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Arts Council of Ireland Visual Arts Bursary: up to €20,000 for visual artists in Ireland. Three strands including emerging artists. Round 1 deadline February 12, 2026.
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Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP grants: £3,000 to £10,000 for individual artists, £15,000 Major Artist awards. 2026 deadlines July 20 and July 30.
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View detailsType
Grant
Organization
Arts Council of Ireland
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Deadline
Round 1: February 12, 2026; Round 2: June 18, 2026
Amount
€10,000 to €20,000 (bursary); varies by program
Duration
Bursary period (up to 1 year)
Application Fee
No
Established
1951
Frequency
Two rounds annually
Selection Process
Peer assessment by panels of arts professionals
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The Arts Council of Ireland (An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the primary public funder for visual artists in the Republic of Ireland. Established by the Arts Act of 1951, it distributes government funding through several grant programs. The Visual Arts Bursary is the most substantial of these, offering up to €20,000 to individual professional artists and curators to develop their practice.
For 2026, the bursary has been restructured into three distinct strands, including a new pilot strand for emerging artists. This is a meaningful change. Previously, emerging artists competed directly against established practitioners for the same funding pool. Now, there is a dedicated pathway with a lower maximum but a better chance of success.
This is a pilot strand for early-career artists who have not previously received an Arts Council Bursary Award, Next Generation Award, or Markievicz Award. The maximum award is €10,000, and the Arts Council will support up to five artists under this strand in 2026.
The emerging strand is designed to give early-career artists access to a competitive award as a professional development tool. You can use the bursary to spend time developing your artistic practice, exploring and resolving a specific body of work, or re-engaging with your practice after a break. You can also use it for studio or workspace costs, research facilities, residencies, training, and work with mentors, producers, or collaborators.
If you are an emerging artist, you can choose to apply for Strand 1 (€10,000) or Strand 2 (€15,000 or €20,000). The trade-off is straightforward: Strand 1 has a lower maximum but less competition from established artists. Strand 2 has a higher maximum but you are competing against artists with longer track records.
This is the standard bursary strand for professional visual artists who do not qualify as emerging. You can apply for either €15,000 or €20,000. There are no amounts between these bands. If you request an amount that is not one of the fixed bands, the Arts Council will round any offer down to the next lowest band. For example, if you request €19,500, the maximum possible offer is €15,000.
Curators can apply for €10,000, €15,000, or €20,000 under this strand. The bursary supports curatorial research, development, and practice.
You can only apply for one round per year. If you apply in Round 1 and are unsuccessful, you cannot apply again in Round 2 for the same year.
In 2026, you can only apply for a Bursary Award or an Agility Award, not both. The Agility Award is a separate Arts Council program for early-career artists that supports shorter-term professional development. If you are considering both, you need to decide which one is more appropriate for your needs before applying. The Bursary is for sustained practice development. The Agility Award is for shorter, more targeted development activities.
The Visual Arts Bursary is designed to give artists the time and financial security to develop ambitious new work or undertake a significant period of research and experimentation. Supported activities include:
The bursary is not designed to fund the production of finished work for a specific exhibition or commission. It is about giving you the time and resources to think, research, reflect, and deeply engage with your practice. This is similar to the Arts Council England DYCP program, which also focuses on development rather than production.
Applications are submitted through the Arts Council of Ireland's online grants management system. You will need:
The assessment is conducted by a panel of arts professionals who evaluate applications based on artistic quality, the ambition and clarity of the proposed activity, and the potential impact of the funding on your practice.
The Arts Council encourages artists to contact them before submitting an application to discuss their proposal and ensure it meets the program's criteria. This pre-application support is particularly valuable for first-time applicants.
Ireland has a distinctive artistic tradition with strong roots in painting, printmaking, and craft, alongside a growing contemporary art sector. The Arts Council's support reflects the specific challenges facing artists in Ireland: a relatively small domestic art market, the importance of international engagement for career development, and the specific cultural and historical context that shapes Irish artistic practice.
The Irish language is another dimension of the Arts Council's work, with specific programs supporting artists who work in Irish or engage with Irish language culture. The Arts Council's commitment to Irish language arts reflects the understanding that the vitality of the Irish language is tied to the vitality of Irish culture more broadly.
The Arts Council of Ireland Visual Arts Bursary is for professional visual artists and curators based in the Republic of Ireland who need sustained time and financial support to develop their practice. The €20,000 maximum for established artists and €10,000 for emerging artists makes this one of the more generous individual artist bursaries in Europe.
If you are an Irish-based artist at a turning point in your practice, this is your primary public funding route. The two-round structure gives you flexibility on when to apply, but remember you can only apply once per year. Choose the round that gives you the most time to prepare a strong application.
Visit artscouncil.ie for the full guidelines and application portal. Read the 2026 guidelines document carefully, as the three-strand structure is new and the rules differ from previous years.
