The Arts Council’s role is to advocate for and support the development of a diverse and varied arts-festival ecology, and to provide a suite of supports that: increase opportunities for public engagement, provide participation in the arts, develop the work of an artist/artform, encourage models of best practice, establish festivals of national/international significance, provide quality arts experiences for audiences, and foster programmes engaged with, and relevant to, local communities.

This is achieved in our role as the agency for leading the development of arts in Ireland through the provision of initiatives and supports for festivals and as the national agency for arts funding; providing a number of financial supports to various arts festival models.

Funding

Through its Strategic Funding, the Arts Council supports the essential infrastructure required to sustain and develop festival practice in Ireland and to support festivals to develop artform and artist development and broaden public access to the arts. This spans a broad range of artform practice areas.

The Council’s Commissions Scheme and Arts Grant Funding supports the development of festival programmes and opportunities to strengthen producing and commissioning capacity. In this regard the Arts Council values not only the development of single-artform practice but also the approach of multidisciplinary and inter-disciplinary arts in festivals.

The Agility Award supports the professional development of festival producers, curators and festival-makers through mentoring programmes and training. Through its Festival Investment Scheme, the Arts Council supports small/mid-scale festival programmes which deliver quality arts experiences to the public, play a key role in the transmission of arts practice, and contribute to place making in local communities.

A full list of schemes where festivals can apply as the lead applicant is published here.

Strategic Funding

Strategic Funding supports organisations which are critical to, and/or, central to the national arts infrastructure. These organisations sustain the development of festival practice in Ireland, provide opportunities for artform/artist development and provide a range of pathways for the public to engage in the arts. Organisations must be formally constituted as a CLG, DAC or a statutory body to be supported under this programme.

Multidisciplinary festivals funded through this programme for 2024 include:

Single artform festivals funded through this programme for 2024 include:

Arts Grant Funding

Arts Grant Funding provides a fixed period of support to organisations/individuals who generate high quality programmes for the public to engage with the arts, facilities that support the work of artists and/or the arts sector. In the context of festivals; mid-scale/large festival programmes, festivals involved in the creation or development of art projects, festivals addressing deficits in the festival ecology are supported.

Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary projects or festivals funded through this programme for 2024 include:

Single artform festivals funded through this programme for 2024 include:

Festivals Investment Scheme

The Festivals Investment Scheme provides non-recurring support for small/mid-scale festivals or new festival programmes to deliver quality and imaginative arts experiences for audiences, to contribute to the development of artform practices and to increase opportunities for public engagement. In this regard, the Arts Council acknowledges the valuable contribution made by voluntary committees in developing and sustaining festivals.

A full breakdown of festivals funded under the Festival Investment Programme can be found in the ‘Who we funded’ link here.

Commissions

The purpose the Commissions Award is to enable the commissioning of new work from freelance artists. In a festivals context priority is given to: opportunities for artists to co-author new work in collaboration with the public, enable artists from diverse backgrounds to create new ambitious work for festival audiences. 

West Cork Arts Festivals Consortia

The West Cork Arts Festivals Cooperative is a group of eleven festivals that take place across the towns, villages, and islands of the region. Established in 2021, this organisation aims to increase awareness of each festival nationally and internationally, to create a regional network for the exchange of experience and expertise, and to foster collaboration and cooperation that will build capacity to reach new and diverse communities and audiences. Member Festivals include:

Irish Early Music Network

The Irish Early Music Network supports knowledge sharing amongst its members, Initiatives include: creating a small bank of audio, video and streaming equipment for concert and workshop broadcasts by member organisations, facilitating and creating connections across Europe via membership in the European Early Music Network, EEEmerging (Emerging European Ensembles) and other international initiatives and organisations. Member Festivals include:

Birr Festivals Consortia

The consortium of the Birr Festivals Collective was formed in 2020 to imagine and to create possibilities for the future of Birr’s festivals. Member Festivals include:

Other Funding Supports

Whilst the above schemes are central to the Arts Council funding of festivals, other schemes are also available for festivals to apply to; these include:

• Architecture Project Award –The award supports specific projects in the field of Architecture including: high-quality initiatives that deliver a presentation to an audience.
• Culture Night Late – Culture Night Late is designed to support events that will begin after 9pm and continue late into the night on Culture Night. (Deadline 7 March 2024)
• International Residency Initiatives Scheme – To enable arts organisations to initiate or consolidate collaborative frameworks with partners based abroad. (Deadline 4 April 2024)
• Deis Recording and Publication Scheme – providing support for traditional arts projects, or projects involving collaboration between the traditional arts and other artforms, that focus on the recording or publication of work. (Deadline 15 February 2024)
• Agility Award (Starting Round 2 2023) – The Agility Award aims to support individual professional freelance artists and arts workers at any stage in their careers. (Deadline 25 April 2024) 
• Creative places – Strand 3 Creative Places Research and Development Award is open to new applicants for a one-off Research and Development Award, which can be drawn down over eighteen months. The award covers research fees and consultation costs. In 2024 it is anticipated that up to two awards will be made. (Deadline 28 March 2024) 
• Touring – invites applications for proposals seeking funding to support the touring of work across all artform and arts practice areas for tours taking place in the Republic of Ireland starting from January to December 2025. (Deadline 9 May 2024)
• Co-funding Award – subdivided by strands. Strand 1: Co-funding Award for Creative Europe Cooperation Projects commencing in 2024. Strand 2: Co-funding Award for Partner Meetings in preparation for Creative Europe Cooperation Project applications. (Deadline 5 December 2024)