Louth County Council Arts Office is welcoming applications from professional artists across all artforms for a new Equality, Diversity & Inclusion bursary supported by The Arts Council.

This €5,000award is available to artists specifically from under-represented backgrounds and communities, including those based on gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race, membership of the Traveller Community and socio-economic status. 

The bursary aligns with the Arts Council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy ensuring that everyone who lives in Ireland has the opportunity to engage with, and participate in the arts. This Artist Practice Bursary Award will allow the successful applicant to focus on the development of their professional practice, or develop a specific artistic project, or both.

Acting Arts Officer at Louth County Council, Moya Hodgers, said: “While we are all making new strides to ensure EDI principles are an embedded feature of our supports, there is always more we can do.

“This pilot bursary will provide specific supports to an artist who has experienced barriers in their career development under the ten grounds of discrimination as detailed in the Art’s Councils updated EDI Policy. This bursary provides a strong signal of our partnership with the Arts Council to help artists tackle these barriers.”

Applications are now open, with application forms and guidelines available on the Create Louth website https://createlouth.ie/ The deadline for applications is 4.00 p.m. on Thursday 12th October 2024.

For further queries on the bursary, or to request a hard copy of the application form and guidelines, contact the arts office on arts@louthcoco.ie or call Louth County Council on 042 933 5457 and ask to speak to a member of the arts team.