The Arts Council is asking artists to apply early for the Agility and Bursary Awards, the deadline for both of which is coming up on Thursday 3 February. The Council is expecting a large number of applications and wants to ensure that artists choose the appropriate award for their work and avoid any technical glitches on the day.

‘Two major deadlines for Arts Council funding happen on February 3rd,’ said Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council. ‘The Agility Awards were newly created in 2021 to enable the Arts Council to support more artists at all stages of their careers and over €8 million was awarded last year to 1,800 individuals.’ Up to €5,000 is available with an Agility Award. There are also 14 different artform Bursary Awards, capped at €20,000, and they include awards for music, opera, and traditional arts. Kennelly adds that last year, ‘Over €9 million was awarded in bursaries across all art forms to 577 applicants.’

Applicants must choose to apply for either the Agility Award or a Bursary Award. They will be automatically prevented from applying for both but the Arts Council wants to make sure that artists apply for the award best suited to their needs. Both awards are open to artists at any stage of their career or professional development. 

The Agility Award Team held a webinar on 18 January and a recording is available below. Arts Teams are also holding individual clinics on the Bursary Award and they can be contacted here.

For more, visit https://www.artscouncil.ie/available-funding/