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Emerging artists given boost with development grants from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland

17 artists from Northern Ireland have been announced at the latest recipients of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s ACES awards
17 artists from Northern Ireland have been announced at the latest recipients of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s ACES awards 17 artists from Northern Ireland have been announced at the latest recipients of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s ACES awards

SOME of Northern Ireland's emerging artists have been given a boost with development grants from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

Seventeen artists are the latest recipients of the awards under the Artists Career Enhancement Scheme (ACES), a National Lottery supported funding grant to enable artists to "develop their professional, artistic careers through the creation of new work".

Awards are made annually to professional artists working in music, visual arts, drama, dance, literature and participatory arts and are among the most prestigious awards bestowed by the Arts Council.

In addition to receiving a bursary of up to £5,000 each, many of the 17 artists have been partnered with a professional organisation or leading artists to help each of them to deliver new creative work.

Roisin McDonough from the Arts Council said: "These 17 artists are already established and highly regarded in each of their fields. The ACES awards are given in recognition of their work to date and to provide them with support to take their careers to that vital next level.

"The ACES programme has been running successfully now for nine years and addresses the need for on-going training and skills development within the arts sector."