INVEST is Theatre and Dance NIâs professional development and mentoring programme designed for artists and freelancers; including directors, choreographers, creators, technicians, producers, backstage staff, and those working professionally across theatre and dance in Northern Ireland.
Now in its third year, INVEST was developed by Theatre and Dance NI and is supported by Belfast City Council, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Garrick Charitable Trust.
INVEST provides intensive one-to-one industry mentoring, networking, training, professional development, resources and a direct financial investment to enable artists to access the time, space and resources required to think, reflect, and develop their creative practice. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to upskill, collaborate, and be empowered at a critical time; fostering connections and networks to sustain careers, creating a culture in which artists feel safe, supported, and valued.
âINVEST has given me much-needed support to develop my creative practice, as well as training in essential areas and connections with other creativesâŠcame away feeling so appreciative of the generosity ofâŠâbigâ names and âbigâ organisationsâŠall so open, honest, and genuinely wanting to help our generation of artists.â INVEST participant.
Background
Theatre and Dance NI (TDNI) is the sole support and representative professional membership organisation for theatre and dance in Northern Ireland with key goals to connect, support development and advocate for our artists and the industry. Since 2017, TDNI have gathered evidence linking the sustainability of NIâs cultural sector to the introduction of direct support for freelance artists. This programme has been shaped throughout by this extensive consultation as well as evaluation with artists, freelancers’, sectoral stakeholders, and former participants.
The INVEST Programme
Eligibility
- Current member of Theatre and Dance NI. To sign up, click here. Please ensure your membership is renewed and up to date.
- Living and working in Northern Ireland.
- +25 y/o.
- Established artists who have been working professionally for 5+ years in theatre, dance and/or circus.
- See FAQs for full list of ineligibility
The programme includes:
- Bursary – ÂŁ4,000. The bursary is to be used for developing you and your professional practice. This could include but is not limited to training course fees, individual tuition, additional mentoring, attending conferences, networking, residencies, seeing other work, related travel and accommodation costs, and research and development.
- Support â Direct support from the TDNI team, sector colleagues across UK, Ireland and beyond including award-winning producer Steven Atkinson (Royal Court, Long Acre Arts, HighTide) who is both a mentor and consultant on programme delivery and design.
- Mentoring – One-to-one individual mentoring with industry experts based on your artform, what your aspirations are, what you want to achieve through the INVEST programme and the mentor’s area of expertise. Previous mentors have included: PĂĄdraig Cusack (inc. War Horse, Producer, The National), Dannielle Lecointe-Mosca (Choreographer, Director, Dramaturg & Creative Coach, ZooNation), Tom Jackson Greaves (Associate Director, Theatre Royal Plymouth) and Sharon Clarke (Dramaturg, Akram Khan Company).
- Networking – Group sessions to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration – where artists can expect to gain access to national and international industry leaders. Previous networking events have included The Performing Arts Forum Gathering (Where Connections Make Change, Sligo) which was an opportunity for our INVEST artists to come together with the rest of industry from across the island of Ireland, to connect and reflect on how we can collaboratively shape our future. Previous INVEST artists also attended networking events with Charlie Bunker (Co-director, imPOSSIBLE producing), David Byrne, (Artistic Director & CEO, New Diorama) and Judith Dimant (Exec Producer at ComplicitĂ©), Ciaran Walsh (Associate Director, Culture Ireland) and Shelia Creevy (Chief Executive, Dance Ireland).
- Training – Skills development training sessions and workshops including an induction and two professional development residentials.
Please note, INVEST does not directly fund the creation, production or touring of work.
INVEST Fellowship Programme
We are delighted to announce that as part of the INVEST programme for 2024/25, TDNI have introduced the Fellowship strand; a pathway programme with bursaries of ÂŁ2,000 to support two early career artists to develop their skills and knowledge.
The fellowship programme will also include direct support from TDNI and Steven Atkinson as well as skills development training including programmed residentials.
To be eligible for the fellowship programme you must:
- be a member of Theatre and Dance NI,
- living and working in Northern Ireland,
- +21 y/o,
- emerging artists with at least 2 years’ experience in theatre, dance and/or circus.
We welcome submissions from all eligible applicants, irrespective of religious belief, political opinion, race, age, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, and people with or without dependants.
Schedule
INVEST will run from October 2024 and conclude no later than end of July 2024.
All applicants MUST be available for the following compulsory elements of the programme:Â
- Induction – 16th October 2024 at 2pm (Belfast).
- Residential One – 27th-28th October 2024 (Belfast).
- Professional Development Day – 20th November 2024 (Belfast).
- Residential Two – 20th-22nd May 2025 (UK or Ireland TBC).
As part of the programme, TDNI will schedule several professional development training sessions. Most sessions will be held in person in Belfast. Some sessions have been pre-designed, and others will be co-designed with participants. While participants are advised to attend all sessions where possible, it is required you attend a minimum of six (three for INVEST Fellowship).
Mentor sessions will be held either in-person or online.
Application Process
To apply for INVEST:
INVEST FAQs and GUIDELINES 2024
To apply for INVEST Fellowship:
INVEST FELLOWSHIP Application Form
INVEST FELLOWSHIP FAQs and GUIDELINES 2024
Send your completed application form, supporting documents and monitoring form to invest@theatreanddanceni.org
Theatre-and-Dance-NI-Monitoring-Form-2
If preferred, you may submit video or audio file. Some questions will require a short-written answer, and this will be specified on the Application Form.
If you are applying via pre-recorded visual/audio, you should submit your link in each questionsâ answer box on the application form. FAQs are also available above.
INVEST is open for applications. Deadline for application submission is Friday 20th September at noon. Any late submissions will not be accepted.
Contact
If you have read over the FAQs document and still have a question, please contact invest@theatreanddanceni.org.
These bursaries have been supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council and Garrick Charitable Trust.
