Over £2m of National Lottery funding awarded to support creative projects in NI
23rd October, 2026
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has announced over £2m of National Lottery Project Funding to support 73 creative projects in urban and rural locations across Northern Ireland.
The National Lottery funding will support high quality, accessible arts activities and events, through festivals, literature, drama, dance, visual arts, music and community programming.
With grants ranging between £7,310 to £75,000, the 73 projects will contribute to the growth of arts in the community, improve health and wellbeing, develop creative skills, and allow more people from all backgrounds to enjoy arts experiences.
Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented, “The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is delighted to announce National Lottery Project Funding for 73 organisations in the delivery of exciting, high-quality arts activities and events. Thanks to the National Lottery players, this investment will impact on rural and urban communities across NI.
“This vital source of funding allows the Arts Council to create a more financially stable arts sector that contributes to social and economic benefits for all. It allows us to support skilled artists and arts organisations who in turn, deliver valuable and important work across NI, ensuring that more people from all backgrounds can enjoy arts experiences.”
One of the organisations receiving funding is Jazzlife Alliance. They have been awarded a £19,952 grant to provide jazz training for young people, a roadshow, and to deliver more opportunities for young people to perform and learn about creative industries. This project contributes to the Arts Council’s strategic priority of improving our Reach, so that investment in the arts sector and communities across NI can deepen, widen and diversify audiences and participants.
David Lyttle, Artistic Director, Jazzlife Alliance, said, “The Arts Council’s continued investment in Jazzlife Alliance has helped Jazz Juniors become a high-impact national youth programme for jazz improvisation with hubs in Armagh, Belfast, Bellaghy and Omagh. The Saturday afternoon Jazzlife Jam at the MAC is our weekly jam session and it is a fantastic opportunity for these talented teenagers to perform for their first audiences, honing their new musical skills whilst meeting friends from throughout NI. With over 40 young people now in Jazz Juniors the future of jazz in NI is even brighter than ever.”
Sliabh Beagh Arts, based in the Fermanagh area also received a £51,622 grant to run their Reflections project. The funding is being used to bring high-quality arts activities to farming families and rural communities to encourage connection, creativity, and wellbeing, and supporting them to slow down, reflect, and express themselves. This project contributes to the Arts Council’s strategic priorities, supporting Creative Health and improving our Reach across Northern Ireland bringing arts to hard to reach communities.
Donna Bannon, Arts Co-ordinator, Sliabh Beagh, commented, “We are absolutely delighted to receive support through the National Lottery Project Fund award. This grant will have a huge impact on the rural communities of Sliabh Beagh, allowing us to provide a meaningful and wonderfully diverse range of creative opportunities that will spark interest, inspire participation and bring new experiences to our local farming communities.
“Through our outreach programme, we will bring the arts directly into community hubs across the region, creating greater access to the arts and all the social and wellbeing benefits that participation can bring. We will also continue our work of bringing art into the landscape, connecting creativity with the unique rural environment of Sliabh Beagh.
“We are incredibly proud of all that we have achieved over the past 25 years and are thrilled that, thanks to this funding, we can look forward to the next chapter and continue to bring creativity, connection, community and creative joy into the lives of people across Sliabh Beagh.”
Projects awarded National Lottery Project Funding in 2026/27 also include:
Brain Injury Matters, Belfast, £29,025
Brain Injury Matters has been awarded a £29,025 grant to run their Roots, Branches & Beyond: An Evolving Arts Journey project, for people living with Acquired Brain Injury. The year-long project will include choir, theatre, sonic arts, adaptive music production, poetry, creative writing, experimental drawing, ceramics, and curated textile arts. Each strand is led by professional artists, helping to develop participants’ skills and improve wellbeing. This project contributes to the Arts Council’s strategic priorities of supporting Creative Health and improving our Reach across Northern Ireland to the people who need it most.
Allegri, Derry~Londonderry, £15,080
Allegri received a £15,080 grant to run Allegri and Orchestra NorthWest, a year-long programme promoting musical excellence, community engagement, and organisational growth across Northern Ireland. The project will help singers and musicians of all ages and abilities to take part in rehearsals, workshops, masterclasses, and performances with Allegri’s Junior, Youth and Ladies Choirs, Orchestra NorthWest, and the Every Voice Festival. Activities will develop musical skills, confidence, teamwork, creativity and performance standards through expert-led rehearsals, specialist masterclasses and sectional training. This project contributes to the Arts Council’s strategic priority of improving our Reach, so that investment in the arts sector and communities across NI can deepen, widen and diversify audiences and participants.
Enterprise Causeway, Causeway Coast and Glens, £12,000
Enterprise Causeway has been awarded £12,000 to run Courthouse Contemporary, a 12-month contemporary visual arts and artist development programme. Based at The Courthouse Bushmills, the project will deliver artist-led workshops in textiles, ceramics, glass, wood and mixed-media practice for people with disabilities, older people, and rural communities who may experience barriers to arts participation. Participants will create handcrafted silk blossoms while exploring themes of growth, identity, place and connection, before creating a large-scale Blossom Tree art installation in collaboration with Globe Gallery. The project will also provide mentoring and professional development opportunities for emerging, rural, and underrepresented artists. This project contributes to the Arts Council’s strategic priorities, supporting Creative Health and widening access to hard to reach communities.
Craic, Mid Ulster, £30,730
Craic received a £30,730 grant to deliver an inclusive Youth Theatre Development Programme for young people aged 14-25 years old in Mid Ulster. The project includes an inclusive pantomime involving all participants, a youth theatre production offering advanced artistic development, leadership and participation pathways including mentoring and front-of-house roles, technical theatre training leading to paid employment opportunities and a summer intensive musical theatre programme focused on skills development and wellbeing. This project contributes to the Arts Council’s strategic priority of improving artists’ contributions to our Creative Industries, to create the conditions to grow artistic talent and develop the wider workforce.
An tSnáthaid Mhór Teoranta, NI wide, £25,000
An tSnáthaid Mhór Teoranta in Belfast has been awarded £25,000 to develop Mo Chéad Leabhair Dubh is Bán, which is a collection of four Irish language board books, supporting both Irish language acquisition and early childhood literacy across Northern Ireland. Designed for babies and supporting visual development, the books use high-contrast black and white imagery, they will be durable, tactile, and sized for small hands, with simple Irish language text woven naturally into the imagery. This project contributes to the Arts Council’s strategic priority of improving artists’ contributions to our Creative Industries, so that public investment is deepening, widening and diversifying audiences and participants across NI.
A full list of this year’s NLPF awardees here can be downloaded here:
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/resources/arts-impact