Deadline was 16.00 Monday February 20th, 2017
Deontais Ealaíon Chomhairle Cathrach & Contae Phort Láirge
Waterford City & County Council Arts Grants
Waterford City & County Council has allocated significant funding for the provision of Arts Practice, Arts Venues and Arts Festivals Grants as part of its support for the development of the arts in the City and County in 2017. Detailed below are the Arts Practice Grants.The arts grants are an essential part of the Waterford City and County Arts Strategy 2016 – 2021 – “A Shared Vision for Waterford Arts” and follow closely the relevant actions under its three themes:
- Participation & Access
- Support for Artists
- Identity and Place
The Arts Practice grants structure complies with Section 6 of the 2003 Arts Act. These grants are for funding towards arts projects and programmes which are complementary to the following objectives:
- Stimulating public interest in the Arts
- Promoting knowledge, appreciation and practice of the arts, or
- Improving standards in the arts
In the Act, the arts are defined as painting, sculpture, architecture, music, film, drama, dance, literature, design in industry, the fine arts and applied arts generally.
The Arts Practice grants are adjudicated through a competitive process. Application forms are available online from Friday January 27 2017 with a closing date of Monday February 20th 2017 at 4pm.
Available Grants:
- Amateur/Voluntary Arts grants
- Professional Project grants
- Rural Arts Networking grants
- Playwright & Producer team grant
- Screenwriter & Producer team grant
APPLICATION PROCESS
For the purposes of clarity we are working on the following assumptions:
- Voluntary/Amateur: An individual or a group that engages in an arts activity as a pastime or for the love of the artform rather then as a profession.
- Professional: An individual who engages in an arts activity for a source of livelihood and who is the principal personnel in the creative process resulting in a work of art.
- Arts Organisations: A not-for-profit professional arts organisation that either concentrates on professional arts activities (e.g. Theatre, Film) or utilises professional arts practice in a community or social setting (e.g. Youth Arts, Healing Arts).
Prior to application please read the Guidelines.
If you are a recipient of previous arts funding and are not sure of which area you should be applying for click here to be brought to the 2016 & 2017 comparison table.
For advice on filling out the Online Application Form Click here.
Waterford City & County Council invites applications under the following programmes:
Amateur/Voluntary Arts Grants (Arts Act Grants)
These grants are for the Amateur/Voluntary strata and would include Amateur Drama Organisations, Choirs, Marching Bands, Amateur Visual Arts Cooperatives, Volunteer Concert providers, Amateur Writing Groups etc. These grants are for specific artistic projects to bring them into the public domain with preference being given to:
- those who employ professional artists/workers/technicians to increase the quality of output
- those utilising local creative inputs (such as a new play by a local writer)
- those that have a strong track record for excellence
- projects that create linkages with the County and City
Please note these grants are not for administration or for events that happened in the past. (Read the Guidelines before applying.)
- Arts Act Grant Application for an individual
- Arts Act Grant Application for a group
Professional Project Grants 
These grants are for the Professional arts strata and would include professional arts organisations, Theatre companies, Arts Service companies, professional artist and professional arts collaborations. These grants are for specific artistic projects to bring them into the public domain. Preference being given to:
- new creative products
- new and emerging art forms and practices
- collaborative projects
- projects that create linkages with the County and City
Please note these grants are not for administration or for events that happened in the past. (Read the Guidelines before applying).
- Professional Project Grant Application for an individual
- Professional Project Grant Application for a Collective or Arts Organisation
Rural Arts Networking Grants
The development of a Rural Arts Network is to ensure accessibility to the arts for artists and audiences. It was identified as a specific need in the Waterford City & County Arts Strategy 2016 -2021.
It is now proposed under this grants scheme to invite proposals for projects which will contribute to the development of the Rural Arts Network.
Innovative projects in any art form will be considered. Submissions from arts collectives/groups only are admissible.
Projects focusing on the ongoing or regular output of existing groups cannot be considered under this scheme.
(Read the Guidelines before applying).
- Rural Arts Networking Grant Application
Playwright & Producer team grants (Theatre)
This two stage grant scheme was piloted successfully in 2016 and replaced the Professional Theatre Performance Production Grant. It is part of the Theatre Programme of the Arts Service. We see this as a partnership between a Playwright and a Producer and Waterford City & County Council with the hope of encouraging outside finances.
The scheme is based on three tenets:
- To build up a new cannon of South East plays
- To enable and empower South East playwrights
- To encourage new arts entrepreneurs (producers)
For the first part (worth up to €1,500) applicants are invited to submit:
- A sample scene of a new work
- A detailed synopsis and plot
- Theme/s
- A list of characters (with notes)
- Basic stage setting
- A relevant CV outlining previous creative work
- An agreement with a person or group who will produce including a work timeline for the completion of the script
These applications will be judged, on their merits, by a theatre practitioner panel where preference will be given to plays based in Waterford or the Southeast, or that cover issues pertinent to Waterford or the Southeast. Up to three scripts will be commissioned to the value of €1,500 each – payment on receipt of the finished script.
For the second part, worth up to €1,500, following the completion of the script and a meeting convened with the Arts Officer responsible for Theatre, the creative team must supply:
- a rehearsed reading planned in consultation with the Arts Service (we will try to group readings so we can ask venue managers to attend)
- an exercise consisting of a budgeted and costed proposal for a rehearsal schedule leading towards a budget and costing exercise for a six day run
- proposed marketing plan including budget and schedule
For further information regarding publishing, royalties, accreditation etc Click Here.
In the description dropdown menu please use the Professional Collective option.
- Playwright & Producer Team Application
Screenwriter & Producer team grant (Film)
This two stage grant scheme loosely based on the Playwright & Producer Team Grant that was piloted successfully in 2016. We see this as a partnership between a Screenwriter and a Producer and Waterford City & County Council with the hope of encouraging further finances towards the project.
The scheme is based on four tenets: 
- To build up a new cannon of South East films
- To encourage local film production
- To enable and empower South East Screenwriters
- To encourage new arts entrepreneurs (producers)
For the first part applicants must submit along with their application:
- A maximum three sentence ‘Pitch’
- A detailed synopsis and plot
- Theme/s
- A list of characters (with notes)
- Basic location settings
- Relevant CVs outlining previous creative work
- An agreement with a person or group who will produce including a work timeline for the completion of the script
- Availability for a phone or face-to-face interview
Up to four applicants will then be chosen to submit their full screenplay for which they will be awarded €250 each.
The four applicants will then be invited to compete for two grants worth €3,500 each plus a Waterford FilmLAB bursary that includes 10 days free rental of equipment and use of the offline editing suite for 7 days.
For this WC&CC Arts Service will expect:
- A detailed budget including all payments and other contributions and ‘in-kind’ sponsorship
- Names and details of all of those to be associated with the project (Actors, Crew etc)
- Locations and Set-Ups
- Basic Storyboards
- Shooting script
- A list of equipment required
- Preferred Timeline (this must also include dates for the drawdown of the grant)
Following this two productions will be chosen. Payment will be given on completion of the film or in agreed stages.
For further information regarding formats and accreditation Click Here.
In the description dropdown menu please use the Professional Collective option.
- Screenwriter & Producer Team Application
Please tell us if you are having problems with this page or with any of the pages directly connected to the Online Grant Applications. Fill in the form bellow and we will do our best to get back to you within 24 hours. Alternatively you can ring 0761102983 during office hours.