Arts and Disability Connect Funding Scheme – Ireland

The Arts and Disability Connect scheme is designed to support artists with disabilities to be ambitious, to develop their practice and to connect with arts organisations and arts professionals in the Republic of Ireland.

It offers artists an opportunity to; make a change in their practice; ‘step up’ in terms of scope and scale; engage in new learning experiences; develop new working relationships; buy time to research and develop work; and to make and present new work to audiences.

This scheme is funded by the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and managed by Arts & Disability Ireland.

What funding is available?

• There are four different strands within the scheme, each with specific aims, objectives and criteria against which applications will be assessed.
• These are:
  • New Work
    • You can apply for up to €15,000. For artists with a strong track record in their professional practice who want to develop, make and present ambitious new work to an audience with the support of a presenting partner. Presenting partners can include arts centres, arts festivals, arts organisations and arts venues in the Republic of Ireland.
  • Research and Reflection
    • You can apply for up to €5,000. For artists who want time and resources to think, research, reflect and critically engage with their practice. This award can also be used to develop new relationships with partners to submit a New Work application in the future or to develop other strategic partnerships.
  • Mentoring
    • You can apply for up to €3,000. For artists, who wish to engage in mentoring opportunities.
  • Training
    • You can apply for up to €1,000. For artists, who wish to engage in professional development and other learning opportunities.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible you must be an individual artist with a disability.
• If you are an artist with a disability who needs funding to pursue your artwork on a professional level, you should consider applying to Arts and Disability Connect. If you are a person with a disability who would like to explore the arts for the first time, Arts and Disability Connect is not the best starting point for your artistic journey.
• You must be living in the Republic of Ireland. There is one exception where the Arts Council and Arts & Disability Ireland might accept applications made by artists living outside of the Republic of Ireland. In this scenario to be eligible you need to demonstrate your connection to the Republic of Ireland and that the outcomes of your proposal benefit the arts in the Republic of Ireland.
• Artists working in the following areas can apply:
  • Architecture
  • Circus
  • Dance
  • Film
  • Literature
  • Music
  • Opera
  • Street arts and spectacle
  • Theatre
  • Traditional arts
  • Visual arts

Who is not eligible to apply?

People who are not eligible to apply in 2024 include those who:

• Received an Arts and Disability Connect scheme award in any year from 2019 to 2023 and have not provided a final report
• Do not have a disability as outlined above
• Do not have an artistic practice
• Have a craft or design practice only
• Are not living in the Republic of Ireland and have not demonstrated that the outcomes of their proposal benefit the arts in the Republic of Ireland
• Have already received Arts Council or other public funding for the activities for which they are applying
• Are in foundation courses, undergraduate education or postgraduate education from August 2024 to July 2025 (if applying to Round One) and from January 2025 to December 2025 (if applying to Round Two)

For more information, visit The Arts Council.