National Lottery Major Individual Artist Awards (UK)

Deadline: 11-Jul-25

Nominations are now open for the National Lottery Major Individual Artist Awards to create the circumstances in which established artists with national/international recognition may develop extended or ambitious work.

Your proposal should result in a significant creative outcome. Costs can be for specific projects, specialised research, personal artistic development and materials/equipment.

Award Information

• Four awards of up to £15,000 each are being offered in 2025/26.

Eligible Costs

• Art materials
• Costs of your own time in undertaking the proposed activity
• Residency costs, including travel costs (NB: if you are applying for a residency you must provide evidence of an invitation or letter of support from the host organization.)
• Artistic or technical fees including those towards production or post-production costs associated with presentation or exhibition of work
• Venue hire e.g. rehearsal space
• Project-related travel costs, including mileage costs (@25.7p per mile) and air travel
• Technical equipment related to the project/proposal (equipment requests cannot comprise more than 50% of the value of your request)
• IT Equipment: A maximum contribution of £1,200 will be made towards laptops and pcs, and £500 towards tablet computers.

Ineligible Costs

• Projects which take place or start before the decision date for this programme.
• Prolonged study at centres of further and higher education or fees for same or any cost related to such study or related academic work, including: under- and post-graduate fees; fees for study leading to a professional qualification; travel, or accommodation.
• Work which forms part of your professional or academic employment. This does not exclude those working in an academic institution or statutory body who are continuing to pursue their artistic practice.
• Translations of literary works.
• Applications to fund or establish websites.
• Film/TV or media projects – except:
  • Projects in relation to the production and exhibition of experimental and innovative lens-based work by artists intended for exhibition;
  • Projects by digital artists whose artwork is created exclusively in the digital space.
• Applications relating to projects/commissions already in receipt of Arts Council of Northern Ireland funds.
• Costs already covered by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, other funders or Government schemes.

Eligibility Criteria

• Established artists of all disciplines and in all types of working practice who have not previously received a major award and who have achieved national or international recognition.
• Please note: You must contact the relevant artform officer and discuss your proposal with them prior to submission of any application to the Major Individual Artist Awards and by close of play on 1 July 2025 at the latest. Applications submitted to the Major Individual Awards programme with no prior contact with the relevant art form officer will be ineligible for consideration.
• Practicing artists who are also undergraduates, postgraduates and academics employed at 3rd level educational institutions are eligible to apply but – where their project proposal lies within the same artform area as their study or work – they must prove that the funds which they are seeking are for costs which are not properly the concern of their employer and/or are not related to their work or academic study. They must submit evidence of this in the form of a letter on headed paper from their Head of Department.
• In the case of post-graduate students, the letter must clearly state the title of the student’s PhD thesis and include a declaration by the Head of Department. This declaration must state “The project for which funds are being sought does not form part of any academic work undertaken in relation to the above-titled PhD nor will it be assessed as part of any academic course”.
• Applicants undertaking a Masters or a PhD must also include a separate statement which provides information on how the project applied for differs from their Masters or PhD work.
• Eligible applicants must also:
  • Have made a contribution to artistic activities in Northern Ireland for a minimum period of 3 years within the last 5 years.
  • Live in Northern Ireland (ACNI’s budgets are limited and subject to extremely high demand. Their priority must be for artists living and regularly contributing to the arts within Northern Ireland. If you are primarily living in another region of the UK, Republic of Ireland or elsewhere (ie. You live in that region for the majority of the year), you should apply to the Arts Councils in the relevant jurisdiction. Where the Arts Council has concerns regarding this matter, they may seek further clarification from you with regard to this including documentary evidence.)
  • Be at least 18yrs old and not in secondary education.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Applicants who have broken the conditions of any previous ACNI award and applicants who remain in breach of any previous letters of offer (regardless of the letter of offer date).
• Previous recipients of a Major Individual Artist Award.

Assessment Criteria

• Stage 1:
  • Evidence of the quality of the applicant’s artistic practice.
  • Artistic quality/innovation of the proposal and its detail.
• Stage 2:
  • Evidence of the applicant’s contribution to the arts.
  • Evidence of how the proposal may enhance the applicant’s artistic or professional development.
  • Evidence of how the proposal may enhance the applicant’s career.
  • Detail and accuracy of planning and budgeting.

For more information, visit Arts Council of Northern Ireland.