Arts Council NI: Minority Ethnic Artists Mentoring and Residency Programme

Overview

Through this Minority Ethnic Artist’s Mentoring and Residency Programme they wish to create opportunities for specialized training, research, cultural exchanges, networking and learning for individual artists, creative practitioners and arts administrators from minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds.

Programme Aims:

• Support workforce skill development and career pathways for artists of all ages from minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds.
• Inspire excellence through the support of high-quality, ambitious, innovative and imaginative opportunities for artists to collaborate with others.
• Increase the capacity and opportunities for artists to take professional and creative risks.
• Contribute to a vibrant and diverse workforce across the breadth of the creative and cultural industries.
• Increase opportunities for young and emerging minority ethnic artists

Specifically, the scheme will fund residencies and mentoring opportunities through which applicants can develop their creative and professional practice.

Applicants are invited to shape a programme of support, tailored to their own needs and through wider collaboration.

Who can apply?

Eligible applicants to this scheme are as follows:

• Individual artists of all artistic disciplines and all types of working practice from minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds, including people in need of international protection.
• Creative practitioners and arts administrators from minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds
• Artform areas can include, but are not limited to the following: visual art, craft, public art, theatre, drama and dance, literature, music, opera and traditional arts, community/participatory arts and arts in health.
• Employees of statutory bodies (including Universities), undergraduates and postgraduates are eligible to apply but they must prove that their proposal is not properly the concern of their employer and/or are not related to their academic study.

Eligible applicants must also be

• Living in Northern Ireland
• Have made a contribution to artistic activities for a minimum period of 2 years.
• At least 18yrs old and not in secondary education.

How much funding is available?

The total budget for this programme is £50,000.

The maximum award will be up to £5,000.

What you can apply for

Applicants should give careful consideration to the feasibility and timing of their activities given possible ongoing restrictions due to COVID-19.

Eligible costs for both the Mentoring and Residency awards may include:

Project assistance

• Art materials/equipment
• Buying time for own practice/creation of new work
• Fees for training courses
• Artistic fees of Mentors
• Artistic or technical fees including those towards production or post-production costs associated with presentation or exhibition of work
• Venue hire e.g. rehearsal space
• Technical equipment related to the project/proposal
• Translation costs
• Documentation costs
• Childcare costs

Travel grants

• All travel, mileage costs of 25.7p per mile, commuter and air travel

Residencies

• Subsistence costs @£15 per day
• Accommodation costs

No partnership funding is required, but if your proposal cost is greater than the award value you must detail the total cost of your project and all other sources of funding in your application.

This programme will only fund proposals that will take place between 12 November 2021 and 31 October 2022.