Culture Night Funding

Culture Night Sligo Funding Information Sheet

Sligo County Council will seek to present a multi-disciplinary programme that includes a number of flagship & featured Culture Night events. These events will be of a larger scale or provide collaborative opportunities for creative practitioners to engage with the public or communities of interest.

The Culture Night programme will also support smaller scale cultural events and activities, gatherings in community & public spaces, in towns and villages, in urban and rural settings throughout the county which celebrate our culture, are inclusive and free to all.

Proposals can include ANY and ALL creative activities – from performances to exhibitions, readings, talks, workshops, heritage events, interactive installations, craft activities, film screenings, etc. We particularly welcome events delivered in or engaging with the Irish language and encourage submissions that celebrate the diversity of Ireland’s linguistic and cultural heritage.

Who Can Apply:

  • Arts, heritage and cultural venues, groups and societies (professional & amateur)
  • Individual artists, musicians and other creatives & collectives
  • Creative/Cultural organisations, Community groups, Older Persons Groups, Youth Work Groups, Sports Groups, Neighbourhood Groups, etc.
  • Creative Enterprises who engage with communities
  • We encourage special and unique events that are specifically programmed for the occasion at participating locations throughout the county.

Programe priorities include:

  • Engaging and amplifying County Sligo’s existing cultural infrastructure (festivals/ theatres/ libraries/ galleries/ artist workspaces/ heritage sites/ public spaces)
  • Activating communities in towns and villages throughout the county to come together and programme, host and/or participate in cultural activities in their local areas
  • Collaborations between local groups proposing town programmes
  • Arts organisations, community groups, and professional or voluntary/amateur artists/performers working in any medium throughout the town and county
  • Initiatives that have the capacity to animate public spaces countywide in innovative and creative ways
  • Events outside of traditional spaces
  • Events that invite participation in local heritage & culture
  • Opportunities for target audiences including families, youth audiences, adults, and older people and the hard-to-reach to participate
  • Events that ensure that professional artists/performers receive fair remuneration for their work
  • Events that celebrate new communities & under-represented voices
  • Events that encourage people to try new cultural experiences & visit cultural venues

Funding:

Flagship Events

Up to 3 flagship Culture Night Events of scale, which amplify Sligo’s existing cultural infrastructure
may be supported (max €2,500 per project). Flagships events are events that:

  • Amplify the existing cultural infrastructure (arts & cultural venues/ libraries/ festivals/galleries/ artist workspaces/ heritage sites/ public spaces)
  • Events specifically developed for this year’s Culture Night
  • Involve professional programmers/producers/curators
  • Engage professional practitioners
  • Deemed to be of a high artistic/cultural standard
  • Are inclusive AND accessible
  • Have the capacity to engage with a large number of people over the course of the evening (300+)

Featured Events

Up to 5 featured events will be awarded a maximum of €1,000 each. Featured events are events that:

  • Are collaborative in nature (artists/practitioners working with communities/the public) or have a
    participatory/engagement element attached to them
  • Are specifically developed for this year’s Culture Night
  • Deemed to be of a high artistic/cultural standard
  • Are inclusive, accessible
  • Have the capacity to engage with a number of people over the course of the evening (100 +)

Culture Wide

We are also seeking to support a wider programme of events and activities in Sligo town and which
extend out into the county. As part of this, we are especially interested in hearing from rural artists
/groups/communities who wish to present Culture Night events in their own local communities
and/or first-time applicants.

A number of smaller awards will be made to support this wider Culture Night (Culture wide)
programme. The maximum amount of available funding under this programme strand is
€500 – €700, Applicants can apply for smaller amounts.

Culture Night Late

There is a national Culture Night Culture Night Late fund, managed by the Arts Council, which
will be promoted annually and EOI’s may be sought from programme partners locally for this.
The Culture Night late programme locally is supported by The Department of Culture,
Communications & Sport & Sligo BID. A separate Culture Night Late Fund may be advertised
for this, or funding may be allocated via the existing 3 funding strands.

Eligibility

Culture Night Applications:

  • Events must take place after 4pm on Culture Night.
  • Events must be free and accessible to the public.
  • Events must have a cultural focus.
  • Applicants must demonstrate a commitment and capacity to deliver safe and controlled events.
  • Proposals must be feasible from an artistic/cultural and event management perspective.
  • Where relevant, applicants must demonstrate their interest in and ability to engage target audiences.
  • Applicants must demonstrate that professional artists employed will be supported in their work and remunerated fairly.

Eligible & ineligible Costs:

Funding can cover costs related to running of the event such as guest speaker fees, guest artist fees*,
arts materials, and technical support hire. Payments are for specific activities outlined in the application.

*All professional artists must be paid in line with the Art Council’s policy for fair pay for artists.

The following costs are not eligible for funding:

  • Salaries or *staffing costs
  • Equipment purchase or capital costs
  • Fundraising activities or debt repayment
  • Hospitality, including food, refreshments or alcohol*
  • Venue hire, travel, or accommodation
  • Marketing, publicity, or print costs
  • Events or exhibitions taking place outside of Culture Night
  • Any costs intended to generate personal or organisational profit

We encourage applicants to consider accessibility needs in their planning. This could include venue access, inclusive formats, ISL interpretation, or sensory-friendly elements. Proof of expenditure may include scanned receipts, digital invoices, or other documentation of costs incurred. Original paper copies are not required unless requested. Please ensure all files are clear and legible.

Creative businesses are welcome to apply, provided the proposed event is free, non-commercial, and clearly focused on cultural engagement

*Staffing costs may be considered where directly linked to the delivery of the event (e.g. extended opening hours, technical or event support roles)

*A small portion of the budget (up to 10%) may be allocated to light refreshments where it directly supports community engagement or inclusive participation (e.g. intergenerational, intercultural or rural gatherings).

Funding is not available for events already funded by Sligo County Council. The grant will only be paid after the event has taken place, and on receipt of a report on the event and receipts for all expenditure. Report forms will be provided to selected applicants.

Please note:

  • Funding is at the discretion of Sligo County Council, applying for funding does not guarantee that your event will be funded.
  • A Culture Night Event grant is intended to support the running of events but may not cover all the associated costs. You are therefore encouraged to also look to other sources of funding to support your event.
  • We expect that the fund will be over-subscribed. Events that do not require/receive funding are welcome as part of the Culture Night programme. The opportunity to have your Culture Night event listed on www.culturenight.ie will be advertised by Sligo County Council Arts Service at a later date.
  • If you are bringing in an artist to work with you on this project or to engage with the community you represent you are responsible for paying the artist and including their fee in your budget outline.
  • You are responsible for securing your venues (Sligo County Council Arts Service is not).
  • You are responsible for providing information to the Arts Service to be included in the brochure, it is your responsibility that all the information YOU provide is up to date with venue time and details all correct. We will email you the date deadlines and it is your responsibility to meet those dates.
  • We will support a number of events that are seeking financial assistance, subject to funding, where they meet the objectives and where proposals are feasible within the Culture Night budget.
  • Sligo County Council Arts Service Department will co-ordinate the Culture Night County Sligo programme, promoting events, and providing marketing materials/supports to organisations.
  • Where required applicants must provide public liability insurance and be able to provide an indemnity to Sligo County Council.
  • Applicants are required to ensure that if any part of the proposed event/activity is to take place on Sligo County Council controlled property or in a public space controlled by Sligo County Council, to demonstrate that provisional approval has been given from the relevant Municipal District Office. This is to ensure that notice of planned events taking place on Council controlled areas complies with safety and event management requirements.
  • Sligo County Council funding policy requires that any organisation seeking funding, whose activities involve children, to submit a copy or link to their current child safeguarding policy along with their completed application. Failure to do so may render the application invalid.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications will only be accepted via Sligo County Council’s Grants online Grants Portal, register/log in here: https://sligo-self.achieveservice.com/en/

  • Detailed description of Event
  • Details/biographies of lead artists, creatives etc
  • Venue Information (where relevant)
  • Additional budgetary information (Flagship events only)
  • Child Protection Policy (family/child focussed events)

ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATIONS

The assessment process will consider all relevant information provided. It is important that information is presented clearly and concisely and that you demonstrate how the application meets the funding aims and objectives as set out above. Please note:

  • Late applications will not be considered, beyond the advertised deadline.
  • We recommend you include supporting materials in your application this may include examples of previous work, letters of support from collaborators, or a further budget breakdown.
  • We strongly advise making the application ahead of the deadline to avoid any difficulties with uploading times
  • Keep a copy of all material submitted
  • Your application will be acknowledged via email within 3 days

NOTIFICATION OF DECISIONS

Applicants will be notified of the decision in July. Please also note that detailed proof of expenditure and documentation must submitted in order to drawdown Culture Night funding. Reporting and draw down must be completed by 31 October of the year in which the event takes place.

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