Community arts projects in Belfast - Apply now!

A wide range of arts projects will be offered free of charge to groups of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Priority will be given to those based in disadvantaged areas.

Applications should be submitted by Friday 29 August at 5pm.

New Belfast Community Arts Initiative is always trying to offer the best possible arts support to community organisations, groups and centres in Belfast. To this end, the organisation has developed a new application process for its current community programme and is offering 43 community group places on five project strands (Belfast Wheel, This Is Me, Masque, Trash Fashion, Side by Side). Each group will receive a fully-facilitated professional arts project and all supporting materials, free of charge.

Application forms are available on request from New Belfast, tel: 028 9092 3493; email: info@newbelfastarts.org, or can be downloaded from www.newbelfastarts.org.

In order to balance the programme across all areas of Belfast and across all communities and traditions, groups are required to provide information that will assist New Belfast to better serve need in the city.

If your group has participated on a New Belfast project before or you represent a group/association/centre that wishes to apply for the first time for consideration in this year's programme, please fill out the application form in as much detail as possible.

Groups applying must have postcodes that lie within Belfast City Council boundaries, or the premises where work will be carried out needs to be in Belfast.

New Belfast invites all groups intending to apply to have a look at our website to better understand the services and projects offered, free of charge, to selected groups.

There are opportunities to engage in cross-community, cross-cultural and cross-ability arts projects in a whole range of media including music, dance, sculpture, fashion, film-making, photography, literary-verbal arts and carnival skills.

Our community arts organisation supports groups through participant-led projects, harnessing the transformative power of art-making to transfer skills to the most socially and economically marginalised in the city. And we facilitate the opportunity for new relationships to develop right across Belfast.

With only a limited amount of places available, it is imperative that groups requiring arts activity apply before deadline and offer us enough information to inform our selection processes. We cannot guarantee participation but will do our best to accommodate as many as funding allows.

Conor Shields, Programme Director commented: