Disabled artists are being offered a “financial lifeline” through a £120,000 grant package to fund new work as the arts sector begins to fully reopen.
The University of Atypical will be awarding a minimum of 60 grants of £2,000 through the D/deaf and Disabled Artists Support Fund 3, which is funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Department for Communities, to support D/deaf, disabled and Neurodiverse artists.
Many artists struggled financially and emotionally during the lockdown and this funding will be vital in helping them rebuild their careers, Damien Coyle, CEO of University of Atypical explained.
This jointly funded scheme aims to provide much needed financial support to D/deaf, Disabled and Neurodiverse creative practitioners at a time when their potential to generate income has been seriously impacted by the closure of art galleries, theatres, music venues and other creative outlets due to Covid-19.
Gilly Campbell, Head of Community Arts and Education, Arts Council Northern Ireland said: “The re-opening of the D/deaf and Disabled Artists Support Fund is welcome news. This funding programme has been designed to support those D/deaf, Disabled and Neurodiverse artists who were left struggling a result of the pandemic. As the arts sector now safely reopens, this fund provides critically-needed support to individual artists, enabling them to create new work.”
Damien Coyle, CEO of the University of Atypical, commented: “The importance of this funding scheme should not be underestimated. The outcome of our survey of grant recipients showed there was continuing challenges faced by creative practitioners. The responses clearly indicated that artists were experiencing wellbeing issues and there is a concern about the risk for their future involvement in the sector. This lifeline will help those artists restore their creative practice. We thank the Minister, Deirdre Hargey, the Department for Communities, and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for their continued support for D/deaf, disabled and Neurodiverse.”
Deirdre Hargey, Minister for Communities, said: “I am delighted to formally launch the D/deaf and Disabled Artists Support Fund. This is the third round of funding my Department has made available to support D/deaf, Disabled and Neurodiverse artists during the Covid -19 pandemic. As we emerge from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the fund is designed to support those D/deaf, Disabled and Neurodiverse artists restore their creative practice and rebuild livelihoods.”
She added: “The fund provides critically-needed support to D/deaf, Disabled and Neurodiverse artists to continue with their creative practice and offers practical help to meet costs such as materials, mentoring, studio rent, recording studio hire or simply time to produce new work.”
The University of Atypical has designed the D/deaf and Disabled Artists Support Fund to be adaptable and accessible and various options are available to meet the access requirements of applicants.
D/deaf, Disabled and Neurodiverse artists play an essential role in the culture, arts and heritage sector and is a reflective of the diversity and inclusiveness of our society. This funding will assist artists in continuing with this important contribution.
Information, application packs, and advice clinic registration forms are available from the following link: https://universityofatypical.org/ddasf
