheme pays photographers, illustrators and artists annual when their artworks are published in UK books and magazines or on TV.

DACS said the scheme gave artists a "reliable source of income" during the tumult of the pandemic. 

It has paid out over £65m through Payback since its inception in 1999.

Visual artists interested in joining the scheme can register at DACS' website to be notified when it reopens in January.

Educational arts charity Art UK has opened an auction fundraiser which will split proceeds equally between all participating artists.

Buy Art To Help Art UK features a live auction at London's Cromwell Place on September 29 and an online auction, now open for bids until September 30.

The auctions include work from over 140 artists priced from £50 to £50,000, but proceeds will be split equally between the artists.

Art UK Director Andy Ellis says the charity's share of sales will go towards increasing access to its national art collection, expanding its learning resources and telling the stories of underrepresented artists.

“Please support us if you can by buying a great piece of art or telling your friends about what’s on offer."
 

A recovery funding programme for Northern Irish creatives has been opened by Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) and the Department for Communities.

ACNI Chief Executive Roisin McDonough said the £5m Creative Individuals Recovery Programme (CIRP) is designed to help creatives continue developing important skills.

It can help pay to create new work, hire facilities or equipment, improve professional skills or attend industry events.

Grants of up to £2,000 are available, with applications closing October 6.

“CIRP funding can help our creative individuals to positively contribute, as they did before the pandemic, to the significant cultural value of Northern Ireland as a great place to work, live and invest,“ McDonough said.

London’s Guildhall School of Music & Drama has been awarded £637,000 to distribute as scholarships over the next three years.

It’s one of the largest grants given by the Leverhulme Trust this year, second only to the £695,600 awarded to the Royal College of Music.

The Leverhulme Arts Scholarships will be split between undergraduate and postgraduate musicians, as well as students studying with Guildhall Young Artists.

Interim Principal Jonathan Vaughan said the school is “committed to aiming to ensure that no student faces financial barriers to studying with us”.

The school estimates it awards more than £3m of financial support each year, with 40% of students receiving some level of support.