Creative Fingal Creative Communities Open Call 2024 is Open for Applications

Fingal County Council invites applications for creative awards funded under the Creative Ireland Programme 2024. There will be four awards within this scheme, one under each of the themes set out below. Each award is to the value of €5,000 - €10,000 (max.).

The Council is seeking applications for funding for creative community projects that are collaborative in nature, transform people and places, and benefit the whole community. This grant scheme is open to community groups and not-for-profit organisations, arts, heritage and cultural groups, venues, societies, and individuals to support creative projects that contribute to creativity and culture within Fingal. Applications by individuals must be in partnership with a community, cultural or heritage group.

This process is highly competitive and the priority is to deliver a balanced distribution of projects across Fingal. For this reason, applicants are advised to focus on one strong proposal as opposed to multiple projects. 

Creative Ireland

The Creative Ireland Programme is an all-of-government culture and wellbeing programme with the ambition to inspire and transform people, places, and communities through creativity. Harnessing the creative potential of our people and communities is a cornerstone of the Creative Ireland Programme. Under the Creative Communities pillar of the programme, each of the 31 local authorities has established a Culture and Creativity Team which brings together local expertise in arts, heritage, libraries, enterprise, and community engagement, to foster collaboration and spark new initiatives.

Fingal Library Service coordinates the Creative Ireland Programme in Fingal. Libraries have a key role to play in building cohesive and sustainable communities, and in supporting healthy place-making, by providing inclusive community space, collections and programming that engage people and support culture, recreation, literacy, education, and lifelong learning in the County. Community is the overarching theme of the Fingal Library Service Development Plan for 2024-2029. One of the actions set out in the plan is to leverage Creative Ireland funding and the expertise of Fingal’s community of creative practitioners to ensure that everyone has access to creative activities and learning opportunities.

The Creative Vision for Fingal

With the help of local artists, creatives, cultural and heritage organisations, and community groups across the country, each local authority has created a new five-year Culture and Creativity Strategy 2023–2027. These are designed to enable people to work together to transform their communities, their lives, and their environment through creativity.

The vision for the Fingal Culture and Creativity Strategy 2023 – 2027 is that creativity, culture, and the arts will be accessible to and valued by everyone. The Culture and Creativity Team has identified specific focus areas with the most potential for long-term impact in Fingal. Creative Ireland Fingal will build on successful implementation to date and continue to support access and participation for all our citizens by providing space for culture and creativity. We will continue to support artists and creative practitioners and to build capacity for connecting artists and other creative practitioners to communities.

Key Themes

The objective is to relate your project to one or more of the key strategic themes of the Fingal Culture and Creativity Strategy 2023 – 2027.

The Key Themes for Creative Ireland Fingal’s Open Call 2024 are:

• Changing population and demographics – The project should respond to the demographic profile of the county to reflect the core values of Creative Communities such as broadening access to, and participation in, cultural, and creative activities locally. Within this key theme, projects should be mindful of offering demographic groups that may be in danger of marginalisation access to opportunities to explore their creativity. This includes adults and children with additional needs, people newly arrived in Ireland, travellers, and other similar groups.

• Making cities/counties great places to live, work, visit and invest in and putting Town Centre first – Placemaking and Town Centre first is about creating quality places that people want to live, work, play, and learn in. Investing in culture and creativity can support environmental, social, and economic returns that help deliver regional and local plans. Within this theme, projects should look at ways to integrate culture and creativity across placemaking, regeneration, renewal, and the development of more vibrant, creative, and sustainable places that promote people's health, happiness, and wellbeing.

• Climate Action – Under this key theme the strategic priority is to ensure that creativity and culture are used to support the delivery of the four main target areas[1] of the Fingal County Council Climate Action Plan 2019 – 2024. Projects should be focused on actively engaging and informing citizens on climate change using creative platforms.
• Digitalisation and Ongoing Transformation – This key theme focuses on utilising new methods for expressing creativity and culture, supporting the delivery of the Digital Community Pillar of the Fingal Digital Strategy 2020 – 2023. Specific focus should be given to how new technology and methods of communication can change our approach to creativity and how this will affect future creativity. 

Eligibility:

             To be eligible projects must:

• Take place in County Fingal.
• Be delivered collaboratively between a creative practitioner(s) and a part of the community or a community group or specific target audience that agreed to take part in the project.
• Have a tangible outcome such as an event (exhibition, performance, talk) that is free of charge.
• Be accessible to diverse audiences and participants, inclusive in theme and approach, and enhance or increase access to opportunities to explore their creativity.
• Be designed on a realistic financial basis and provide good value for money.
• Commissioned individuals must have a bank account, a tax clearance certificate and public liability cover.
• Organisers must be compliant with all applicable legal requirements e.g., Children First Guidelines and legislation, including appropriate Garda-Vetting procedures, Health & Safety Regulations, and Equal Opportunities where relevant and in all cases.
• Capital or infrastructure projects, commemorative plaques / statues are not eligible costs.
• Timeline: All projects must be completed by 1st October 2024.

Please note the following when applying for this fund:

• An evaluation panel will be formed to assess all applications.
• Applications which are incomplete, vague or lack the detail requested will not be considered.
• A full report will be required at the mid-point and endpoint of the project detailing a breakdown of project reach (audience numbers, promotional materials, and feedback from participants on audience experience, photos with participant consent) of the project outcomes/events.
• Successful applicants will be required to submit a reasonable budget/itemise how the award was spent.
• Successful projects must brand all projects in compliance with Creative Ireland and Fingal County Council guidelines, including all social media. Fingal County Council and Creative Ireland should also be credited in all media interviews.
• No late applications will be accepted.
• Indicative award: €5000 to a max of €10,000 (inclusive of all artistic fees, VAT and materials/production/performance/display/promotion costs).
• Preference will be given to applications that propose new and innovative projects and those that tie in closely with the key themes for Creative Ireland Fingal’s Open Call 2024, listed above.
• Canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification.

Please read the Guidelines Document before completing your application.

Please click here to apply.

Closing date for submissions is 5:00 pm on Friday 29th March 2024.

We aim to notify applicants in April 2024, after which they will be supported to begin preparations, if successful.

This opportunity is funded by Creative Ireland.

Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

The decision of the evaluation panel is final.

 

Queries to [email protected]