Young People, Children, and Education Bursary Award (Ireland) – Apply Now!

The Young People, Children and Education Bursary Award supports the professional development of artists by enabling them to spend time developing their practice. It is open to individual artists and practitioners working in a creative capacity in any artform, including arts facilitators, curators or programmers.

The bursary aims to support artists at all stages of their careers. Potential proposals could be those that:

• Enable a professional artist with significant experience in their artform but with limited experience in developing work with or for young people to develop their knowledge and capacity in this area.
• Enable a young artist (aged 18–24) who has demonstrated artistic leadership and innovation in their artistic endeavours as a young person to develop their professional capacity to engage other young participants or audiences in the arts.
• Enable an emerging, mid-career or established artist to explore new ideas, skills or ways of working that will improve their capacity to create high quality work with or for young people.

YPCE Priorities

• The Arts Council has identified the following as priorities for support through this award:
  • Proposals that demonstrate the benefits to the development of the artist’s practice and how this will in turn benefit children and young people during or following the bursary (i.e. there is clarity regarding the context in which the artist’s learning will be applied)
  • Proposals that demonstrate how an artist will document, share and disseminate with their peers any findings that emerge from the bursary period
  • Proposals that enable the artist to work with a mentor who is well placed to support them to develop their practice
  • Proposals that enable artists to reflect on and develop their practice in partnership with key stakeholders, such as potential audiences, participants, professional colleagues, youth workers, carers and educators.

Funding Information

• The maximum amount that may be awarded to each successful applicant is: €20,000
• The minimum that can be applied for is: €5,000
• Please note that your application will be deemed ineligible if you apply for more than the maximum (unless you are applying for additional access costs) or less than the minimum amount stated.

What may you not apply for?

• Activities and costs that you may not apply for include the following:
  • Activities or costs that do not fit the purpose of the award
  • Activities that are better suited to another award funded by the Arts Council or operated by other state agencies, such as Culture Ireland
  • Activities that have already been completed or have already started
  • Activities undertaken for charity fundraising purposes, for participation in a competition, or for primarily profit-making purposes
  • Activities that have already been assessed by the Arts Council, unless you demonstrate that you have developed the proposal since previously applying or if the Council has specifically advised you to redirect your application to this award. Please bear in mind that such advice is not an indication of a successful outcome.

Who can apply?

• The award is open to artists working in all genres and at all stages in their professional careers. To be eligible to apply, applicants must:
  • Be resident in the Republic of Ireland. However, they may accept applications from outside the Republic of Ireland. In this case, you must detail in your application form how your proposal would benefit the arts in the Republic of Ireland. They would need to be satisfied with your explanation.
  • Be professional practising artists. Although they might not earn income continuously or exclusively from their arts practice, applicants must identify themselves, and be recognised by their peers, as professional practising artists.

Who cannot apply?

• People not eligible to apply include the following:
  • Individuals currently in undergraduate education (including those undertaking foundation courses)
  • Individuals seeking support towards fees for postgraduate (including unaccredited)/higher education or study
  • Individuals seeking support towards work undertaken as part of a formal course of study
  • Individuals seeking support towards the costs of undertaking an internship
  • They cannot accept applications from those employed or contracted on a fulltime basis by an arts organisation funded through Arts Council programmes or through direct state subsidy or by a commercial arts entity
  • Aosdána members in receipt of a cnuas.

For more information, visit The Arts Council.