Blick Creative Roundup
Our latest roundup of funding and opportunities for NI Creatives.
01. The East Light Prototype: Designing Sustainable Residencies
Future Island-Island are delighted to be offering this residency opportunity in collaboration with project partners at NARCCA. Through this funded Producer Development Programme, NAARCA and FI-I are seeking a Producer to undertake a series of sustainability-focused residencies in 2027 centred on skills development, knowledge exchange, and mentorship. Over the course of one year, the selected Producer will engage with NAARCA partners, learn how each institution operates, and receive support to establish a new sustainability-centred pilot residency programme on Rathlin Island.
To be eligible, the Producer must be based in Northern Ireland and priority consideration will be given to those living on Rathlin Island.
Applications should be submitted by CV and a covering letter to Alex Marrs (Senior Producer, Cove Park)
Closing date: 19th October 5pm
02. Propositions for Design Beyond Growth
Hosted by the Decolonising the Arts Institute (University of the Arts London), Propositions for Design Beyond Growth is an interdisciplinary symposium asking how degrowth can be turned from a critique into something designers can work with. They invite designers, researchers, makers, repair practitioners, architects, economists, activists, policy makers and manufacturers and anyone curious about how design and degrowth intersect, to share tactics and strategies for moving design beyond growth-driven production and consumption, towards sufficient, durable, repairable and equitable material practices.
Closing date: 22nd October
The RSUA/JP Corry Design Competition for 2026 challenges Early Career Architects to propose creative ideas for a specific bus shelter that explores the potential of gender equity and inclusivity within public realm design.
Bus Shelters are a familiar part of our everyday public realm, but they can also be places where people feel vulnerable or unsafe. We are inviting early career architects to reimagine this everyday piece of infrastructure and explore how design can help create public spaces that feel safer, more accessible and welcoming.
This year’s design challenge has been developed in conjunction with @womeninarchitecture_rsua and supports The Executive Office’s Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG).
Closing date: Sunday 11th October 11.59pm.
04. Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Cultural Grant Aid and Bursary Programme
Are you an individual or a constituted group based in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough with a cultural project or creative idea?
The Cultural Grant Aid and Bursary Programme provides funding to support projects that:
- Develop artistic talent and knowledge
- Showcase the arts
- Promote participation and inclusion
- Celebrate our shared heritage
- Support minority languages and cultural diversity
Funding will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis until the grant budget is exhausted. All applications must be submitted at least three months before funding is required.
05. Groundwork NI Freelance Tutors and Facilitators
Groundwork NI are developing their data base of freelance tutors, artists and craftspeople for future work across a number of projects. They are also looking for an OCN affiliated tutor for their horticulture courses across Belfast and NI.
Forward CV’s titled FREELANCE TUTORS to lesleycherry@groundworkni.co.uk
06. Belfast City Council End Violence Against Women & Girls 2026-2027 Local Change Fund
The purpose of the End Violence Against Women and Girls Local Change Fund is to support the community voluntary sector in Belfast to deliver events, projects or programmes of activity aimed at ending violence against women and girls.
Closing date: Friday 9th October 12pm
07. The DAS Home Residency
DAS welcomes you to join their alumni of over 250 artists and benefit from working in a dynamic shared studio, developing your practice with expert support, and exploring state-of-the-art creative technology.
The DAS Home Residency provides four months for you to develop a project of your choice, expanding your skills and practice. Open to artists across Ireland and the UK, we welcome proposals from artists whose work employs digital technologies to challenge artistic boundaries and reimagine the cultural landscape.
Closing date: Wednesday 14th October
08. Anthology Creative Competitions 2026 are open for entries
Offering a variety of competitions established to encourage and promote visual artists and writers, the Anthology Creative Awards provide a platform for emerging creatives to publish their work.There are eight categories: Photography, Cover Art, Short Story, Flash Fiction, Travel Writing, Poetry, Nature Writing and Personal Memoir. The winner of each category will win a cash prize and publication in a future issue of the internationally-distributed Anthology magazine.
09. Artists Now Bursaries 2026-27
Artist members you can apply for £500 to £1,500 to support the development of your practice, from building skills and knowledge to growing networks and creating new professional opportunities.
Closing date: Thursday 15th October 12pm
