Opportunity: 2025 AIC Scheme Bursary Awards

The objective of the Artist in the Community (AIC) Scheme Bursary Award is to support individual professional artists in any artform to develop their collaborative socially engaged arts practice.

There will be two awards of €20,000 awarded in 2025, offering the artists time to reflect on, and develop, their practice. The closing date for applications is 5pm, Monday 21 July.

About the Bursary Award(s)

The bursary award is aimed at individual professional artists who collaborate with individuals or groups/ communities (non-arts professionals).  Artists must have a track record of making and interpreting art collaboratively with communities. One of the two bursary awards is specifically for an early career/emerging artist with a track record in collaborative arts practice.

Create are deeply aware that, within the arts in Ireland, many inequities still exist and that there are many artists who experience barriers to engaging with, and developing, their arts practice due to their gender, sexual orientation, civil or family status, religion, age, disability, race, membership of the Traveller community, or socio-economic background. This bursary is informed by the Arts Council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy and Create’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy and is aimed at artists who identify with the experiences described above.

The bursary is for artists who are facing particular barriers and/or challenges in developing their collaborative socially engaged arts practice. Create do not require artists to focus on these barriers during their Bursary.

The bursary of €20,000 will provide the selected artist with time and resources to engage with and reflect on their collaborative arts practice.
In addition, this bursary:

• offers bi monthly mentoring support from Create
• offers up to two mentoring sessions with one of the experienced collaborative socially engaged artists from the Artist Mentor Panel.
• is supported by partners who will support the successful artist with up to two support meetings, where appropriate.

Additional Support from Partner Organisations

Create work with a number of partners who align with our work and the purpose of the bursary. These partners help them to share the bursary and support the successful artist with up to two support meetings, where appropriate.

Partners include Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI), Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI), Irish Refugee Council (IRC), Irish Network Against Racism (INAR), Arts and Disability Ireland (ADI), Housing Action Now (HAN), Minding Creative Minds, National Women’s Council Ireland (NWCI), Irish Traveller Movement (ITM), Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), ATD Ireland (All Together in Dignity), Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride, Age and Opportunity and Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre.

This list of allies and partners is always growing. Create are open to exploring further partnerships in order to address relevant themes and challenges identified by applicant artists.

Application Process

If you are interested in applying, please attend an information session (next on 25 June) to learn more about the scheme. After attending this session, you may attend a one on one Bursary Clinic with a member of Create staff or a member of the Artist Mentor Panel. At this meeting you can receive advice and support on your potential ideas for the bursary.

If you choose to apply for the Bursary, you must use the online application form. You will be asked questions about which aspects of your practice you wish to focus on, how you plan to structure the Bursary period, and why this award now would provide significant development in your collaborative practice. If you have questions regarding the bursary, consult the FAQ document available at create-ireland.ie

Shortlisted applicants will be offered feedback and invited to meet with the decision making panel to discuss their expression of interest, following which two awards will be granted.

The closing date for applications is 5pm, Monday 21 July 2025.

Access Supports

Create offer a number of supports available to applicants before, during and after applying for the Bursary award. Please visit their access supports page at create-ireland.ie/projectsubpage/access-supports/ for a full break-down of what they can offer.

Applications will only be accepted through the online form and all supporting material must be submitted online. You must read the guidelines prior to submission. If you haven’t used this online form before, you should familiarise yourself with the online form, and apply early. Create advise you to apply more than 48 hours in advance of the closing date, to allow time to deal with any potential issues. If an error or issue occurs, try our troubleshooting tips, also linked on this page. You may contact Create and report errors if the suggestions do not help. Please note that it may take up to two working days to resolve issues. The deadline for receipt of application forms is 5pm, Monday 21 July 2025.

Image: Resistance is a Visual Language – workshop with Josh MacPhee. Create Reading Room, May 2025. Photo by Vance Lau.