£50,000 National Lottery funding awarded to support artists from minority ethnic backgrounds
10th November, 2026
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has awarded 15 artists share of almost £50,000 through the Creative Progression Scheme, another strand of the National Lottery Support for Individual Artists Programme (SIAP).
The Creative Progression Scheme, formerly the Minority Ethnic Artists Mentoring and Residency Scheme, is supporting artists and creative practitioners from minority ethnic backgrounds, particularly those who have experienced structural barriers linked to racialisation, migration, and displacement.
Fifteen artists from across Northern Ireland have been awarded grants ranging from £1,652 to £4,030 to support their creative work, including creating new pieces of work, research and development time, mentoring, and professional development activities.
Noirin McKinney, Director of Arts Development, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented: “Congratulations to everyone awarded this National Lottery funding. The Creative Progression scheme is an important strand of our Support for Individual Artists Programme funding and vitally supports the Arts Council’s strategy to ensure the sector develops, looks after its people, and is more inclusive.”
One of the artists receiving funding is Dr Leonid Kuzmenko, a composer/educator, multi-instrumentalist, and virtual reality researcher. He is using a £3,450 grant to compose, record and perform a new 30-minute experimental audiovisual composition at the Sonic Arts Research Centre, Queens University, Belfast. The piece will connect Leonid’s Russian/Slavic heritage with Irish/Celtic folk traditions.
Leonid said “As a Russian composer living in Northern Ireland, I have identified many commonalities between Russian and Irish folklore, specifically the shared use of primordial modal structures, melancholic melodies, and ritualistic use of music and storytelling that connect deeply to culture and place.
“This funding is helping me to undertake significant artistic research into both traditions, in order to meaningfully weave these underlying motifs together. The finished piece will include music from baritone saxophones, bass saxophone, and theremin, incorporating live responsive visuals projected on screen, and culminating in a performance in Belfast.”
Belfast-based artist Shadé Mawoyeka has also been awarded £2,500 to curate three high-quality ‘Listening Room’ showcases over the next few months to spotlight local talent, musicians, poets, spoken word artists and more. Shadé will build on her previous success by exploring digital experiences as well as in-person events that support artists at all levels.
Shadé said “It's been my mission to create a respectful, honest, diverse and inclusive space where people can come to share their work with others and leave feeling valued. One of the main objectives of The Listening Room is to put the artist at the centre of everything. It's a symbiotic relationship; the artist shares, the audience embraces, you leave feeling inspired.
“I've run nine successful events so far, including a special feature for Culture Night Belfast which also showcased local visual artists from different parts of the world. The Listening Room especially opens its doors to people from underrepresented backgrounds, artists with limited or impacted access to platform their work, with neurodiverse, disabled, queer, Poc and global majority people being uplifted and recognised.”
Also receiving funding is Karishma Kusurkar. The multidisciplinary creative based in the Lisburn and Castlereagh area, has been awarded £3,232 to undertake creative research and develop an online archive of visual imagery.
The project will explore ‘third-culture’ experiences - where cultural influences meet, overlap and change - as well as belonging. Karishma will focus on the migrant and diaspora South Asian third-culture identity and its rootedness in the UK and Ireland.
Karishma said “The project is rooted in the belief that culture is not fixed or singular. It is continually adapted through migration, exchange, memory and lived experience. By focusing on third-culture perspectives, the project aims to challenge simplified ideas of representation and create space for more complex, contemporary and self-defined identities.
"Over the past 12 years I have built my creative practice around visual art and design, cultural research, curation, storytelling and participatory work. This project will build upon my experience and allow me to create an impactful visual archive including original photographs, textures, patterns, fabrics and other imagery which will be accessible for the creative sector and the general public to engage with and, importantly, to use.”
Full list of awardees
- Deepika Gupta, £3,350
- Elvira Santamaria-Torres, £3,929
- Esther Ogunleye, £4,030
- Israh Castro, £3,853
- James Ayo Ojuolape, £2,375
- Karishma Kusurkar, £3,232
- Kwame Daniels, £2,375
- Laura Rodríguez-Davis, £3,281
- Leonid Kuzmenko, £3,450
- Mariusz Smiejek, £1,652
- Sara Drumond, £3,480
- Shadé Mawoyeka, £2,500
- Shahrukh Asad, £3,740
- Tolulope Agbede (performer name: KOLA), £3,965
- Viktor Gomes £3,834
For more information on The Creative Progression Scheme and other support for individual artists visit: Funding for Individuals | Arts Council NI
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland recently launched a new Arts Impact section on their website. Arts Impact offers reports, official statistics and case studies that can help all of us tell the story of the outcomes of public investment in the arts. View Arts Impact here - https://artscouncil-ni.org/res...