Open Call | Digital Arts Mentorship Scheme 2025 from Cultural and Creative Industries Skillnet
Mentorship Dates: October 1st 2025 – Feb 28th 2026
Application Deadline: September 8th, 4 pm
Duration: 5 Months
Award: €1500 per Mentor and €1500 per Mentee
Maximum number of Mentees/Mentors: 8 Mentees + 8 Mentors
ABOUT THE FUNDING
THE DIGITAL ARTS MENTORSHIP SCHEME was born out of the Arts Council’s Digital Arts Policy 2023-2025. The policy highlights the urgent need to develop capacity both across the broader arts sector and within the Arts Council to support artists working in digital art in Ireland today.
Mentorships were identified as key components of that long-term capacity building. In June 2024, the Cultural and Creative Industries Skillnet coordinated the Digital Arts Mentorship Scheme on behalf of the Arts Council Ireland. 8 mentorships were completed in the pilot year of the scheme.
The Scheme aims to support individual digital artists to develop and extend their practice through the process of mentoring with an experienced digital artist or other professional with expertise in digital arts. The second year builds on the pilot scheme in 2024/25 and proposes a similar structure. Mentees are invited to propose their mentor at the point of application. It is envisaged that the mentees/mentors will meet at least once or twice per month over the five-month period.
For the purpose of this call, the definition of Digital Arts aligns with the Arts Council’s Digital Arts policy as follows:
“Digital is a fundamental part of how we live our lives today. It impacts our work, our home lives and how we engage with culture and the arts. Digital is often used as a catch-all phrase in the arts. It covers everything from production and subject matter to marketing and social media. As such, the first priority of this document is to outline the scope of the policy.
The policy does not focus on marketing or Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Instead, its remit is to enhance and build on the Arts Council’s support for digital artistic activity. The Arts Council defines digital artistic activities as artistic work that:
- Engages directly with digital tools and cultures as the material to create work and/or as the subject for example data art, computer software and artificial intelligence.
- Relies on digital technologies to achieve its artistic purpose for example video and artist moving image, digital lighting, web/online art, virtual reality, augmented reality etc.
- Is represented through digital platforms or devices for example streaming of theatre, sharing artwork on Instagram, streaming music, reading eBooks, multi-media accessibility, etc.”