CAVAN AND MONAGHAN YOUTH ARTS BURSARY 2026
Could your group benefit from a €1600 bursary to explore youth arts?
NYCI’s National Youth Arts Programme is delighted to open applications for the Cavan Monaghan Youth Arts Bursary 2026! Deadline for Applications: April 24th @5pm
The bursary scheme supports young people from Cavan and Monaghan to participate in short youth arts projects in collaboration with a professional artist and within youth work and non-formal education settings. Six bursaries worth €1600 each will be awarded, three to County Cavan and three to County Monaghan.
The bursary scheme supports youth arts projects that:
• nurture young people’s creativity and skill development, supporting them to explore their world and express themselves through youth arts
• to support professional artists to develop their youth arts practice with young people and youth workers.
• to support young-person centred youth arts projects that promote a collaborative approach
• to support the engagement of marginalised young people who face barriers to arts participation
BURSARY TIMELINE
• Applications Open: March 23rd
• Application Deadline: Friday, April 24th at 5pm
• Applicants will be informed of grant allocations by: Friday, May 1st
• Projects should be completed by: Friday, November 27th
Please Note
• Youth participation: Youth workers should consult with an existing group of young people about their interests and ideas, developing a project application in collaboration with the young people and the named artist.
• Eligible Costs: The €1600 bursary will cover costs such as artist fees, materials or venue/travel costs where appropriate. Please confirm artist fees before applying and pay artists fairly.
• Eligible Costs: The bursary supports the cost of an external artist to work with young people in a youth work or youth arts setting. The bursary does not cover core costs in
an organisation such as fees for regular artists/facilitators or venue-rental in organisations already in receipt of funding from Local Authority Arts Offices.
• Timeline: Bursary recipients will be required to complete their project by Friday, November 27th. They will be required to write a short evaluation and share their youth arts project at a Cavan Monaghan Youth Arts Hub event.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for this bursary, applications must:
• Support a future youth arts project for young people aged between 10 and 25 in Cavan or Monaghan that meets the grant objectives as described above
• Be submitted from a youth work project/service/group or a not-for-profit youth arts group /organisation working with young people in Cavan or Monaghan in collaboration with a named, professional artist.
• Be from an organisation that has a Child Safeguarding Statement and is compliant with Children First.
If the bursary scheme is oversubscribed, then quality applications will be prioritised that: support the participation of marginalised young people and young people who have limited access to the arts; support engagement with a range of art forms; and achieve a geographical spread.
HOW DO I APPLY?
• Please complete the short online application form: https://www.youth.ie/articles/cavan-monaghan-youth-arts-bursary-call-for-applications/
• And submit your application by Friday, April 24th at 5pm
Get Inspired: Click here to check out some short videos of youth arts projects funded through the Cavan Monaghan Youth Arts Bursary 2025 and watch our Guide to Applying for the Cavan Monaghan Youth Arts Bursary!
For more information or queries about the application process, contact Rhona Dunnett., National Youth Arts Programme Manager at rhona@nyci.ie
The bursary scheme is funded by Cavan Arts Office Cavan County Council, Monaghan Arts Office Monaghan County Council, Cavan Monaghan Education Training Board LCYP and the Local Arts and Education Partnership (LAEP) as part of their support for the Cavan Monaghan Youth Arts Hub.
