Grants and Opportunities

Festivals are key producers and presenters of the arts, and are critical for engaging diverse audiences and broadening public access to the arts. They provide vital platforms and opportunities for artists to develop their practice, often showcasing the arts in new and challenging ways, in both conventional and non-arts spaces. The Festivals Investment Scheme supports small-to-mid-scale festivals to deliver high-quality arts experiences for audiences. It focuses on programmes engaged with, and relevant to, local communities or communities of interest.

CLÁR (Ceantair Laga Árd Riachtanais) or Funding for Small-Scale Rural Projects is a targeted investment programme which provides funding for small-scale infrastructural projects in rural areas that have suffered the greatest levels of population decline. Reopened in 2016, CLÁR aims to support sustainable development in identified areas by attracting people to live and work there. The funding works in conjunction with local funding and on the basis of locally identified priorities.

The Hi Digital Fund is aimed at addressing the digital skills gap among Ireland’s ageing population. We invite applications from projects and organisations that innovatively work to empower Ireland’s older adults to enhance their digital literacy, as well as improve social inclusion and quality of life through the use of technology, ensuring that no one is left behind as we transition to a more digital society. This €540,000, two-year fund is created by Rethink Ireland in partnership with the Vodafone Foundation, SmartSimple, private donors, and the Department of Rural and Community Development via the Dormant Accounts Fund.

Backwater Artists Group wishes to enlist the services of an experienced communications and marketing professional to devise and implement new communications and marketing strategies, increase the profile of the artist studio complex and our artist members, support our fundraising and sponsorship initiatives, and grow audiences, in line with our strategic objectives 2024–2028.

Void Art Centre are hiring a Coordinator of Production and Dynamics (Maternity Cover). The role seeks to promote care principles and empathetic approaches to stakeholder liaison, and logistical management of the gallery’s programme and everyday running. This is a pivotal role within Void Art Centre’s organisational structure, which looks to interdependent forms of team-working and artistic and cultural production.

Axis Ballymun are seeking to recruit a full-time Programme Coordinator on a 12-month fixed-term contract (maternity cover). The Programme Coordinator will work closely with the Axis Director/CEO to co-ordinate and deliver Axis’ Artistic programme, developed by the Director/CEO and Programme Manager, including arts engagement and theatre and gallery programming.

Rethink Ireland, with the support of the JP Morgan Chase Foundation, the Department of Rural and Community Development, and BNY, has created a three-year Empower Tech Futures Fund to support up to five projects or organisations, over three years, that are helping vulnerable young adults aged 18–30 into employment, with a special focus on digital and technology skills and the Dublin and/or Cork regions. The overarching goal of the Empower Tech Futures Fund is to tackle disparities in opportunity and access to employment for young adults at a disadvantage.

Fóras na Gaeilge is providing funding to appropriate local groups to give them an opportunity to develop arts festivals or elements of festivals being run and implemented through the medium of Irish, or of which the language-based arts are a central part. This scheme is aimed at festivals which aim to foster and promote, through Irish or bilingually, the Irish language, the language-based arts, and Irish language heritage. The scheme also seeks to create and foster opportunities for the use of, and to develop, networks through the medium of the language-based arts.

The Stephen Lloyd Awards are an annual programme providing funding and support to early-stage projects that are forward-thinking, inspiring, and creative in their solutions. The awards are about creating success; they will support early-stage projects that have real potential to achieve practical, sustainable social change. They will harness the expertise and the finance of those with deep knowledge of the charity and social enterprise sector in order to help socially valuable projects move from concept to realisation.

The European Cooperation Projects grant supports projects involving organisations of all sizes in the cultural and creative sectors to undertake sectoral or cross-sectoral activities. This funding opportunity supports small, medium, and large-scale transnational collaborative projects in Creative Europe countries. Projects can cover one or more cultural and creative sectors and can be interdisciplinary.

Branar Meitheal is a dynamic production supports programme for artists and producers, dedicated to the development, creation, and presentation of high-quality performing arts for young audiences across Ireland. Following a successful pilot programme, and with the support of the Arts Council’s Creative Production Support, Branar will launch the phase of this unique support programme for the performing arts for young audiences.

This grant scheme provides small-scale funding to support festivals or events organised and run by local community groups and residents groups to reconnect the local community and to encourage, support, and celebrate participation in communities across Galway City. Grants will not be awarded for occasional or once-off events such as musical performances, national day celebrations, or sports days. Grants will range from €300–€2,000.

The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland is delighted to work with the Henry Smith Charity to launch the new Northern Ireland Thriving Futures Fund. The fund aims to support refugees and people seeking asylum, people experiencing domestic abuse, and people leaving the criminal justice system. These periods of challenge and change are often high-need points, where negative experiences can lead to economic disadvantage, poverty and exclusion, or worse. However, they are also high-leverage points where clusters of need can be addressed by effective interventions to break cycles of disadvantage and achieve lasting transformation.

The Irish Film Institute (IFI) is the national body charged with the promotion of film culture. As part of the IFI, the Irish Film Archive is responsible for collecting, preserving, and making available Ireland’s moving-image heritage, and the collections in its care include film, digital materials, and document collections. The Film Collections Officer will work predominantly on Screen Ireland material.

This call funds online people-to-people activities that promote intercultural dialogue and soft skills development. They make it possible for every young person to access high-quality international and cross-cultural education without physical mobility. While virtual debating or training does not fully replace the benefits of physical mobility, participants in virtual exchanges will reap some of the benefits of the international educational experience.

The Agility Award is for individual professional artists and arts practitioners who have not been previously funded as an individual by the Arts Council. You can apply for the Agility Award if you want to develop your practice, your work, or your skills.

This call aims to support the design, development, and replication of innovative tools, models, or solutions that are applicable to the audiovisual and cultural and creative sectors. The objective of the call is to encourage cooperation between the audiovisual sector and other CCS’s in order to accompany their environmental transition or to improve their competitiveness or the circulation, visibility, discoverability, availability, diversity, and audience of European content across borders.

The 33rd Business to Arts Awards will take place in September 2025. The annual awards ceremony is a fantastic evening of live entertainment, networking, and celebration. It features a range of categories that celebrate arts sponsorship, commissioning, philanthropy, staff engagement programmes, corporate social responsibility, access programmes, creative community initiatives, and more. To nominate a partnership for the Business to Arts Awards, the business partner must work closely with the arts partner to complete an online application.

Creative Ireland South Dublin and the South Dublin County Council Arts Office are inviting proposals from youth and community organisations based in South Dublin County Council administrative area to deliver a mural artwork in their local areas. In 2025, €10,000 will be available for two mural artworks involving community co-design and participation with an artist

This call aims to contribute to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and its Action Plan, ensuring just transitions, protecting livelihoods, boosting employment, reducing poverty and inequalities, and creating opportunities for all. The Employment and Social Innovation (‘EaSI’) strand of the ESF+ provides funding to achieve high employment levels, fair social protection, a skilled and resilient workforce ready for the future world of work, inclusive and cohesive societies, and the eradication of poverty.

Cork County Council Library and Arts Service wishes to appoint an experienced marketing coordinator to lead the promotion of the Cork County Culture Night Programme 2024. In 2024, over 17,000 people attended 166 events in 132 venues throughout the county. The project will commence on 26 May 2025 and will extend no later than 31 October 2025.

The Connected Communities Fund is a three-year fund that aims to build inclusive and resilient communities and strengthen social cohesion across Ireland. This €1.5 million fund is created by Rethink Ireland in partnership with Mason Hayes & Curran LLP and the Department of Rural and Community Development via the Dormant Accounts Fund. The new fund is open to organisations dedicated to scaling innovations that strengthen civil society, build community cohesion and empower communities to develop solutions that work for all.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is delighted to invite applications for Phase 1 of the dlr Creative Ireland Project Award. The award focuses on supporting arts and cultural organisations, collectives, groups and individual creatives in delivering new and existing programmes or initiatives that help create and develop creative communities in dlr.

The Hospital Saturday Fund was founded in 1873, at a time when poverty, overcrowding, and ill-health were prevalent and little help was available for those needing costly hospital care. The Hospital Saturday Fund will consider giving grants to individuals and registered medical health charities within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland

Butler Gallery, Kilkenny is a leading contemporary art gallery and museum with a permanent collection and one of the finest exhibition spaces in Ireland. Dedicated to exhibiting emerging and major Irish and international artists, it promotes high artistic standards and the value of visual art to society. The gallery’s programme includes diverse exhibitions, events, courses, talks, and workshops. Following the launch of its Strategic Plan 2025–2029, Butler Gallery is now seeking a Head of Development to create and lead the delivery of the associated strategic fundraising plan.

Catalyst Residency, offered in partnership between Create and Fire Station Artists’ Studios (FSAS), offers a socially engaged artist from an under-represented ethnic background a one-month residency in Dublin 1 during June 2025. The residency is intended as an artist-led incubation period which allows them to develop their practice and their networks with targeted support from the residency partners

Galway International Arts Festival is a multidisciplinary event that programmes a mix of music, theatre, opera, visual arts, spectacle, and talks that attracts an attendance of over 400,000 to Galway every July. The organisation is now looking for a digital marketing executive that will work with the festival team to support delivery of its communications plans over the next number of years, with the organisation building towards its 50th anniversary in 2027.

The Education and Audience Development Officer at Photo Museum Ireland will develop and lead the implementation of programmes and initiatives that help more people engage with photography. They will work to attract a wider audience to the museum and build connections with schools. This role involves working with a diverse range of people – including artists, students, and community groups – to design and manage educational activities that are accessible, inclusive, and impactful.

The Ballinglen Arts Foundation is seeking talented and creative artists to design a series of engaging and educational activity workbooks related to their upcoming exhibitions, with an added biodiversity focus. This is a paid opportunity for original artwork, design, and research. The activity workbooks will be for children and will enhance visitor engagement with their exhibitions and promote awareness and understanding of local biodiversity.