Arts Council opens new £40,000 Organisations Digital Evolution Awards programme
10th January, 2022
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland today (Monday 10th January) opened a new funding programme which aims to provide arts organisations from Northern Ireland with skills in the use of digital technology to create digital art. Online applications are open from Monday 10th January and will close at 12 noon on Monday 14th February 2022, with decisions expected by Monday 4th April 2022.
The Organisations Digital Evolution Awards, worth £40,000, from The National Lottery, offers arts organisations the opportunity to apply for grants of up to £10,000 each for proposals that will take place between 4 April 2022 and 28 February 2023.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the Arts Council’s Creative Industries Officer if they wish to discuss eligibility of their project concepts.
The Organisations Digital Evolution Awards aims to support those arts organisations who are making digital art* for the first time or are working with digital or immersive technology which they have not used previously. Collaborative applications from organisations working together in cross-discipline projects and activities are also encouraged. Examples of the types of project that this scheme will support includes:
- Creation of a virtual environment or augmented reality environment; such as augmented reality visual arts or sound overlay on venues or geographical spaces.
- Using technology, such as 3D rendering and printing, to create artwork digitally which can either exist digitally or be manufactured into 3D physical objects.
- Using technology to translate data into artistic content; for example algorithms that create music or visual content from data input
- App development for the delivery of artistic content; this could include gamification or making an artistic experience for consumption on digital devices. (Note: this does not include streaming of filmed / recorded performances)
- Piloting new forms of support to individual artists or organisations that results in the creation of digital art.
Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented,
“The opening of the Organisations Digital Evolution Awards today is welcome news. Thanks to The National Lottery, the programme will support arts organisations in the creation of art using digital and immersive technologies, and will also help organisations develop skills in the use of these new technologies. This programme reflects the Arts Council’s commitment to encouraging innovative practices that cross artform boundaries and build digital capabilities within the Northern Ireland arts sector.”
The Organisations Digital Evolution Awards scheme is open for online applications from Monday 10th January 2022 and will close at 12noon on Monday 14th February 2022 for grants up to a maximum of £10,000. Decisions are expected by Monday 4th April 2022. For further information on the webinar, eligibility, guidance notes and to apply visit http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/funding/scheme/organisations-digital-evolution-awards Please note guidance notes are also available on request in large print format and disk.