Submit Applications for Opera Bursary Award (Ireland)

Objectives

• The award emphasizes the value and benefit to an artist’s development derived from an in-depth process of engagement with their artistic practice at any stage of their professional career. The award therefore provides artists with the time and resources to think, research, reflect and engage with their artistic practice by enabling them to do one or more of the following:
  • Spend focused time substantively developing their artistic practice
  • Spend time researching/thinking about/developing a new idea for future dissemination
  • Spend time developing their technical skills in a specific area
  • Spend time developing/learning new skills related to their practice or area of interest
  • Spend time working with a mentor or collaborator(s) to develop an idea or to assist in developing or up skilling within a specific area of the applicant’s practice or an area related to the applicant’s practice
  • Spend time developing an idea in collaboration with a potential production partner(s)
  • Undertake a focused period of training by way of master classes or other professional training opportunities (whether national or international, online or in person)
  • Purchase a limited amount of equipment and materials to assist with the development of their practice.
• Potential proposals could be those that:
  • Enable a composer, librettist conductor or performer working in any opera genre to buy time for the development of their artistic practice
  • Facilitate the development or completion of a specific body of artistic work
  • Enable artists to invest time in focused advanced study, with appropriate mentoring, of a particular repertoire area or other area of practice resulting in substantive artistic development.

Priorities

• The Arts Council has identified the following as strategic priorities for support through this award:
  • Professional development of emerging Irish composers, librettists, conductors and opera directors of proven promise and diverse backgrounds
  • Professional artists working on the creation or performance of new Irish opera, or on performing editions of historic Irish opera not yet generally available
  • Professional artists developing mentor-guided specialist period performance practice as conductors, instrumentalists or singers

Funding Information

• The maximum amount that may be awarded to each successful applicant is: €20,000
• The minimum amount that can be applied for is: €5,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• The award is open to professional artists working in all genres and at all stages in their professional careers. To be eligible to apply, applicants must:
  • Be professional practicing artists – although they might not earn income continuously or exclusively from their arts practices, applicants must identify themselves and be recognised by their peers as professional practicing artists
  • Have a demonstrable track record in their opera practice
  • 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.

Ineligibility Criteria

• 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 courses (including unaccredited)/higher education or study
  • Individuals seeking support towards work undertaken as part of postgraduate studies
  • Individuals seeking costs towards undertaking an internship
  • Individuals seeking support towards work undertaken specifically in preparation for contracted engagements
  • If you are in full-time employment, you must be seeking time away from employment to work on your practice, and how you plan to approach this should be outlined in your application
  • Aosdána members in receipt of a Cnuas.

For more information, visit The Arts Council.