Open Call: Touring of Work Scheme Advance Planning (Ireland)

Objectives

• The objective of the Touring of Work Scheme is to make great art of different kinds available to more people throughout the country. When selecting tours to fund, they consider artistic excellence in the work itself and clear consideration of public engagement. In many cases the work to be toured will have already been produced and well received by audiences and critics.

Priority Areas

• Architecture,
• Arts Centres,
• Arts participation,
• Circus,
• Dance,
• Film,
• Literature,
• Music,
•  Opera,
• Spectacle,
• Street Performance,
• Theatre,
• Touring,
• Traditional arts,
• Visual arts,
• YPCE

Funding Information

• Strand 1: for awards up to €50,000
• Strand 2: for awards between €50,001 and €150,000
• Strand 3: for awards above €150,000

Eligible Costs

• Eligible costs include the following:
  • Direct costs of touring (after proposed income has been deducted)
  • Wages and fees for artistic, creative, technical and other staff essential to the delivery of the tour
  • Administrative costs that are appropriate and in proportion to the activities proposed
  • Hire of equipment, space or venue if the hire is essential to the delivery of the activity
  • Marketing, PR and public-engagement costs
  • Accommodation, daily expenses and travel
  • Personal or participant disability access costs
  • Cost of remounting a production, exhibition or show where these have not already been funded from another source
  • In some touring models, costs of mounting a new programme of work, that has not yet been performed in the proposed iteration or arrangement, can be included – e.g. music, traditional arts, visual arts, multidisciplinary arts.

Ineligible Costs

• The following will not be considered eligible activities or costs under the Touring of Work Scheme:
  • Costs related to initial production costs, unless otherwise stated
  • Costs directly related to the touring of work in an international context
  • Costs directly related to the touring of work in Northern Ireland
  • Major capital purchases
  • Ongoing core costs that are not directly related, appropriate and proportionate to proposed activities
  • Activities or costs that do not fit the purpose of the scheme
  • Activities that are more suited to another award or scheme funded by the Arts Council or operated by other state agencies, such as Culture Ireland – this includes activities that take place outside the Republic of Ireland
  • Tours which will have commenced before January 2026
  • Activities by registered charities that are for fundraising for other organisations
  • Activities that are for participating in a competition
  • Activities that are for profit-making
  • Activities that are already funded from another source.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible to apply, you must be:
  • Based/resident in the Republic of Ireland. They may consider your application if you are based outside the Republic of Ireland. However, your application would have to convince them that your proposal would benefit the arts in the Republic of Ireland.
  • Professional practising artists. Even though you might not earn income continuously or exclusively from working in the arts, you must identify yourself, and be recognised by your peers, as professional practising artists.
• Architecture
• In Architecture, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Demonstrate ambition to show international or national architecture exhibitions that would not otherwise be seen by audiences in Ireland
  • Are innovative and creative collaborations that demonstrate a clear curatorial concept for architecture – collaborators might include specialist architecture organisations, multidisciplinary arts centres or festivals, individual architects or architecture practices
  • Enable the sharing of curatorial skills and mediating expertise – these might include a programme of mentoring/shadowing between collaborators
  • Clearly demonstrate how the exhibition will engage, mediate and communicate to an audience
  • Show evidence of technical expertise that ensures the highest standards of installation and presentation.
• Arts Participation
• In the area of Arts Participation, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Propose to tour high-quality, artistically ambitious work developed by a professional artist(s) working in collaboration with individuals or groups (non-arts professionals)
  • Clearly demonstrate high-quality processes for engagement and artistic collaboration.
• Circus
• In Circus, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Extend the touring life of high-quality productions that have been successful with audiences when previously performed
  •  Contain proposals that will engage and develop audiences for circus work in arts centres, theatres, with local authorities and at festivals across the country
  • Demonstrate a partnership approach with national festivals, local authorities and/or arts centres with a view to maximising the public visibility of the work and the levels of diverse audience engagement.
• Dance
• In Dance, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Have been successful with audiences with previously performed productions; productions that have not yet been presented to an audience will not be prioritised
  • Demonstrate ambition with regard to public engagement and audience development (proposals are required to evidence the support of partner venues via memorandums of understanding)
  • Are made by producers and/or production organisations aiming to disseminate dance works within the context of formal and/or informal consortia or networks
  • Propose to tour high-quality dance productions for a general audience that are also of relevance to a school audience. Such tours must meet both dance priorities and the YPCE priorities set out within this document.
• Film
• In Film, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Involve touring to venues or events that have film as a core element of their activity and which provide a high-quality cinema experience to established and developing audiences
  • Are for the touring of curated film programmes that would not be available otherwise to audiences at the host venues or events
  • Demonstrate an understanding of public engagement – e.g. feature the contextualisation of film work through the involvement of film-makers, the hosting of post-screening discussions, Q&As, etc.
• Literature
• In Literature, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Programme contemporary literature events in fresh, ambitious and imaginative ways
  • Focus on developing a readership for contemporary literature
  • Demonstrate a strong understanding of public engagement and their target audience, and present strategies for how they will build their audiences
  • Exploit the opportunities presented by new media
  • Work in partnership with established literary organisations, publishers, multidisciplinary arts centres, festivals and established networks.
• Multidisciplinary Arts
• In Multidisciplinary Arts, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Propose to tour events, activities or artworks which combine two or more artforms
• Music
• In Music, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Are artistically excellent in content and performance
  • Demonstrate an understanding of public engagement to include a clear intent and specific plans to maximise audience reach, engagement and impact. As well as live audiences, this can include audience reach through broadcast, online and other audience channels.
  • Show a clear incentive and ‘stake’ on the part of local partner/promoters/venues in ensuring maximum local audience reach and engagement
  • Show a clear intent and credible plan to attract new audiences and audience communities in addition to regular attendees
  • Show credible plans for engagement of local communities of young people and amateur and student creative and performing artists, and any other potential to add value to local musical and community life
  • Enable the provision of a wide range of music genres and practices to audiences
  • Include historic Irish music and/or new Irish music
  • Best avail of the artistic, environmental, marketing and cost-efficiency benefits of touring by being tightly scheduled. In most cases, a tour spread over twenty-eight days should be regarded as the maximum, with a clear rationale and justification provided for any proposal that goes beyond this.
• Opera
• In Opera, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Propose to remount and tour productions that have already been successfully produced in content and performance and proven to be artistically excellent. Proposals to tour new, unproven work/productions will not be considered in this award, and should instead be directed to the Opera Projects and Production Award.
  • Provide significant engagement of Irish opera artists
  • Complement other professional Irish opera productions to provide a good national diversity and balance of opera repertoire
  • Strengthen regular opera provision in main regional centres
  • Reach other locations and proactively engage with audiences and communities that do not normally engage with the artform
  • Demonstrate an understanding of public engagement to include a clear intent and specific plans to maximise audience reach, engagement and impact. As well as live audiences, this can include audience reach through broadcast, online and other audience channels.
  • Show a clear incentive and ‘stake’ on the part of local-partner promoters/venues in ensuring maximum local audience reach and engagement
  • As per section 1.6 above, applicants for Opera Touring must complete and submit the Opera Touring Budget Template. Applications submitted without a completed Opera Touring Budget Template and/or without a detailed public-engagement strategy and corresponding marketing plan will be deemed ineligible.
• Street Performance and Spectacle
• In Street Performance and Spectacle, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Extend the touring life of cross-disciplinary collaborations that have been successful with audiences when previously performed
  • Show a commitment to public engagement by bringing Street Performance and Spectacle work to new and diverse audiences and communities
  • Enable companies to work in partnership with national festivals and local authorities to raise the profile of these artforms through the presentation of high-quality performance pieces, either on a stand-alone basis or within a wider range of programming.
• Theatre
• In Theatre, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Seek to present high-quality mid- to large-scale theatre to as broad an audience as possible (one-person shows will be less of a priority save where the work is of scale)
  • Propose to remount and tour productions that have already been successfully produced in terms of critical and audience response.
  • In exceptional circumstances, companies or organisations with a significant track record may propose to tour productions not yet produced. While initial production costs are not eligible for support under this scheme, financial data must be provided within the budget template to indicate how initial production costs will be met. Such organisations are requested to seek clarification from the Theatre Team at the Arts Council before applying.
  • Demonstrate significant ambition with regard to public engagement and/or audience reach/growth. Proposals are required to evidence the support and collaboration of partner venues, and they will prioritise tours that seek to present as many performances to as many people as possible throughout the tour.
  • Propose to tour high-quality productions of plays for a general audience that are also of relevance to a school audience (such as plays included in the curriculum).
  • As per section 1.6 above: applicants for Theatre Touring must complete and submit both tabs of the Theatre Touring Budget Template, including the summary of arts-centre agreements
  • Applications submitted without a completed Theatre Touring Budget Template and/or without a public-engagement strategy will be deemed ineligible. Successful applicants will be required to submit signed MOUs in order to draw down funding.
• Traditional Arts
• In Traditional Arts, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Show a commitment to public engagement by bringing the traditional arts to new audiences and communities
  • Engage in collaborative creative processes
  • Demonstrate coordination between venues and arts centres (including those that are and those that are not funded by the Arts Council)
  • Propose to tour innovative and unconventional work
  • Propose a clear and feasible plan for attracting audiences in partnership with proposed venues
  •  Propose to tour work created for children and young people
  •  Propose to tour activity that promotes the development of traditional singing in Ireland
  • Propose to tour activity that promotes the development of traditional dance in Ireland
  • Traditional Arts applicants may propose exceptional new work with a focus on touring models, and in these cases the scheme can cover developmental costs and fees.
• Visual Arts
• In Visual Arts, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Demonstrate a clear curatorial concept and audience focus
  • Demonstrate an understanding of public engagement and detail how the tour will be mediated to an audience
  •  Demonstrate ambition to show high-quality international or national exhibitions that would not otherwise be seen by Irish audiences
  • Demonstrate technical expertise that ensures the highest standards of installation and presentation Propose innovative and creative collaborations; collaborators might include specialist visual-arts organisations, multidisciplinary arts centres or festivals, individual visual artists, artists’ collectives or private galleries
  • Enable the sharing of curatorial skills and mediating expertise; these might include a programme of mentoring/shadowing between collaborators
  • Visual Arts applicants may propose exceptional new commissions and/or productions in contemporary visual arts with a focus on touring models, and in these cases the scheme can cover developmental costs and fees.
• Young People, Children and Education (YPCE)
• In relation to YPCE, they will prioritise applications that:
  • Focus primarily on providing a high-quality artistic experience for the target age group/audience/participants
  • Include public-engagement strategies with appropriate marketing that demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the target age group/audience/participants
  • Include and deepen opportunities for young audiences/participants to develop their personal engagement with and contribution to the arts. Examples might include opportunities to interact with and respond to artistic work presented, and to dialogue with the creative team.
  • Maximise the use of existing infrastructure and resources.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Those who are not eligible to apply include the following:
  • Individuals or organisations who do not have a demonstrable track record as professional artists or arts organisations
  • Organisations or individuals not resident/based in the Republic of Ireland
  • Applicants who do not guarantee payment to artists in their original plans and contingency plans
  • Members of the Council of National Cultural Institutions (CNCI) directly funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

For more information, visit The Arts Council.