AIC Scheme Artist Mentoring Award 2026

Create invites applications from collaborative, socially engaged artists, or artists transitioning into collaborative, socially engaged arts, who wish to avail of a focused period of mentorship to develop and consolidate their practice.

The Mentoring Award is funded through the Artist in the Community Scheme (AIC), managed by Create on a devolved basis for The Arts Council. The AIC Scheme is a primary vehicle for collaborative socially engaged arts practice in Ireland. The closing date for applications is 5pm, Monday, 27th April 2026

About the Mentoring Award

The Mentoring Award offers capacity building and arts practice development for collaborative, socially engaged artists. This award offers the opportunity for five successful applicants to be paired with artists from the Artist Mentor Panel. Each mentee will receive support through a series of meetings with an experienced collaborative, socially engaged artist mentor, who acts as a critical friend/guide for the mentee over an eight-month period.

The Mentoring Award is part of a suite of offerings under the Artist in the Community Scheme (AIC).

The Artist Mentor Panel is made up of experienced collaborative, socially engaged practitioners who specialise in a range of artforms, and who have worked with diverse communities from across Ireland and beyond. Each brings in-depth knowledge of the field, and a deep awareness of key considerations when working with communities, including in sensitive settings and where projects are addressing significant social issues.

See the Mentor Biographies document linked on this page. Each mentor has outlined their collaborative arts practice, their approach to mentorship, areas they are passionate about and specific skills or expertise they bring to mentoring.

Our Approach to Mentorship

In 2025, the Values Framework was researched and compiled by Dr. Ciaran Smyth, and outlines Create’s approach to mentorship within the scheme.

In March 2026, we published the Mentorship Toolkit. This Toolkit is designed to support everyone who is becoming a mentor or mentee as part of the AIC Scheme Artist Mentoring Award. It was developed to serve as a companion document that you may reference throughout your mentoring journey from before your first meeting to after your mentorship is over. The toolkit includes a collection of information, tips, templates, and resources for mentees and mentors to use at their own discretion.

Who is this award for?

The award is specifically aimed

• an emerging collaborative, socially engaged artist

or

• an artist with a midcareer/established individual arts practice who is transitioning into collaborative, socially engaged arts

Applicants who meet the following criteria will be given preference

• Artists who find themselves on the margins and feel they are underrepresented in the field of collaborative, socially engaged arts, including those affected by geographical, political, economic, institutional or personal circumstances (such as displacement, migration, age, disability, care responsibilities or limited access to education)

AND/ OR

• Artists who are experiencing a particular practice-based challenge in developing their collaborative, socially engaged arts practice, for example, an emerging artist struggling to establish professional networks and resources; an artist with an established individual arts practice transitioning into collaborative, socially engaged arts practice; or an artist struggling with relational dynamics
• All applicants must present a well-defined professional development need and description of how they could benefit from the mentoring and further training opportunities associated with this award. This may be a combination of technical and practical elements related to developing your collaborative, socially engaged arts practice, such as a deeper exploration of collaborative methodologies, and support in the following: developing your project ideas, leading projects, managing dynamics with diverse stakeholders, ethical considerations around working collaboratively with communities, approaches to evaluation, navigating professional networks, identifying and preparing for funding opportunities, as well as advice and recommendations around deepening your practice and strategically advancing your career.

What the award offers

The award offers a mentorship pairing with one of the Panel’s collaborative, socially engaged Artist Mentors.

The mentorship will be driven by you as the artist mentee, following identification of key needs and areas for development.

Selected artists:

• will work with a core mentor over six meetings
• will have the option to avail of up to two additional satellite mentoring sessions with other practitioners, offering exposure to diverse perspectives and skillsets
• will take part in a two-day training programme with guest speakers designed in response to the interests of the mentee cohort

Other offerings may include:

• peer support sessions with the group mentor and the option to attend events relevant to the mentees for example Create Networking Event.
• This award is part of a suite of offerings under the AIC Scheme, and Create will work with artists to offer support in navigating and engaging in other opportunities such as the AIC Scheme Awards, CPD workshops, etc

A stipend of €600 is offered to cover expenses associated with participation. The successful applicants will take part in an in-person orientation session/ mixer event with Create and the mentors. This session will outline programme offerings and provide space to discuss in more detail how the opportunity can best be tailored to each artist’s needs.

Information session

An online information session will take place on the 23rd March. This session will provide insight into the Mentoring Award, with mentees Shauna Harris and Ben Malcolmson joining to discuss their experiences of the programme and explore key principles of collaborative, socially engaged arts practice. We strongly encourage potential applicants to attend. More details can be found here.

What is the time commitment?

Participating artists are required to commit to:

• an in-person orientation session/mixer event– 30 June 2026 (full day session at Create office)*
• attend a two-day training programme- 24^th + 25^th November 2026*
• six meetings with their mentor over the duration of the pairings
• participation in one evaluation meeting/focus group – 16^th March 2027
• a series of online group mentor-led engagements – dates to be agreed

The programme will run over an eight-month period from 30 June 2026 to 16 March 2027. Mentoring sessions can take place online, by telephone, or face-to-face. This can be shaped by the mentor and mentee according to individual needs and availability.

*(Dublin – accommodation, travel and expenses will be covered separately)

What are the expectations?

There are no specific expected outputs. The aim of this programme is to afford artists the opportunity to work with an artist mentor on developing their collaborative, socially engaged practice.

Making an Application

See Guidelines for Create Artist Mentoring Award 2026, linked on this page. 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. 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

You will find a REFERENCE ONLY copy of the application form on 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.

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 closing date for applications is 5pm, Monday, 27th April 2026.