Arts and community groups can apply for Lottery funding

Professional arts organisations and community groups can now apply for grants between £500-£10,000 to support projects in any art form, including music, drama, dance, literature, visual, and participatory arts.

Every year, funding from the Small Grants programme helps arts organisations and community groups deliver arts events, festivals and activities across Northern Ireland, from grassroots community projects through to professional productions.

This year, to mark the occasion of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the Arts Council will also support Jubilee projects via the Small Grants Programme and will be looking for projects which go beyond simply celebrating but which fit with the general aims of the Small Grants Programme in relation to the growth of the arts in the community for new and existing audiences.

Noirin McKinney, Director of Arts Development at the Arts Council, commented: “Our Small Grants programme uses National Lottery funds raised for good causes to bring the arts right into the heart of communities.

“We are looking for projects which will provide ways for new and existing audiences to connect with the arts and which reflect the diversity of Northern Ireland’s society and culture. This year we will also be offering funding to projects which mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee while also remaining true to the overall aims of the Small Grants Programme, that is supporting the growthof arts in our communities.”

“We very much look forward to seeing what projects emerge as a result of the Small Grants programme over the coming months, creating many wonderful new opportunities for communities to take part in and experience the arts.”

Previous recipients of Small Grants funding include Glengormley School of Traditional Music, which received £9,900 funding in September 2020 to go toward providing high quality and affordable music tuition with skilled tutors in a range of instruments including fiddle, tin whistle, flute, uileann pipes, guitar and harp

No Alibis Press received £8,255 in 2020 from the Arts Council’s Small Grants programme to support a series of publications and initiatives around the publication of Joanna Walsh’s book Seed.

For those wishing to find out more, please visit the Arts Council website.