Christmas comes early for 204 artists across the region who are set to benefit from £1.2m Arts Council NI funding
23rd December, 2024
A visual artist who creates large-scale murals, a drag comedy artist, an aerialist, a designer and a jazz musician are among 204 artists from across the region set to benefit from £1.2m funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The funding which is part of the Arts Council’s Project Funding for Individual Artists (PFIA) scheme, supports artists across all artforms who are at various stages of their artistic careers, including emerging artists.
Thanks to vital funding from The National Lottery and exchequer funding through the Department for Communities (DfC), these artists will be supported in a range of projects such as residencies, training, mentorships, creation of new works such as a play, a poetry collection, a book or a piece of visual art or music or projects focused on research and development of their artistic practice.
The Project Funding for Individual Artists scheme forms part of the Arts Council’s wider Support for the Individual Artist Programme (SIAP) and aims to support the wide range of activity that can be undertaken by artists of all disciplines in relation to their practice, and to enable innovation and experimentation.
Noirin McKinney, Director of Arts Development at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said,
“The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is thrilled to announce more than £1.2m funding for 204 exceptional artists based in Northern Ireland, through our Project Funding for Individual Artists scheme. The scheme is funded by The National Lottery and exchequer funding through the Department for Communities, and we thank Minister Lyons for making this vital funding available.
These grants, worth up to £10,000 each, provides these artists with the financial means required to take their professional, artistic careers to that all-important next level, whilst also supporting innovation and experimentation. This programme addresses the need for on-going skills development and training within the arts sector here and the Arts Council is excited to see their projects develop in the year ahead. Congratulations to all the awardees.”
The artists will now go on to develop a series of projects. Some of those offered funding include:
Jane Buckley, Derry~Londonderry
Funding award offered: £7,200.
Jane Buckey is an author from Derry-Londonderry. Jane will use her PFIA award towards the research and writing of a new non-fiction book based on the story of Project Children. Project Children was a summer programme established by Patrick and Denis Mulcahy, members of the New York Police Department and Cork natives, which saw 23,000 young catholic and protestant children from NI travel to the USA for a summer holiday respite from the everyday violence during The Troubles.
Andrew Irwin, Fermanagh
Funding award offered: £10,000.
Andrew Irwin is an opera singer from Fermanagh. Andrew who is a former recipient of BBC NI and Arts Council NI’s Young Musicians' Platform Award, will use his PFIA funding towards further artistic development and network growth, working alongside Paul Farrington, Stadttheater Bremerhaven, Stadtkantorei Bremerhaven and the Ealing Choral Society.
Sinead McKenna, Mid-Ulster
Funding award offered: £4,750.
As an emerging artist, musician Sinead McKenna will use her PFIA funding towards skills development by taking traditional Irish vocal and accompaniment lessons.
Eddie Doherty, North Down & Ards.
Funding award offered: £10,000.
Eddie Doherty, a visual artist from Bangor, will use his PFIA award towards the development of stone-setting and engraving skills by attending a training course, investing in equipment and working on the development of new exhibition work.
David Lyttle, Armagh
Funding award offered: £9,918.
David Lyttle is a multi-award-winning jazz musician from Armagh. David will use his PFIA funding towards a live event at The MAC in Belfast. He will develop his artistic skills as a performer by seeking out professional development and creating new work.
Cherry Smyth, Causeway Coast & Glens
Funding award offered: £9,000.
Poet Cherry Smyth will use her PFIA award to write a new libretto for a music and poetry performance, with a view to touring the production nationally and internationally. Through the work the poet wishes to highlight the long-term effects on the landscape and wildlife of a gold mine and achieve a broader awareness of the dangerous ecological repercussions for generations to come.
Talia McDowell, Mid & East Antrim
Funding award offered: £9,696.
Talia McDowell runs Talia McDowell Dance, an inclusive dance service based in Northern Ireland for people of all ages and abilities, particularly seated dancers, who may use wheelchairs. Talia will use her PFIA award to create a new inclusive dance project entitled, Everybody Moving. The artist will work with The Music Yard in Larne to provide sound technician expertise, receive mentorship from disabled artist, Helen Hall, and work with Open Arts for professional development.
Lucy Bell, Newry, Mourne & Down
Funding award offered: £8,500.
Musician, Lucy Bell, will use her PFIA award to create an EP project entitled To the End of Heaven and Hell. The artist will use the project to improve her skills in the recording studio as a musician, working alongside producer, Daniel Morgan Ball, who has worked for Ciaran Lavery, Chubby Cat, and Gareth Dunlop.
Stephen Johnston, Lisburn & Castlereagh
Funding award offered: £9,993.
Visual artist, Stephen Johnston, will use his PFIA award to create, Seasons, a new experimental non-commercial body of work, consisting of four major oil paintings to exhibit globally. The artist will receive professional support from Kim Mawhinney, Senior Curator of Art at National Museums NI, who will offer invaluable connections and networking opportunities.
Marian Noone (FRIZ), Belfast
Funding award offered: £8,394.
Marian Noone aka FRIZ is a visual artist that works in both traditional and digital mediums. She is a member of the SPOOM Collective, a group of artists who frequently collaborate on large scale murals. Her painting 'Queen Medb' was commissioned for exhibition in the Ulster Museum as part of 'Tags not Labels' which ran in conjunction with the V&A 'Street Art' exhibition, including artwork by Banksy, D*Face, Jamie Hewlett and others. FRIZ will use her PFIA award for research and development towards creating a new body of work.
Alex McMillen, Belfast
Funding award offered: £7,045.
Alex McMillen is a drag artist and comedian based in Belfast who performs stand-up comedy under the name Céilí Rae Minogue. The artist will use their PFIA award towards developing a new drag stand-up show entitled Emotional Rollercoaster.
Melanie Gordon, Belfast
Funding award offered: £6,542.
Melanie Gordon is an aerialist based in Belfast. Melanie will use her PFIA award towards the creation of a new aerial rope performance via mentorship from experts Monika Palova & Emma Poole. Through the mentorship the artist aims to advance her technical and creative abilities.
Gráinne Maher
Funding award offered: £7,520.Belfast designer, Gráinne Maher, will use her PFIA award towards a programme of mentoring with leading Irish designer, Pauric Sweeney, on her project 'Leather reimagined’. The project will see Gráinne spending time with Pauric Sweeney is his studio in Florence Italy to develop her skills in leather work and business development.