2023 AIC Scheme Bursary Award
Learning Lab, Cork City: Create and Counterpoints Arts. Imagery by Esther Blodau. Photo: Marcia Chandra
In 2023, the Artist in the Community (AIC) Scheme Bursary award will undergo a period of evolution, moving from an award which focused on elevating themes, artforms and specific context areas, to one offering a more developmental approach.
The bursary will focus on practice, offering equitable access points which includes two bursary awards, each offering €15,000 (an increase on the €10,000 offered in previous years). We acknowledge that multiple barriers apply to accessing funding, some more visible than others, and this evolution in the bursary award is designed to minimise barriers in multiple forms.
The closing date for applications is 5pm, Monday 16th October 2023.
About the Bursary Award
The purpose of the award is to support and nurture professional arts practice, for an artist in any artform who has a track record of working collaboratively with communities of place or interest in the making and interpreting of art. This is a developmental bursary aimed at practitioners who are facing particular barriers and/or challenges in developing their collaborative socially engaged arts practice.
The bursary of €15,000 will provide the selected artist with time and resources to engage with and reflect on their practice. This may include time to carry out research. More particularly, it allows the artist to consider key questions associated with their collaborative arts practice and collaborative methodologies.
In addition, this bursary award offers bi monthly mentoring support from Create and up to two mentoring sessions with one of the experienced collaborative socially engaged practitioners from the Artist Mentor Panel.
The award emphasises the value and benefit to an artist’s development of an extended process of engagement with their practice, and seeks to provide artists with the time and resources to think, research, reflect and engage deeply with their practice.
Application Process
We encourage those interested in applying to attend an information session to learn more about the scheme, after which they may attend a one on one Bursary clinic. At this clinic, potential applicants can meet with Create and members of the Artist Mentor Panel to get advice and support on their potential ideas for the bursary.
The application takes the form of an Expression of Interest, to be completed online. This provides space for applicants to identify challenges and barriers to progressing their collaborative arts practice and outline how this bursary and the support it offers will enable a transformational impact on their arts practice.
Shortlisted applicants will be offered feedback and invited to meet with the decision making panel to discuss their expression of interest, following which two awards will be granted.
The closing date for applications is 5pm, Monday 16th October 2023.
Applying for the AIC Scheme Bursary Award – Step by Step Instructions
- Read the Guidelines
A full Guidelines document may be found linked on this page in the weeks in advance of the closing date. This document outlines eligibility requirements, what the award will fund, necessary support materials and information on the application process. You must read the Guidelines in full before advancing to the next step. - Prepare your answers
You will find a REFERENCE ONLY copy of the expression of interest form on the right hand side of this page, in the weeks in advance of the closing date. This is to be used solely to prepare your answers, to understand the questions you must answer, and support materials you must provide. Do not use this reference-only version to apply for the scheme. Applications received in this manner will be ineligible for review. - Gather all Supporting Materials
Information on essential supporting materials is available in the Guidelines document. You must use the provided Budget Template to create your budget. This can be loaded directly into the online application form. - Complete your application online
The online portal is accessible via the link on this page. You can save your application part-way through and access it again within 30 days, but remember that you must submit in full in advance of the deadline
Applications will only be accepted through the online form and all supporting material must be submitted online. You must read the guidelines prior to submission. If you haven’t used this online form before, you should familiarise yourself with the online form, and apply early. We advise you to apply more than 48 hours in advance of the closing date, to allow time to deal with any potential issues. If an error or issue occurs, try our troubleshooting tips, also linked on this page. You may contact us and report errors if the suggestions do not help. Please note that it may take up to two working days to resolve issues. The deadline for receipt of application forms is 5pm, Monday 16th October 2023.