Arts Council Ireland: Young Ensembles Scheme

Overview

The Young Ensembles Scheme has two strands. The maximum award under Strand 1 is €10,000 and the maximum under Strand 2 is from €10,000 to no more than €25,000. You may only apply to one strand, and you should choose the strand that is most suitable for your ensemble and for your proposal.

Strand 1

This strand is for ensembles that wish to undertake a new project or initiative that will develop the practice and experience of the young people involved. You may apply for up to €10,000. Applicants may be new or established ensembles and must demonstrate their capacity to develop and deliver a high-quality artistic project.

Strand 2

This is for ensembles that wish to undertake a programme of work or a large-scale project that develops the work of the ensemble and which will cost more than €10,000 and no more than €25,000. Applicants must be established ensembles with a track record of delivering high-quality artistic projects or programmes. Applicants must make clear why a larger budget than is available under Strand 1 is required.

Groups/ensembles must be made up of three or more members.

Critiera & Eligibility

Priority will be given to applications that demonstrate the following:

• Young people have played a role in developing the proposal, and will play a central role in shaping, delivering, documenting and evaluating the project.
• The proposal will ensure a high-quality artistic process that is ambitious and original, provides a challenging and rewarding experience for the participants, and enables them to develop their artistic skills.
• The proposal will ensure young people have ownership of the work they undertake. This may mean they actively engage in the process of devising, creating, composing or designing an original piece of work or artistic initiative, or that they engage in a process of exploring, interpreting or reimagining a given script/composition/artistic work or series of works in a way that enables them to make it their own.
• The proposal is youth-led, or will actively support and develop youth leadership in the arts.
• The ensemble will benefit from the expertise, support or mentorship of professional artists or arts organisations.
• The proposal includes a presentation or sharing of work. This may be small in scale (e.g. – for participants and families) or for a wider audience.
• The proposal includes evidence of the ensemble’s artistic activities or work produced to date, and how funding will enable the participants to develop their experience further.

(In the case of a new ensemble, evidence of other relevant projects in which the young people or artistic mentors have been involved should be demonstrated.)

Priorities

The Arts Council welcomes in particular:

• Initiatives that enable young people from diverse backgrounds to collaborate in a high-quality artistic process. For more information, see the Arts Council’s Equality, Human Rights and Diversity Policy: http://www.artscouncil.ie/equality-human-rights-diversity
• Initiatives that enable young people with disabilities to engage in a high-quality artistic process. For more information, see http://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Arts-participation/Arts-and-disability/

Who can apply?

The Young Ensembles Scheme is open to ensembles whose members are young people between the ages of ten and twenty-four. Eligible ensembles include groups such as the following:

• Youth theatres

• Youth film, animation or digital-media groups

• Youth dance groups

• Youth circus, spectacle or street-theatre groups

• Youth orchestras

• Youth choirs

• Young bands

• Young traditional-music groups
• Young critics/curators

The award is also open to groups that do not define themselves as ensembles but take a similar, collective approach to creating or engaging with art. This includes:

• Groups of young visual artists who collaborate to create work or exhibitions of their work
• Groups of young poets or writers who publish or perform work together

• Groups of young people who combine a number of artforms to create shared performances/events
• Groups of young people who critically engage as audiences or readers with one or more artforms, and who share their responses and insights with others.

Applications from outside the Republic of Ireland

The award is open to individuals and organisations resident in the Republic of Ireland. There are certain exceptions where the Arts Council may deem eligible applications made by those based outside the Republic of Ireland. However, before admitting as eligible any such application, the Arts Council would need to be satisfied that the outcomes of any such proposal would benefit the arts in the Republic of Ireland.

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