Arts Council Commissions Award 2024 (Ireland)

Award strands

• Strand 1: Artform commissions
  • Commissions can be applied for in the areas of:
    • Music
    • Opera
    • Traditional Arts
  • This means that any applicant, whether an organisation or an individual, can apply to commission an artist working within one of these artform areas.
• Strand 2: Cross-arts-area commissions
  • In order to assist with the animation of arts organisations working across different artforms and with the commissioning of work by artists working in particular contexts, the award is open to organisations in the following categories:
    • Festivals
  • In these cases, organisations can apply to commission an artist working in any artform, with the exception of festivals applying for a commission in Music, Opera or Traditional Arts, which should apply directly to those artforms in Strand 1. The application will be assessed primarily in relation to the context in which the commission is proposed. The Arts Council’s artform specialists will provide a secondary comment where their artform is integral to the proposal.

Priorities of the Award

• Strand 1: Artform commissions
  • Music
    • In Music, potential commissions could be those that:
      • Enable individual performers/ensembles to commission a composer or composers to write a new work for a specific performance or specific performances and/or published recording(s) and/or broadcast(s)
      • Enable promoters, venues or festivals to commission works for Irish or international performing artists for performance at their events
      • Foster new or experimental ways of creating and presenting musical works.
    • The award prioritises applications that:
      • Propose commissions of high artistic quality, in particular from Irish composers
      • Are planned to reach significant audiences through live performance, broadcast, recording and/or other audience channels, with a particular (though not necessarily exclusive) emphasis on audiences in Ireland
      • Provide for an extended life (further performances and/or extended public reach, digital dissemination, etc.) and impact for the work or project that has been created
      • Demonstrate a strong collaborative-engagement process between the commissioner, performers, audience and the commissioned artist(s) in the development and presentation of the new work
      • Demonstrate innovation and deepen the experience and understanding of the artform
      • Are from new types of commissioners, including non-professional performers of high standard.
  • Opera
    • In Opera, potential commissions could be those that:
      • Enable opera producers to commission a composer and/or librettist to write a new work for a specific performance or specific performances and/or published recording(s) and/or broadcasts and/or other means of public dissemination
      • Foster new or experimental ways of creating and presenting opera.
    • The award prioritises applications that:
      • Propose commissions of high artistic quality, in particular from Irish composers and librettists
      • Are planned to reach significant audiences through live performance, broadcast, recording and/or other audience channels, with a particular (though not necessarily exclusive) emphasis on audiences in Ireland
      • Demonstrate a strong collaborative engagement process between the commissioner, performers, audience and the commissioned artist(s)in the development and dissemination of the new work
      • Demonstrate innovation, new or experimental ways of conceiving and presenting opera, and/or deepen the experience and understanding of the artform
      • Are from new types of commissioners, including non-professional performers of high standard
      • Provide for an extended life (further performances and/or extended public reach, digital dissemination, etc.) and impact for the work or project that has been created.
  • Traditional Arts
    • In Traditional Arts, potential commissions could be those that involve individuals, groups/bands, organisations, promoters, arts centres or festivals commissioning:
      • A traditional artist (with a proven track record or with potential) to compose a new work or a new work that derives from the traditional repertoire
      • A work for solo and/or ensemble performance by established and/or emerging and/or young artists
      • A collaboration between the traditional arts and other artforms
      • A collaboration between Irish and international artists in the creation of a work
      • A work for performance within Ireland or internationally.
    • The award prioritises applications that:
      • Provide for an extended life for the work or project that has been created
      • Demonstrate a strong collaborative process between the commissioner and the commissioned artist(s) across all aspects of the project
      • Plan to reach significant audiences through live performance, broadcast, recording , and/or other audience channels
      • Are from new types of commissioners
      • Demonstrate innovation and deepen the experience and understanding of the artform.
• Strand 2: Cross-arts-area commissions
  • For Festivals, potential commissions could be those that:
    • Enable a festival to introduce/test a new strand of programming or support the development of an existing strand of programming by commissioning new ambitious work for festival audiences
    • Provide opportunities and an environment for inter/multidisciplinary experimentation between different artforms, supporting artists to develop formally ambitious new work
    • Enable new collaborations that develop the artistic practice of the artist and the artistic programming practice of the commissioning organisation Will lead to the development of ambitious, high-quality artistic works that can also be appreciated by a wider public
  • The award prioritises applications that:
    • Enable artists from diverse backgrounds to be commissioned to create new and ambitious work for festival audiences
    • Provide opportunities for artists to co-author new work in collaboration with the public, establishing new collaborative partnerships for artists as well as diversified approaches to creating art.

Funding Information

• Strand 1: Artform commissions
  • Music: The maximum amount that may be awarded to each successful applicant is: €17,000
  • Opera: The maximum amount that may be awarded to each successful applicant is: €45,000
  • Traditional Arts: The maximum amount that may be awarded to each successful applicant is: €13,000
• Strand 2: Cross-arts-area commissions
  • Festivals: The maximum amount that may be awarded to each successful applicant is: €12,000

Who can apply?

• The Commissions Award is open to organisations and individuals to apply to commission an artist or artists.
• Applicants may only submit one application for a single commission only. (In the case of Music and Opera, applicants may submit one application for a single commission or multiple commissions within the maximum funding award limit.)
• Applications can only be made by the commissioner, and not by the artist(s) to be commissioned.
• Organisations based outside the Republic of Ireland are eligible to apply if they are commissioning an Irish-born or Irish-resident artist. Similarly, Irish-based organisations may commission artists from outside Ireland – however, in such cases the commissioned work must be for the ultimate benefit of Irish audiences.

Who cannot apply?

• Those who cannot apply to this award include the following:
  • Organisations in receipt of Strategic Funding, Partnership Funding or Arts Centre Funding may not apply to:
    • Strand 1: Artform commissions in Music and Opera
    • Strand 2: Cross-arts-areas commissions in Festivals
  • Organisations applying to commission an artist who is an employee of that organisation
  • Individual artists applying to commission themselves.

For more information, visit The Arts Council.