To ask the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure what support her Department provides for emerging artists.

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland provides a suite of support through its Support for the Individual Artist Programme (SIAP). They aim to award 30% of SIAP grants to new and emerging artists and are on target to achieve this aim for 2011/12. Details are provided on the attached annex.

Annex

General Art Awards – Grants up to £1,500

Awards can be for specific projects, specialised research, personal artistic development and certain materials/ equipment.

Self Arranged Residencies – Grants up to £5,000

These awards enable individual artists wishing to work outside the north of Ireland to develop exchanges and take up self-arranged residencies.

Major Individual Awards – Grants of £15,000 (4 awards made in 2011/12)

A limited number of awards each year intended to create the circumstances in which established artists with national/ international recognition may develop extended or ambitious work.

Travel Awards – Level of grant fixed by destination (from £200 to £800)

These awards enable individual artists to travel from the north of Ireland to develop their skills and expertise. Applicants must provide evidence that they have been invited by a host organisation in the country to which they intend to travel.

Artists’ Career Enhancement Scheme – Grants of £5,000 (13 awards made in 2011/12)

These awards aim to deepen the developmental impact of Arts Council’s support for artists, with a targeted package of training, mentoring and support provided for successful applicants. These awards aim to support career artists whose practice is of high quality, original, challenging and innovative. The awards are designed to support artists in their professional development, enabling successful applicants to raise their profile and significantly enhance their career.

The British School at Rome Fellowship (one award made every other year)

This residency offers visual artists the opportunity to work in Rome for a period of 6 months between 2nd January and 27th June 2012 on a project of their choosing. Rather than experimenting on new techniques, scholars are encouraged to use their time to work on developing ideas for a new body of work or exploring themes that will advance their practice. The Fellow is encouraged to be self reliant and adaptable.

Young Musicians Platform – Biennial scheme - 3 grants of £5,000

The Arts Council, in collaboration with BBC NI, offers awards for young, exceptionally talented solo musicians/singers or ensembles who have finished their first academic, graduate level qualification and are ready to enter the professional world as artists. The financial award associated with this scheme will allow applicants to spend a sizeable amount of time learning from a master musician/ teacher/composer etc. abroad. Priority will be given to applications where the associated period of learning is taking place outside of Great Britain and Ireland. The BBC will facilitate this scheme by offering two professional broadcast performances to successful applicants.