Arts Bursary – International Touring and Exhibition

Cork County Council 
Arts Bursary – International Touring and Exhibition 2025/26

Application Guidelines

This Bursary Award is designed to assist individual artists develop international performing or exhibition opportunities for their work. It aims to provide financial assistance towards the costs of bringing new creative output by artists living and working in Cork County to an international audience. Only practicing artists based in Cork County are eligible to apply. 

Grant assistance will be awarded only where applications meet the artistic and financial requirements set down by Cork County Council.

Award Objectives 

• To assist county based artists bring their work to an international audience. 
• To support the career development and professional profile of county based artists. 
• To enable artists develop connections with promoters and arts venues outside the island of Ireland. 

Number and Value of Grants 

• The maximum grant that may be requested is €2,000. The number of awards that may be made will be determined by the available budget, which will be set in advance of the selection process. The decision of Cork County Council in relation to the value and number of grants that may be awarded is final.

Eligibility 

• Practicing artists working in any art form, as defined by the Arts Act 2003, who are normally resident in the Cork County administrative area are eligible to apply. 
• Applicants must have a confirmed interest from an international venue, event or promoter for the period 2023/24 as the basis for their application.
• Applicants must provide details of the exhibition, performance or tour schedule and letters of support from the receiving organisation must be submitted. 
• Applicants must demonstrate that undertaking the project will place a substantial financial burden that cannot otherwise be met. 
• Collaborative/interdisciplinary projects involving more than one artist will be considered. In such cases the majority of artists involved must be based in Cork County and the application will be made by one artist and who must be resident in the County Cork functional area.

Ineligibility 

This scheme does not cover: 

• Projects that have or may receive funding from Cork County Council through other bursary or grant schemes. 
• Purchase of capital items. 
• Applications for academic study or costs of fees leading to a professional qualification. 

The following must be included with your application

Bursary Proposal 

• A description of the creative project for which you are applying for an award.
• Your reasons for applying for this award.
• Any other relevant information not included in the project description that may support your application (Maximum equivalent of 2 A4 typed pages).

Projected costs 

• Provide a breakdown of all anticipated expenditure related to your proposal. E.g. Travel, transport, accommodation, etc.
• Please give details of any other income/grant sources secured or applied for in relation to this project.

Professional CV 

• A concise summary of your artistic career to date, including recent artistic achievements, details of any relevant qualifications, membership of professional bodies etc.

Supporting material 

• An example or selection of the work that will be shown internationally.
• include at least one documented example of your recent artistic work.
• Any relevant letters of support from organisations that may be involved in the project.
• Under no circumstances should any original artwork or documents be submitted.

Assessment of applications

• An independent assessment panel will evaluate all applications. 

Assessment Criteria 

Applications will be assessed on the basis of the following: 

• Evidence of personal artistic achievement to date.
• Commitment to high standards of artistic excellence.
• The potential for artistic innovation and or challenge presented by the proposal.
• The viability of the proposed work/study programme.
• The relevance of the proposal to advancing personal skills or expertise.
• The potential of the proposal to enhance the career of the artist.

To help assessment of your application, please ensure that: 

• Your application is concise and clearly written.
• You have completed all sections.
• You have provided all relevant information as clearly as possible.
• You have demonstrated clearly your reasons for applying for this bursary.

Closing Date for receipt of applications: Thursday, January 9th 2024

• We strongly advise making your application ahead of the deadline to avoid any difficulties with uploading times. 
• We also advise that you keep a copy of all material submitted.
• When you are satisfied that you have uploaded all information you need for your application, click Submit.
• Once submitted, your application can not be amended. Do not submit your application until you are completely satisfied. 
• If the application is successfully submitted you will receive a confirmation email and an application reference number. This mail can sometimes be classified as spam and may be directed to your spam folder. 
• If you do not receive a confirmation email then the application has not reached us and you should consider resubmitting.
• We regret that late applications cannot be submitted.

Accessible Applications

The option to submit a video or audio proposal is available for people with additional needs. Audio instructions is available to guide you through the application and outline the information that must be included on each funding scheme. Video or audio applications must be submitted as a link to an external site with any required passwords. We strongly advise making the application ahead of the deadline to avoid any difficulties with uploading times. If you need further accessibility support please contact via email: arts@corkcoco.ie or tel: (021) 434 6210 and we will endeavour to assist.

Enquiries to:

The Arts Office
Cork County Council
County Hall
Cork.

Tel: (021) 4346210 or email:arts@corkcoco.ie.