Young People, Children and Education Project Award (Ireland)

Objectives and Priorities of the Award

Projects may be inter-disciplinary or focused on a specific artform.

• Strand 1: Early Childhood Project Award Ambitious and original projects that engage children aged 0–6 in the arts.
• Strand 2: Childhood Project Award Ambitious and original projects that engage children aged 7–12 in the arts.
• Strand 3: Transitions Project Award Ambitious and original projects that enable children and young people at a key transition stage in their lives to engage in the arts. This may involve transitioning into or out of secondary education, between Junior and Senior Cycle (Transition Year), or into further education or the field of work.
• Strand 4: Connections Project Award Projects that connect young artists and recent graduates aged 18+ with established arts organisations and arts infrastructure in Ireland. This may include paid opportunities for young artists and arts workers, in particular those that have recently completed their second- or third-level education to develop their professional engagement with the arts by working on a project with mentorship supports.
• Strategic priority across all strands will be given to:
  • Proposals that enable artists and arts workers from diverse communities to play a central role in the development and delivery of projects
  • Proposals that enable children and young people from diverse backgrounds to engage in exciting, dynamic artistic projects
  • Proposals that enable children and young people with a disability, to engage in exciting, dynamic artistic projects.
  • Proposals that enable children and young people to have a voice in the development, delivery and evaluation of projects
  • Proposals that demonstrate (through examples of work, and CVs or biographies outlining relevant experience) that the individuals and partners involved have the capacity to deliver a high-quality artistic project that will be relevant and engaging for the target age group.
• You may apply for support under only one strand of the award.

Funding Information

• You may apply for up to €80,000.
• In addition to the normal limits stated above, the Arts Council will also consider costs specifically relating to the making of work by artists with disabilities. If you wish to apply for additional funding on this basis, you should provide information with your application outlining what these additional costs are.

Ineligible Funding

You may not apply for more than one project award in any artform/arts practice area in any one round of funding.

• Activities and costs that you may not apply for include the following:
  • Major capital purchases
  • Ongoing core costs
  • Activities that are more suited to another award funded by the Arts Council or operated by other state agencies such as Culture Ireland
  • Activities that have already taken place or which will have commenced before 1 March 2024
  • 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 substantively developed the proposal since previously applying or if the Council has specifically advised you to redirect your application to this award
  • Projects that solely involve the touring of existing productions.

Who can Apply?

• The award is open to professional artists and organisations working to engage children and young people in the arts. To be eligible to apply, applicants must:
  • Be 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 applicant would need to explicitly outline within the application how the outcomes of any such proposal would benefit the arts in the Republic of Ireland, and the Arts Council must be satisfied with same.

Who cannot Apply?

• Applicants who are not eligible to apply include the following:
  • Organisations currently in receipt of funding under the following Arts Council programmes: Strategic Funding, Arts Centre Funding, Partnership Funding – though the involvement of such organisations as partners is welcome.
  • Individuals who work on an ongoing basis with organisations funded through any of the above programmes.
  • Organisations or individuals in receipt of 2024 Arts Grant Funding.
  • National Cultural Institutions (CNCI) (or their Council members) directly funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
  • Individuals or organisations who do not have a demonstrable track record as professional artists or organisations.
  • Individuals who will be in full-time education during the period for which this award is offered. While YPCE Project participants may be in full-time education, lead applicants may not.
  • Individuals seeking support towards fees for higher education or study.
  • Note: you cannot apply for the award both as an individual and as part of an organisation – e.g. you cannot apply as artistic director of a company and also apply separately under your own name.

For more information, visit The Arts Council.