Deadline: 04-Nov-2025
The Dublin City Council is requesting applications for its Neighbourhood Grants Scheme to support local arts activity within the Dublin City Council administrative area.
Dublin City Council encourages artists and local communities to work together through long-term developmental projects and short-term interactions, particularly in the context of local events and festivals. Through the Neighbourhood Grant, artists and communities can propose projects that involve collaborative activities benefiting local communities and neighbourhoods. The programme requires applicants to identify specific groups to ensure socially inclusive and culturally diverse interests are addressed.
The Neighbourhood Grants are divided into two strands. Strand 1 supports the presentation of artistic work across all disciplines in local contexts, such as plays, concerts, outdoor events, and exhibitions. Strand 2 supports arts projects or programmes that begin with residents or community groups interested in the arts, or with artists interested in working with neighbourhoods or community groups. Strong collaboration between artists and participants is essential, and both the artist and community group must be named in the application. Community groups may represent place, practice, or interest.
Grants range from €2,000 to €10,000, with a maximum of €40,000 across two categories. Fair remuneration for artists is a requirement, and budgets must reflect artist fees, production costs, and any in-kind contributions with assigned financial value.
Ineligible costs include core expenses, capital purchases, and non-arts-related activities. Applicants may also apply for additional access costs to remove barriers for artists or participants with disabilities. These must be shown in the overall budget and explained in a separate document.
Funding is also available under the Voluntary Grant strand. These grants support arts programmes or projects by voluntary organisations or groups engaging professional artists, particularly where activities significantly advance the artistic ambition of the group. Voluntary grants are suitable for organisations hiring artists for workshops, one-off engagements, or other collaborative activities.
Eligibility requires applicants to be residents of or organisations based in the Dublin City Council administrative area, and they must be professional artists, arts practitioners, or community groups working with artists. Applications must name both an artist and a community group.
Applications will be considered ineligible if incomplete, late, submitted outside the Submittable system, or missing required documentation such as artist CVs, detailed budgets, examples of work, biographies, and letters confirming collaborations or contributions.
The assessment of applications will consider the artistic ambition and quality of the project idea, the involvement and track record of the professional artists, and the alignment of artist fees with professional practice. Feasibility will be evaluated through the level and involvement of participating groups in project design and management, the track record and experience of the organisation or group, confirmation of any additional funding, letters confirming collaborations, and a detailed project outline with a realistic timeline.
Consideration will also be given to diversity, accessibility and inclusion, including the provision of policy documents where applicable, collaboration with underserved communities or individuals, the inclusion of diverse practitioners and artists, and partnerships with organisations that help increase knowledge and skills in the area of diversity. The deadline for applications is 12 noon, 4th November 2025.
For more information, visit Dublin City Council.
