Funding for Individuals

Through our National Lottery funding, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland supports hundreds of individual artists and creative practitioners each year.

Learn More about Funding for Individuals
Contemporary dancer dressed all in white performs barefooted on stage against black and white striped backdrop.
‘Hard to be Soft’. Oona Doherty & Prime Cut Productions. Photo: Luca Truffarelli.

Our Support for Individual Artists Programme (SIAP), offers you the chance to apply for grants between £62 and £15,000. This programme is for artists who are ready to develop their practice. This fund offers opportunity for research, supports you by providing time to create new work, to train, to develop fresh ideas, to receive mentoring and to travel.

SIAP is open for applications once each year, usually July, while our International Travel Awards programme is a rolling programme.

Accessible Funding

If you have a disability which affects your ability to complete the online application form, please contact the University of Atypical. They will provide tailored advice and support to D/deaf, disabled and Neurodiverse applicants when submitting an application to Arts Council Programmes. Phone: 028 90239450 Email: access@universityofatypical.org

Art Therapy and Art Psychotherapy

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland provides development opportunities and support to artists and organisations through public funding initiatives, including some Arts and Health related initiatives. For example, we may fund arts activities that directly engage with individuals within healthcare, community and arts-based settings, where the aim is to promote the well-being and mental health of participants through the inherent value of the creative process.

We do not fund Art Therapy/Art Psychotherapy which has a clinical focus or sets a therapeutic goal against a specific co-developed treatment plan centred on psychotherapeutic theory.

Please note the titles Art Therapist and Art Psychotherapist are protected by law and to use either of these titles it is a legal requirement to be registered as such with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). All UK Art Therapists must be registered with the HCPC.

Need help with your funding application or further information?

Funding Help & Advice