Arts Council announces £343,000 for 96 projects that support greater access and participation in the arts for communities across NI
13th November, 2025
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has announced £343,000 funding, through its New Small Grants Programme, to support 96 projects across the region. The New Small Grants Programme is funded by the Department for Communities (DfC) and aims to encourage greater access to and participation in the arts for everyone.
Arts organisations and community groups had the opportunity to apply for grants between £500 and £5,000 to support projects in any art form, including music, drama, dance, literature, visual, and participatory arts. The new programme welcomed applications from the widest possible range of organisations, representing all categories under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and encouraged first time applicants to Arts Council NI funding. 40 projects received Arts Council funding for the first time.
Gilly Campbell, Director of Arts Development at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said,
“The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is thrilled to announce this funding for 96 terrific arts projects taking place across Northern Ireland. The New Small Grants Programme is supported with exchequer funding through the Department for Communities, and we thank Minister Lyons for making this vital funding available. Participating in the arts, and coming together as communities, can make a vital contribution to improving health and wellbeing, building confidence, and integrating communities. This scheme supports projects which facilitate greater participation in the arts across every section of our society and brings the arts right into the heart of communities. We look forward to seeing these projects develop over the coming months, creating many wonderful opportunities for communities to enjoy the arts. Congratulations to all the awardees.”
Some of those offered funding include:
Castle Voices, Carrickfergus, Mid and East Antrim
Project title: Sing Together, Give Together.
Funding amount offered: £3,597 / first-time grantee
This project will make Castle Voices Choir more accessible, inclusive, and community-focused by offering free places, increasing musical skills, and expanding their reach through free outreach performances for those who may not otherwise access live arts experiences. Settings for these performances include care homes, day centres, supported housing, and community halls.
Brass Bands NI, delivered to communities in Mid-East Antrim.
Project title: Formation of The National Youth Brass Band of Northern Ireland.
Funding amount offered: £5,000
Brass Bands Northern Ireland will form The National Youth Brass Band of Northern Ireland and will use this funding to meet several times a year to rehearse and offer high-quality public performances of challenging repertoire for young brass musicians, inspiring musical excellence among its participants.
Cre8 Theatre, delivered to rural communities in Antrim, Newtownabbey, Mid and East Antrim.
Project title: Theatrical production featuring deaf and hearing artists together at Deaf Arts Festival NI 2026, with touring basic sign language workshops in rural areas NI.
Funding amount offered: £5,000
Cre8’s research highlights the scarcity of opportunities for d/Deaf artists within NI’s arts sector. This project addresses these gaps by producing theatre for the Deaf Arts Festival 2026, designed, performed, and rooted in d/Deaf cultural expression, promoting societal understanding, respect, challenging stereotypes. The touring sign language workshops will also serve as an important outreach, offering basic sign language skills and raising awareness across communities in Antrim, Newtownabbey, Mid and East Antrim boroughs.
Dervock & District Community Association, Causeway Coast & Glens
Project title: McKinley: Conagher to Congress Dervock’s Presidential Legacy in Story and Stone.
Funding amount offered: £2,700
This project will develop and deliver a creative heritage and tourism initiative centred on one of Dervock’s most internationally significant historical connections: President William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States. While often overlooked locally, McKinley’s ancestral roots trace directly to Conagher, a small townland on the periphery of Dervock, Co. Antrim. This project aims to interpret and celebrate that remarkable story through a single, high-quality interactive heritage installation, located at the gateway to the village’s Riverside Park.
Mind Wise New Vision, delivered to communities in Ballyclare and Magherafelt.
Project title: Expressions Unbound.
Funding amount: £5,000
This project is a 13-week community art project designed to support mental health and personal growth through creative exploration. It is aimed at adults aged 18+ who are living with mental health challenges. It will offer a safe, inclusive, and empowering space where participants can express themselves, build confidence, and connect with others through art. The project will be delivered in Ballyclare and Magherafelt.
Newtownstewart Leisure Complex, Derry and Strabane
Project title: Rural Youth Community Choir Competition.
Funding amount offered: £5,000/ first-time grantee
This project will host the Rural Youth Community Choir Competition in the Newtownstewart Centre 2000 in December 2025 working with at least five rural villages to bring at least one choir from their village to sing. The aim is to promote connection, cultural pride and shared development through singing, helping to break down the barriers which preserves and shares cultural traditions.
Yellow Jumper Productions Antrim and Newtownabbey
Project title: Regional NI theatrical touring production.
Funding amount offered: £5,000/first-time grantee
This project aims to increase equality of access and opportunities in the arts for all by focusing on areas where children and young people have historically had fewer opportunities to engage with live performance. It will support a regional theatrical touring production in December 2025 that will bring high-quality, accessible theatre into the heart of local communities across nine Local Authority areas including Antrim & Newtownabbey, Ards & North Down, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Causeway Coast and Glens, Fermanagh and Omagh, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Mid and East Antrim, Mid Ulster, and Newry, Mourne and Down.
Newcastle Glees Musical Society, Newry, Mourne and Down
Project title: Celebrating 75 years of Newcastle Glees.
Funding amount offered: £2,000
Newcastle Glees are celebrating 75 years of performing high-quality musical theatre in Newcastle. As part of the celebrations, this funding will support a performance of The Wizard of Oz in November 2025 in their home of Annesley Hall.
The Causeway Shantymen, Causeway Coast & Glens
Project title: Songs of the Sea- A 6 track album of regional sea shanties with accompanying story-telling and visual media
Funding amount offered: £3,000
The Causeway Shantymen will use their funding award towards ‘Songs of the Sea’, a community-driven recording project led by The Causeway Shantymen, a vocal group dedicated to preserving and performing traditional sea shanties and maritime songs from the north coast of Ireland and beyond. This project will result in the production of a digital album of six sea shanties, recorded live at Portrush RNLI Lifeboat Station – one of Northern Ireland’s most iconic and active coastal rescue bases. In addition to the album, the project will include music videos and a mini documentary.
To view a full list of all those offered New Small Grants Programme Funding visit New Small Grants Programme | Arts Council NI