Arts Council of Northern Irelandaward
Rosy James Memorial Trust Awards
- Who Can Apply: Craft makers and designer-makers aged 18 or over with a relevant degree or equivalent, a craft apprenticeship, or at least three years' professional practice, who have contributed to artistic activity in Northern Ireland for at least 1 year in the last 5. Major Award: established makers living in Northern Ireland. Emerging Maker Awards: under five years' professional practice; need not live in Northern Ireland but must show a strong connection to it.
- The Focus: Creating a new body of work in a recognised craft discipline; fine art, painting, drawing, photography, printing and fashion are not eligible.
- The Funding: Major Award £20,000; up to three Emerging Maker Awards of £5,000 each, paid in full up front.
- Key Requirements: Email the application form (300-word overview, 200 words per criterion) with an artistic CV, a detailed project budget, a programme of planned work with timeline, and a maximum of 10 images with an image list; total attachments no more than 15 MB; web links are not accepted.
DeadlineMonday, November 9, 2026
AwardMajor Award £20,000 (one award); up to three Emerging Maker Awards of £5,000 each. The Trustees award the full amount; no partnership funding is required.
LocationNorthern Ireland
ParticipationRemote
Career stagesEmerging, Established
DisciplinesCraft, Designer-maker
Age range18–
Application notesApply by email only to RosyJamesTrust@artscouncil-ni.org with the subject line "Rosy James Memorial Trust Award"; hard-copy and handwritten applications are not accepted. Send the completed 2026 application form (Word document from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland page) and all mandatory enclosures in the same submission. The form asks for: a project overview of no more than 300 words; proposed start and end dates (between January 2027 and 30 June 2028); whether you are applying for the Major or an Emerging award (one only); no more than 200 words for each of five assessment criteria (1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2); how you will measure success; project cost, amount requested and other funding. Mandatory enclosures: (1) artistic CV, most recent first, no unnecessary narrative; (2) a separate detailed project budget (one A4 page breakdown, each item listed; if buying time, show how it is calculated); (3) a detailed programme of planned work/activity with a timeline; (4) artistic support material: a maximum of 10 images with an image list giving number, title, material(s), process and dimensions. If applicable: confirmation statement from a residency host; a letter on headed paper from your Head of Department if you are an employee of a statutory body or an undergraduate or postgraduate student; a statement on how the project differs from your Masters or PhD work. Total size of all documents must not exceed 15 MB. Accepted formats: JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG; DOC, DOCX, PDF; XLS, XLSX. Web links or website addresses in place of enclosures make the application ineligible. Decisions by early December 2026. Advice before applying: Suzanne Lyle, slyle@artscouncil-ni.org (eligibility queries at least two weeks before the closing date). University of Atypical supports d/Deaf, disabled or neurodivergent applicants (access@universityofatypical.org).
ContactRosyJamesTrust@artscouncil-ni.org
Arts Council of Northern Ireland
Organization based in Belfast