2025 CREATIVE PLACES BALTINGLASS COMMUNITY CREATIVE ACTIVATION FUND

Creative Places Baltinglass Community Creative Activation Fund 

Wicklow County Council invites applications to the Community Creative Activation Fund under the Creative Places Baltinglass Programme. This is a new fund created to provide continuing support to local communities, producers and artists to lead socially engaged place-based practice locally as part of the Creative Places Baltinglass journey. The Community Creative Activation Fund is open for application from September 8th until November 7th 2025 at 16.00pm. Projects awarded in this round must take place between December 2025 and May 2026. 

The overarching ambition of Creative Places Baltinglass is to enliven the town as a place of social creativity by working with community groups, families and children, to facilitate imaginative engagement opportunities and local arts practice, and to build capacity toward a sustainable future. The CPB Programme has featured artist development and training, local community capacity building, the introduction of a creative events based series for Baltinglass including for Cruinniú na nÓg, Culture Night, Sitting Room Sessions, Residencies and Seed Funding rounds. 

In the initial three years the Programme featured a ‘Seed Funding Scheme’ for smaller projects that were locally creatively and socially based. This new Community Creative Activation Fund is being launched as part of Phase II programme investment. The value of the fund in 2025 – 2026 is €20,000.00. Artists / creative practitioners from Baltinglass and further afield can lead an application or, applications can be led by a local group, school or organisation to work on the ground with an artist(s). To be eligible, projects must take place in Baltinglass and involve the community of Baltinglass Creative Places area, as indicated via this map. The Fund is designed to enable communities to continue to engage with artists and creative practitioners and must engage paid creative personnel. Applications could include proposals for residencies, event series, creative projects in the public realm and an array of other types of initiative. The grants awarded will be in the range of €3,000.00 to €5,000.00 for any one application. Applicants must provide ten percent match funding in making an application. This match funding can be in cash or in kind. For all further details and terms and conditions see www.creativeplacesbaltinglass.ie or www.wicklowcountycouncil.ie. Applications must be made through the online application process only. 

A training session on making an application to this new fund will take place on Wednesday 1st October 2025 in Baltinglass Library at 3.00pm and repeated at 7.00pm. Both community applicants and artists can attend and no booking is required. 

A lead applicant, whether an Artist or Group/Organisation, can only lead out on one application. They may be a smaller part of other applications but can only lead on one; multiple applications from the same lead applicant will not be considered. An artist / creative practitioner on an application can be from the CPB area or outside, but the work must take place within the CPB area.

The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday 7th November 2025 at 16.00 p.m.

About Creative Places Baltinglass

Creative Places Baltinglass promotes inclusive arts opportunities and celebrates local people and place. The programme development has and will continue to ensure mechanisms for listening and responding to the community and local artists. It celebrates the history, natural heritage and beauty of Baltinglass and supports social regeneration alongside wider infrastructural development plans. It is underpinned by the principles of socially engaged arts practice and community development and promotes high-quality arts experiences for all. 

Wicklow County Council’s Arts Office together with the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon is pleased to announce the extension of the Creative Places Baltinglass Programme for a further two year period. The initial three year Creative Places Baltinglass Programme commenced in 2022 and was completed in June 2025. This new support from the Arts Council will facilitate Creative Places Baltinglass to continue from June 2025 – June 2027. Established in 2019, the Creative Places Scheme was developed by the Arts Council with a view to providing sustained arts development in areas which were lacking such investment historically. The Creative Places Scheme is designed to enable local people in the participating towns to create and run vibrant, accessible and stimulating arts programmes in their own local area. This inclusive, diverse and participatory approach is rooted in socially engaged arts practice and community development principles.

To see more about Creative Places Baltinglass see www.creativeplacesbaltinglass.ie 

Aims of the Community Creative Activation Fund

The aims of the Community Creative Activation Fund are to implement a range of initiatives locally driven to meet the aims of the Creative Places Baltinglass Programme which are to:

• Enliven the town as a place of social creativity 
• Work with families to build new habits around arts and culture 
• Facilitate creative engagement of young people to inspire and connect
• Build local arts practice / development capacity towards a sustainable future 
• Create increased opportunities for arts participation
• Leave a legacy through socially engaged art interventions and community development

Who can apply?

A lead applicant must be identified and named in the application. This person / group or organisation will receive an agreement to carry out the proposed project as described in their application. This person, group or organisation will receive and manage any funding awarded under this Fund to their specified bank account. 

An artist / creative practitioner or a community group / school or artist group must lead an application. The bank account must be already set up and must be detailed in the application form in the correct name. 

What can be applied for:

We have put together a list of proposals which may be eligible, but this is not an exhaustive list:

Suggested types of eligible application include:

• Projects or events that encourage artists to work together in a new way with community groups, organisations or local schools
• Development and/or presentation of ambitious new work sited / situated or commissioned in collaboration with local community participation in Baltinglass
• Projects which will create strategic connections to establish new creative groups within the town of Baltinglass and applicable environs
• Projects which propose high-quality public participation opportunities in the town 
• Initiatives which capture with the input of artists working in a socially engaged way that explore contemporary or past history of the town of Baltinglass 
• Projects involving community participation in the public realm
• Projects that support artist residencies in youth work or the establishment of new creative / artistic youth groups outside a school setting
• Contemporary digital creative engagement with communities of Baltinglass in any thematic area 
• Projects which may lead to the longer term development of small festivals or annual event series in the town

Applications with engagement or process oriented initiatives such as residencies or community activation over a period of time will be prioritised for award at the upper scale of the available amounts between €3,000.00 and €5,000.00. Applicants must provide ten percent match funding in making an application. This match funding can be in cash or in kind.  

How to apply:

All applications must be received online through the platform Submittable. Applications and criteria can be downloaded by applicants from the online platform. They may also be viewed on www.wicklowcoco.ie and www.creativeplacesbaltinglass.ie. 

The Submittable platform works best on the most recent version of Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers. Internet Explorer is not supported. Wicklow County Council Arts Office strongly recommends that you test this online platform well in advance of the closing date for the Fund, so that technical support can be provided, if required.

• E-mailed or posted Applications will not be accepted
• Late and/or incomplete applications will not be considered

Checklist of information to be submitted:

• A fully completed application form via Submittable
• A full description of the project or detailed research plan and desired outcomes
• A supporting budget detailing all costs, expenditure and income to be provided (you must use the budget template provided)
• 10% Match Funding Requirement in Cash or in Kind must be shown in the budget document
• Supporting documents including:

1. Confirmation of venues to be involved
2. Confirmation of site permissions (if applicable)
3. Letters of support outlining the full agreement of collaborators / other funders and all parties to the application to indicate that this project was thought out together and that they are ready to participate
4. CV’s and three work samples from each artist / creative practitioner involved in the proposal

Support in developing your application 

Questions relating to the Fund application process should be directed to: seoid.jk@gmail.com 

Support for application queries will close on Friday 31 October 2025.

Selection Process

A selection panel will be put in place by Wicklow County Council for the awarding of this Fund, which will include representatives of Wicklow County Council and independent arts managers / advisors. 

Applicants will receive an acknowledgement of receipt of their application by Wicklow County Council. Wicklow County Council’s appointed selection panel will review all grants and assess them scoring them against the criteria below. The process of selection and notification will take approximately four weeks from the award closing date. All decisions of Wicklow County Council shall be final. This scheme will run again in the Spring of 2026, where artists and the local community will have another opportunity to apply to run initiatives between 2026 and 2027. 

Following assessment, all applicants will receive an award notification letter with the outcome of their application. Successful applicants will be given a ‘Contract for Services/Grant Agreement Letter’ outlining all terms and conditions and reporting arrangements for acceptance by the applicant and Wicklow County Council. Applicants must sign return and draw down the first payment of granted funds within three months of the Award date. Failure to do so will mean that the Award will be retracted and either reassigned or held over until Round 2 of the Award.  

Criteria

Demonstrated evidence that the project fits the objectives of the scheme expressed throughout the application and supporting material 

• Does the project meet the aims of Creative Places Baltinglass
• Ability to deliver the project on time 
• Financial feasibility 
• Track record of applicant artist / group 
• Clear structure for the project and clearly defined outcomes 

What is not eligible

• Projects with no involvement from an artist/s which are primarily community development initiatives
• For-profit or fundraising projects
• Competitive initiatives
• Deficits or start-up costs for new organisations 
• Entertainment expenses
• Projects where the majority of the activity takes place outside the town and hinterland of the Creative Places Baltinglass project 
• Capital improvements
• Projects where the majority of costs relate to equipment hire/administrative costs
• Publication related costs or production related costs for commercial activity
• Artists applying solely for development of their own practice with no community engagement process involved

Terms and Conditions 

1. All awards under the Community Creative Activation Fund for CPB are dependent on the availability of funds. 

2. Wicklow County Council’s Arts Office and the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaion must be credited in all publicity/documentation in relation to the grant of funds. A suite of instructions and logos will be supplied by WCC. 

3. You must have a bank account for the applicant lead artist/s or group to make this award and specify it in the application. Bank accounts can take months to set up. Applicants must sign return and draw down the first payment of granted funds within three months of the Award date. Failure to do so will mean that the Award will be retracted and either reassigned or held over until Round 2 of the Award. 

4. The funds can only be paid in the name of the lead applicant/s into a bank account supplied with its name/identity matching that of the lead applicant artist/s or group. 

5. A lead applicant whether an Artist or Group/Organisation can only lead out on one application. They may be a smaller part of other applications but can only lead one.

6. Artists or creative professionals involved in the project must be paid for their participation (Arts Council’s Paying the Artist Policy).  

7. Appropriate insurance cover will be required of successful applicants once awarded. Current Local Authority limits for same depending on the nature of the application for any one incident include 

a. €13.5 million Employers Liability 

b. €6.5 million Public Liability 

c. €1 million Professional Indemnity

8. If working with Children, Young People or Vulnerable Adults Garda Vetting will apply. Projects may not commence until such Garda Vetting has been completed through Wicklow County Council’s Organisational Development Department. Applicants must comply with all relevant Child Protection Policies and Legislation

9. Projects must comply with all legislation in relation to Health and Safety at work. 

10. Applications must adhere to the guidelines and criteria for the Community Creative Activation Fund

11. All applications must be complete and have all relevant support documentation. Incomplete and/or late applications will not be accepted. 

12. Only applications and supporting material received through the Submittable platform will be accepted. 

13. Shortlisting is likely to apply.

14. Successful applicants will have sole responsibility for project management and production of the proposed project in line with the agreement signed between WCC and the lead applicant on the award of funds.

15. Applications are for the purposes of the funds awarded only and are not transferrable to any other initiative or for use in any other context. 

16. Successful applicants will be paid in instalments. They will be required to submit documentation and high quality visuals along with a project report and final budget prior to receiving the final draw down of such funds.

17. Wicklow County Council reserves the right to review the Community Creative Activation Fund at any time and as a result may make changes necessary without prior notice. Any affect changes prior to the deadline will be notified through Submittable and placed on www.creativeplacesbaltinglass.ie 

18. The Arts Office will run public clinics to go through the application process and how to apply. An email address will also be provided for queries in relation to the Fund prior to the closing date. Applicant participation in these processes or query responses from the Arts Office is not a guarantee of funding. 

19. Applicants are required to read Wicklow County Council’s policy on GDPR and accept to be bound by its terms.

20. Limited feedback will be available to unsuccessful applicants. This will be provided between late November and early December 2025.

21. Projects which have already commenced or are already funded by another organisation will not be eligible. 

22. Projects must take place between December 1st 2025 and May 31st 2026. A second round of this fund will be opened in Spring 2026 for applications between June 2026 and May 2027. 

23. If you are proposing a project which has a physical outcome in the public realm such as a mural, sculpture or significant outdoor event on public lands, conformation of appropriate permissions will be required up to and including planning permission. Events in the Municipal District on Public lands or with significant footfall proposed will require and Event Permit process to be completed with Baltinglass Municipal District.