CQAF has presented the best in local and international art, music and performance over the last 25 years.
We are delighted to continue a scheme which allows artists and performers to develop new work and possibly showcase it at one of our festivals.
We have established four creative bursaries to support and encourage new work by Theatre makers, Street Artists, Musicians and Circus practitioners based in Northern Ireland.
This project is supported and partnered by Perspective Economics, Belfast City Council, Seedhead Arts and Festival of Fools.
Theatre Bursary: £3,000
Music Bursary: £16,000 (16 individual awards at £1,000)
Circus Arts Bursary: £2,000
Street Arts Bursary: £2,000
Theatre Bursary
The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival Theatre Bursary is designed to support the presentation of theatre production as part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival or Out to Lunch in January 2026. This can be a new or existing text and is open to established or emerging theatre makers.
We wish to invest £3,000 in your idea for an innovative new theatre production. Please forward a synopsis of no more than 500 words outlining your concept, ideal location and how you would use this money, and separately a budget breakdown. (up to 400 words) Also include short biographies of your proposed creative team.
Entries marked ‘Theatre Bursary’ should be sent to Aoife at: cqartsfestival@gmail.com
Deadline for Submissions: 5pm Friday 3rd January 2025.
Please use Theatre Bursary with your name in the email title.
Street Arts Bursary
CQAF and Hit the North’s Bursary is designed to support the presentation of a new street artwork or project at Hit the North festival in May 2025.
We wish to invest £2,000 in your idea for an innovative street art project. Please forward a synopsis of no more than 500 words outlining your idea, ideal location, and how you would use this money, and a separate budget breakdown and a short biography Please include images of your previous work,
Entries marked ‘Street Arts Bursary’ should be sent to Aoife at: cqartsfestival@gmail.com
Deadline for Submissions: 5pm Friday 3rd January 2025.
Please use Street Arts Bursary with your name in the email title.
Music Bursary
The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival Music Bursary in association with Belfast City Council has been set up to support the composition and/ or recording of a new piece of music by a NI-based artist. It is open to an established or emerging musician or band.
We wish to invest £1,000 into the composition and recording costs of your music. This should include an element of recording (eg. studio hire, engineering, mixing, mastering, session musician fees) and can also include campaign support / asset creation (video, photography, artwork design, manufacture and distribution costs, PR, marketing merchandise etc). Please forward an overview of your creative practice with an explanation as to why you need this investment in no more than 500 words accompanied by a short audio file or weblink with examples of previous work and a budget outline of how you would spend the grant.
Entries marked ‘Music Bursary’ should be sent to Aoife at: cqartsfestival@gmail.com
Deadline for Submissions: 5pm Friday 3rd January 2025.
Please use Music Bursary with your name in the email title.
Circus Arts Bursary
Festival of Fools and CQAF’s bursary has been established to help performers develop a new project with a view to sharing it during Festival of Fools/CQAF in May 2025.
We wish to invest £2,000 into this project. Please provide an overview of your career to date, and an explanation of how you would use this money, accompanied by a short sample of your work ( video, recordings or written submissions welcome).
It is envisaged that the Award Winner could be invited to present a new show at the 25th CQAF/ Festival of Fools in 2025.
Entries marked ‘Circus Bursary’ should be sent to Aoife at: cqartsfestival@gmail.com
Please use Circus Bursary with your name in the email title.
Deadline for Submissions: 5pm 20th December 2025.
