Over the last few weeks, we’ve been working to refocus plans to take account of the new reality we all face. The lateness of communicating the decision to cancel some schemes has caused understandable distress and confusion. We’re truly sorry for this, and acknowledge that people had put a great deal of work into preparing these applications.
The decision to cancel was made so that money can be reallocated into schemes like bursaries and commissions, which we believe are of greater practical help for artists, given the ongoing uncertainty and continuing restrictions. We want to be sure that the funding we offer will enable artists to readily avail of financial support this year without having to consider other factors over which they have no control.
We continue to encourage funded organisations to prioritise artists in their revised planning and we hope that artists will be able to work with funded organisations in new and rewarding ways. It’s crucial that all disbursed and available funds reach artists this year.
We can assure you that the Next Generation, Bursaries and Commission Schemes will go ahead as planned, and with expanded budgets. The bursary scheme is open to applicants to the Theatre or Dance Residency schemes and our team will be in touch with applicants directly about this. We are extending the deadline for the Next Generation programme by one week to 21 May. Soon we’ll be announcing details of an expanded professional development programme.
We promise to keep in touch with you about all this in the best and most timely fashion.
Thank you for your support.
Maureen Kennelly
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