International Residency Initiatives Scheme

The objective of this scheme is to support art organisations in the delivery of residency initiatives and to create opportunities for transnational exchange and cooperation across all art forms. The scheme aims to facilitate diverse residencies programmes that involve partnerships with organisations based abroad thus creating a supportive framework for the international mobility and professional development of artists and art practitioners.

The emphasis of the scheme is on enabling art organisations to initiate or consolidate collaborative frameworks with partners based abroad. While these frameworks must be exclusively focused on the delivery of residency initiatives that will benefit the artists and the public, the nature of each proposal can flexibly respond to the specific needs of each partnership, art form and artistic goals. 

The scheme is open to organisations working in all art forms and art practices. To be eligible an organisation must be based in the Republic of Ireland and be able to demonstrate the active involvement of at least one other partner organisation based abroad.

The Agility Award, Individual Art Form Bursaries and Arts Grants Funding

Although the funding programme listed below are not directly financed by the International Arts programme, they do provide information about other Arts Council funds that can be used for international art initiatives such as residences and training overseas. Below is a summary of some of the funds and a detailed account of each fund can be found here.

The Agility Award aims to support individual professional freelance artists and arts workers at any stage in their careers.

This award aims to support individual professional freelance artists and arts workers at any stage in their careers to do one or more of the following:

- Develop their practice

- Develop their work

- Develop their skills

- Create new work

- Present new work

Individual Art Form Bursaries - The purpose of these awards is to support professional artists at any stage of their career to develop their art practice. It provides artists with the time and resources to think, research, reflect and critically engage with their art.

The purpose of Arts Grants Funding is to ensure that there is a breadth of high-quality arts activity and programmes throughout the country. It offers flexible support for a fixed period of time, and in so doing responds to the needs of those who are making, presenting and supporting work.

Arts Grant Funding is intended to:

- Support more than one distinct arts activity taking place within a fixed period of time, or

- Provide supports or facilities to artists over a fixed period of time.

The focus of Arts Grant Funding is to deliver outcomes that develop the arts, either through:

- Generating high-quality experiences for the public to engage with the arts, or

- Providing excellent services, resources or facilities that support the work of artists or the arts sector and

- Contributing to the ecology of the arts within your area of practice.