Deadline: 27-Jun-25
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is accepting applications for its Arts and Mental Health Partnership Programme which aims to give creative opportunity for people living with mental health problems through engagement in high quality arts.
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland recognises that engagement in the arts is a useful mechanism for enhancing personal attributes including self-esteem and motivation. Participative community arts-based projects are particularly effective in promoting people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Objectives
- To harness the expertise of artists around mental health to enhance the mental health of participants, enabling participants to express feelings and enhance their emotional, physical or social wellbeing through arts experiences. It also aims to reduce stigma around mental health, support participants to seek help and to signpost to the relevant resources.
- To target people experiencing higher levels of disadvantage or exclusion, including more vulnerable groups such as those living with a mental health condition such as eating disorders or addiction or the broader challenges affecting individuals in today’s society.
Funding Information
- Grants up to £20,000 are available. You can apply for up to 100% of the eligible costs of the project. Projects must be between 12 and 18 months in duration.
What You Can Apply For?
- Projects and events
- Commissions and productions
- Artists’ fees up to £35 per hour or a maximum of £150 per day for workshop-based activity
- Artists’/volunteers’/essential administrative travel expenses within Northern Ireland at 25.7p per mile
- Venue hire for workshops
- Transportation costs
- Excursions where relevant to the programme of activities
- Materials/equipment
- Catering/hospitality
- Publicity and marketing costs
- Co-ordination costs (Which are not already part of an existing salary)
- Accessibility costs2: – these are costs associated with the delivery of a project for people with particular needs as defined under Section 75 of The Northern Ireland Act 1998, e.g., sign language interpretation, Braille paperwork, transport costs, carer costs.
What You Cannot Apply For?
- New administrative or new salaried arts posts
- Retrospective events
- Party political and religious activities
- Travel outside Northern Ireland
- Overhead Costs
- Activities that are not arts related
- Any course fees
- Ongoing building maintenance costs
- Web site design and upkeep
- Building design (architecture)
- Fundraising events
- Activities or events which duplicate what already exists
Eligible Projects
- Have been developed through consultation with the participants who are living with a mental health condition.
- Enable participants to shape the activity and be involved as decision makers.
- Demonstrate a clear vision underpinned by in-depth understanding of the current issues impacting on people’s wellbeing.
- Use a partnership approach with arts organisations working alongside mental health organisations. It is important that you demonstrate letters of support from both parties. It is not necessary for any financial contribution to be identified.
- Build on existing provision within the community and voluntary sector.
- Prioritise participants who are not currently engaged in mental health support services.
- Support best practice in working with people through creative activities.
- Prioritise excellence – in both the art and the approach to creative engagement, including working with artists or arts organisations with a proven track record in this area
- Challenge artists, arts organisations, and arts providers to develop new, imaginative, or more effective ways of meeting the strategic themes of the programme.
- Demonstrate a ‘person-centered’ approach that safeguards vulnerable individuals, embeds equality and is sensitive to and respectful of all involved.
Eligibility Criteria
- The programme is aimed at constituted community and voluntary groups who are working at a local level to support people living with a mental health condition and can demonstrate strong partnership with relevant groups working in the field of mental health.
- This programme is also open to non-governmental organisations, Local Authorities and arts organisations who can clearly demonstrate partnership working. Local Authorities must provide 25% match funding but can still apply for a maximum of £20,000.
- We are looking for partnership or consortia-based projects. Partnerships can be led by either mental health sector providers, arts organisations or Local Authorities, however the consortium must be made up of appropriate representatives and demonstrate a commitment to working together.
- A single organisation must be the lead applicant, that is, the group in whose name the application is submitted, to whom the grant will be awarded and who will be accountable for delivering the project and reporting on it to ACNI. You must clearly identify in the application form the organisations you are partnering with and have a signed letter of agreement from them, see below mandatory enclosures.
- Groups who are partner organisations in another Arts and Mental Health Partnership Programme application are eligible to apply. That is, if your organisation is a named partner in a consortium application to the programme, you can submit a second application in your own organization name, provided that the programme and activities are completely distinct from the consortium application you are named in, and that there are other partners.
Ineligibility Criteria
- Individuals
- Broadcasters (excluding community service broadcasters)
- Central Government Departments
- Organisations who are in breach of any previously issued ACNI award grant conditions
For more information, visit ACNI.