Deadline: 23-Jul-2026
The Participatory Arts Project Award Grant supports artistic projects that bring professional artists, individuals, and communities together to create high-quality collaborative work. The award focuses on projects where participants actively shape the artistic process, content, outputs, and outcomes.
Applicants can apply for funding of up to €60,000. The award is open to eligible individuals and arts organisations with a demonstrable track record in participatory arts, with projects expected to run over a period of 12 months.
What is the Participatory Arts Project Award Grant?
The Participatory Arts Project Award Grant is a funding opportunity for collaborative artistic projects in participatory arts.
The award supports professional artists and arts organisations working with individuals, groups, and communities to create high-quality artistic work.
It is designed for projects where participants are not only audiences or beneficiaries, but active collaborators in the artistic process.
Main Purpose of the Award
The main purpose of the award is to support meaningful artistic collaboration between professional artists and communities.
The award aims to:
- Support high-quality participatory arts projects
- Enable collaboration between artists and communities
- Support projects across all artforms
- Ensure participants actively shape artistic content
- Recognise the skills and experiences of all collaborators
- Support artistic goals alongside wider community outcomes
- Encourage inclusive, ambitious, and meaningful creative practice
- Support 12-month collaborative projects
Funding Amount
Applicants can apply for a maximum funding amount of €60,000.
The requested amount should match the project’s artistic ambition, collaboration model, timeline, participant support needs, and delivery costs.
Project Duration
Projects supported under this award should run over a period of 12 months.
Applicants should provide a clear work schedule, timeline, and delivery plan for the full project period.
Who Can Apply?
The award is open to:
- Individual professional artists
- Arts practitioners
- Arts organisations
Applicants must have a demonstrable track record in participatory arts.
Individual applicants must be resident in the Republic of Ireland.
Professional Artist Requirement
Individual applicants must be professional artists or arts practitioners.
A professional artist is someone who:
- Actively pursues a career in any artform
- Considers their arts practice their main profession or career
- May or may not earn their main income from arts practice
- Is recognised by peers as a professional practising artist
Applicants must also show a clear track record in participatory arts practice.
Participatory Arts Track Record
Applicants who cannot demonstrate experience in participatory arts are not eligible to apply.
A strong track record may include previous projects where artists worked collaboratively with individuals, groups, or communities and where participants contributed meaningfully to the creative process.
What Types of Projects Are Supported?
The award supports participatory arts projects across all artforms.
Supported projects may include:
- Community-based artistic collaborations
- Projects with communities of place
- Projects with communities of interest
- Collaborative visual arts, theatre, music, literature, dance, film, or multidisciplinary work
- Projects involving non-arts professionals as participants
- Projects shaped by lived experience, local knowledge, or shared community concerns
- Artistic projects linked to social inclusion, climate action, human rights, health, or community development
Communities and Participants
Projects should involve meaningful collaboration with individuals, groups, or communities.
Participants may include:
- Local communities
- Communities of interest
- Non-arts professionals
- People with shared lived experiences
- Community groups
- Social, cultural, or interest-based groups
- Individuals contributing skills, knowledge, or perspectives to the artistic process
Applicants must clearly explain who they are collaborating with and why.
Key Focus Areas
The award focuses on artistic collaboration, participation, and high-quality creative outcomes.
Key focus areas include:
- Participatory arts
- Artistic collaboration
- Community engagement
- Professional artists
- Non-arts professionals
- Shared creative process
- Artistic outputs
- Artistic outcomes
- Social inclusion
- Community development
- Human rights
- Climate action
- Health
- Partnership-based practice
Role of Participants
Participants must be an integral part of the artistic process.
Applications should explain how participants will influence:
- Project planning
- Artistic content
- Creative decisions
- Project outputs
- Project outcomes
- Evaluation
- Reflection and learning
Strong projects should show genuine collaboration rather than one-way delivery of activities.
Role of Artists and Partners
Applications should clearly describe the role of all professional artists and project partners.
This may include:
- Lead artist
- Collaborating artists
- Arts organisation
- Community partner
- Support organisation
- Facilitator
- Producer
- Evaluator
- Venue or local partner
- Specialist support provider
Each role should be clearly connected to the project’s artistic goals and participant needs.
Strategic Priorities
The award prioritises projects that demonstrate artistic ambition and meaningful collaboration.
Strategic priorities include:
- High-quality artistic collaboration
- Clear artistic goals
- Strong artistic ambition and merit
- Collaboration between professional artists and non-arts professionals
- Recognition of participants’ diverse skills and experiences
- Partnership-based development
- Wider social or community outcomes
- Projects that value both artistic quality and participant contribution
Wider Social and Community Outcomes
Projects may also address wider community or social outcomes.
These may include:
- Social inclusion
- Community development
- Human rights
- Climate action
- Health
- Wellbeing
- Confidence
- Belonging
- Civic participation
- Community connection
These outcomes should support, not replace, the project’s artistic goals.
Key Concepts Explained
Participatory Arts
Participatory arts involve professional artists working collaboratively with individuals, groups, or communities to create artistic work.
Community of Place
A community of place is a group connected by a shared geographic location, such as a neighbourhood, town, rural area, or local community.
Community of Interest
A community of interest is a group connected by shared experiences, identities, concerns, interests, or goals.
Artistic Outcome
An artistic outcome is the creative result or impact of the project, such as a performance, exhibition, publication, installation, process, or shared artistic experience.
Non-Arts Professionals
Non-arts professionals are people whose main work or expertise is outside the arts but who participate as collaborators in the creative process.
Ineligible Applicants
Applications are not accepted from certain individuals and organisations.
Ineligible applicants include:
- Organisations currently funded under Strategic Funding
- Organisations currently funded under Arts Centre Partnership Funding
- Organisations currently funded under Partnership Funding
- Organisations or individuals receiving Arts Grant Funding 2027
- Applicants without a demonstrable track record in participatory arts
Organisations receiving Strategic Funding, Arts Centre Partnership Funding, or Partnership Funding may participate as project partners, but they cannot apply directly.
How the Award Works
Applicants should propose a 12-month participatory arts project with clear artistic goals, participant collaboration, and defined outputs and outcomes.
Applications should clearly explain:
- Who the artist is collaborating with
- Why the collaboration matters
- How participants will shape the project
- The role of artists and partners
- The artistic goals and ambition
- The expected outputs and outcomes
- The work schedule and timeline
- Project costs
- Supports for participants
- How the project will be evaluated
How to Apply
Applicants should prepare a proposal that demonstrates participatory arts experience, artistic quality, meaningful collaboration, and a realistic delivery plan.
Suggested Application Steps
- Confirm that the applicant is eligible.
- Confirm a demonstrable track record in participatory arts.
- Define the community, group, or individuals involved.
- Explain why the collaboration is important.
- Set clear artistic goals, outputs, and outcomes.
- Describe how participants will influence planning, content, delivery, and evaluation.
- Identify professional artists, partners, and their roles.
- Prepare a 12-month work schedule.
- Include project costs and a realistic budget of up to €60,000.
- Describe supports for participating individuals or groups.
- Check that the applicant is not excluded under any ineligible funding category.
- Submit the application according to the official award requirements.
Assessment Considerations
Applications should demonstrate artistic quality, collaboration, feasibility, and meaningful participant involvement.
Assessment may consider:
- Quality of the artistic idea
- Strength of participatory arts practice
- Applicant’s track record
- Clarity of artistic goals
- Meaningfulness of collaboration
- Role of participants in shaping the project
- Strength of partnerships
- Feasibility of the 12-month plan
- Budget clarity
- Supports for participants
- Wider social or community outcomes
- Evaluation approach
Expected Results
Funded projects should create high-quality artistic work through meaningful collaboration.
Expected results may include:
- New participatory arts projects
- Stronger collaboration between artists and communities
- Artistic outputs shaped by participants
- Increased community engagement in the arts
- Creative development for professional artists
- Recognition of participant experience and knowledge
- Stronger partnerships
- Positive social or community outcomes
- High-quality artistic outcomes across different artforms
Why It Matters
Participatory arts create space for artists and communities to work together as creative partners.
These projects can value lived experience, local knowledge, diverse skills, and shared imagination.
The Participatory Arts Project Award Grant supports projects where artistic quality and community collaboration are both central, helping people shape meaningful creative work while strengthening cultural participation.
Tips for Strong Applications
A strong application should clearly show how collaboration will happen in practice.
Applicants should focus on:
- Clear participatory arts track record
- Strong artistic ambition
- Defined community or participant group
- Clear explanation of why the collaboration matters
- Meaningful participant influence
- Strong project partners
- Realistic 12-month timeline
- Clear artistic outputs and outcomes
- Appropriate participant supports
- Strong evaluation plan
Applicants should avoid treating participants only as audiences or recipients. They should be active collaborators in the artistic process.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should carefully check the award’s participatory focus and eligibility rules.
Common mistakes include:
- Applying without a participatory arts track record
- Not explaining who the participants are
- Failing to show how participants will influence the artistic process
- Providing vague artistic goals
- Focusing only on social outcomes without artistic merit
- Not identifying partner roles clearly
- Submitting an unrealistic 12-month plan
- Providing unclear costs or timelines
- Applying while receiving Arts Grant Funding 2027
- Applying as an organisation currently funded under excluded schemes
FAQ
What is the Participatory Arts Project Award Grant?
It is a grant that supports artistic projects where professional artists collaborate with individuals, groups, or communities to create high-quality artistic work.
How much funding is available?
Applicants can apply for up to €60,000.
How long should projects run?
Projects should run over a period of 12 months.
Who can apply?
Individuals and arts organisations with a demonstrable track record in participatory arts may apply. Individual applicants must be professional artists or arts practitioners resident in the Republic of Ireland.
What should applications explain?
Applications should explain who the artist is collaborating with, why the collaboration matters, how participants will influence the project, the role of partners, artistic goals, outcomes, work schedules, costs, timelines, and participant supports.
Can funded organisations participate as partners?
Yes. Organisations funded under Strategic Funding, Arts Centre Partnership Funding, or Partnership Funding may participate as project partners, but they cannot apply directly.
Who is not eligible?
Applicants without a track record in participatory arts are not eligible. Organisations or individuals receiving Arts Grant Funding 2027 and organisations currently funded under excluded schemes are also not eligible to apply directly.
Conclusion
The Participatory Arts Project Award Grant supports professional artists and arts organisations in creating high-quality artistic projects through meaningful collaboration with communities and participants. With funding of up to €60,000 for 12-month projects, the award values artistic ambition, participant contribution, partnership, and wider social or community outcomes.
Strong applications will demonstrate participatory arts experience, clear artistic goals, meaningful collaboration, realistic planning, participant support, and a strong understanding of how communities will shape the project’s content, outputs, outcomes, and evaluation.
For more information, visit The Arts Council.
