Blick Creative Roundup
Our latest roundup of funding and opportunities for NI Creatives
01. Belfast Stories Community Grants
A new fund has been launched to support cultural heritage projects across Belfast. It is anticipated that the fund will provide ten small grants of up to £10,000 and five project grants up to £30,000.
The fund is open for applications from Belfast based cultural and community organisations for projects that create opportunities for stories to be discovered, retold or imagined and for skills to be developed.
Closing date: 14th April
02. Heritage Crafts – Fashion Textile Maker of the Year Award 2026
This award celebrates a heritage craftsperson who has made an outstanding contribution to fashion textile crafts within the previous 12 months (since 2 March 2025). It recognises a contribution that is far beyond the ordinary, based on a proven dedication to a particular fashion textile skill. We expect this to be someone who demonstrates the highest level of craft skill and is held in high regard amongst their peers.
The award is open to practitioners of any fashion textile craft. Examples include (but are not limited to) costume making, dressmaking, tailoring, pattern cutting, hat making, millinery, glovemaking, fabric pleating, corsetry, weaving of fabrics specifically for fashion garments etc. Nominations that demonstrate practical hand skills will be favoured over those that are predominantly design-oriented.
Anyone, including the maker themselves, can nominate for this award. Finalists will be expected to attend the high-profile Winners’ Reception in November 2026.
03. Open call for applications for the 2026 RDS Craft Awards
The RDS Craft Awards comprise three categories with a total prize fund of up to €62,000. Now in the second year of the fully reimagined format, the Awards support makers at all stages of their careers, with all verified applications reviewed by an independent judging panel. Entry is free, and the Awards are open to craft makers living on the island of Ireland as well as Irish born makers working overseas.
The programme includes:
Established Maker Award – Supporting experienced makers to sustain or scale their practice.
Maximum individual award: €20,000.
Emerging Maker Award – Providing early career support for makers within their first ten years.
Maximum individual award: €5,000.
Branchardière Lace Bursary – Relaunched for 2026, offering up to €2,000 for training, research, creative experimentation, mentoring, residencies, and collaborative projects in Irish lace and Irish crochet.
Together, the three categories ensure meaningful, targeted support for makers from emerging talent to established makers.
Deadline: 13th April
04. Bank of Ideas Funding
The Bank of Ideas is reopening for 2026! A way for the people of Belfast to propose and collectively decide on local creative projects for our city.
The Bank of Ideas supports individuals and groups to bring their ideas for their local area to life with up to £2,500 per project.
Open to neighbours, friends, schools, clubs or one individual with an idea. All creative ideas are welcome – from recycling and baking to skateboarding and gardening – the theme for ideas is ‘Celebrating Together’.
This year ideas can be part of the celebrations for the Fleadh Cheoil as the world’s biggest celebration of Irish music and culture, which comes to Belfast from Sunday 2 August to Sunday 9 August 2026.
The Bank of Ideas is run through a Participatory Budgeting scheme, which means that decisions on funding are made by the public, as they vote for the ideas they want to be funded at a Voting Day in City Hall.
There will be Idea Generating and Info sessions all across the city, so come along for a chat if you’ve got a bit of an idea, maybe a few ideas or would just like to learn more.
Closing date: 23rd March
05. Garden Show Ireland Craft NI Craft Village Call-Out
Craft NI is delighted to partner with Antrim & Newtownabbey Council’s Garden Show Ireland 2026 to bring contemporary local craft makers to this annual celebration of plants and gardens.
In 2026, all Garden Show events will be under canvas in two large marquees, so makers and visitors can enjoy the experience, whatever the weather!
They invite applications from craft makers for the 2026 Show to sell and/or provide craft demonstrations onsite.
Deadline: Monday 6th April, 5pm
06. The Ampersand Foundation – Annual Grant Applications Open
The Ampersand Foundation supports a wide variety of visual arts projects, including but not limited to exhibitions, artist commissions, public collection enhancement, collection care, and educational projects.
Funding is allocated once a year through their Annual Grants programme. 2026 Annual Grants are open to expressions of interest now, and support visual arts projects delivered in the UK between 1 October 2026 and 30 June 2028. It is a requirement that all exhibitions and projects supported by The Ampersand Foundation should be free to the public at least one whole day per week.
Closing date: 29th March
07. The UK Artist Touring Fund is now open for Phase One applications
Designed to help artists get out on the road more sustainably, the fund supports touring at a point when costs can make live shows harder and harder to pull off. It’s backed by the LIVE Trust and developed with support from the Featured Artists Coalition, Musicians’ Union and Music Managers Forum.
Deadline: 11:59pm on Friday 20th March
08. Rowntree’s ‘Free the Fund’ Community Grant Programme
Rowntree’s ‘Free the Fund’ Community Grant Programme has 4 x £10,000 grants to distribute to groups in the UK/Ireland running summer activities for people aged 21–65.
09. Alleyway transformation
Belfast has been selected as one of only 24 cities worldwide to receive $1 million (approximately £750,000) through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge 2025 – 2026, supporting an ambitious programme to transform how the council and neighbourhoods work together to manage and improve the network of alleyways across the city.
The funding will support council to redesign a core service using innovative, community-driven approaches and use these public spaces as a testbed for a new, scalable model of community service delivery.
Many homes in Belfast share alleyways that could be improved and better used.
They will work with local residents and community groups to help improve these spaces. With agreement from neighbours, alleyways can be transformed into cleaner, greener and more welcoming places for people who live nearby.
This could include:
- community gardens or growing spaces
- planting areas for wildlife
- quiet seating areas
- safe play spaces for children
- planting, artwork or other improvements
10. Belfast Design Week – Get Involved
Belfast Design Week is a collaborative festival which will be held from 1st – 7th May which aims to reflect the design industry in all its diversity. It depends on the energy, creativity and support of industry and community (like you!) to bring the programme to life.
