Twelve artists to receive grants to develop their careers

Twelve artists from Northern Ireland are to be awarded combined funding of £82,559 to develop their careers.

The grants from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Artist Career Enhancement Scheme (Aces), backed by the National Lottery, will support the artists in creating new work.

This year’s recipients are visual artists Jan McCullough, Jonathan Brennan, Sally O’Dowd and Thomas Wells, musicians Jonathan William Corry, Martin Coyle and Myles McCormack, drama awardee Sinead Owens, writers Jill Crawford, Joanne Zebedee and Toby Buckley and circus performer Hannah Anderson.

In addition to receiving a bursary of up to £7,000 each to develop new work, many of the 12 artists will partner with a professional organisation or leading artist, at home or abroad.

Some of these partners include Brassneck Theatre Company, Circusful, Movin On Music, The MAC, Outburst Queer Arts Festival, Ulster Orchestra and Strand Arts Centre.

The award also provides them with the financial support to take their careers to that vital next level

Gilly Campbell, Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Gilly Campbell, joint director of arts development at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said: “The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is delighted to award £82,559 to 12 exceptional artists from Northern Ireland, thanks to the National Lottery players.

“These artists are already established and highly regarded in each of their fields and the Aces awards are given in recognition of their work to date.

“The award also provides them with the financial support to take their careers to that vital next level.

“The Aces programme has been running successfully for several years now and addresses the need for ongoing skills development and training within the arts sector here.”