The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has distributed almost £50,000 among 15 artists from minority ethnic backgrounds through its Creative Progression Scheme. Grants range from £1,652 to £4,030 and support new work, research and development, mentoring and professional development.

The scheme, formerly the Minority Ethnic Artists Mentoring and Residency Scheme, is part of the National Lottery Support for Individual Artists Programme. It targets practitioners who have faced structural barriers linked to racialisation, migration and displacement.

Among the recipients is Dr Leonid Kuzmenko, a composer, educator, multi-instrumentalist and virtual reality researcher. He has been awarded £3,450 to compose, record and perform a new 30-minute experimental audiovisual composition at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's University Belfast. The work will combine his Russian and Slavic heritage with Irish and Celtic folk traditions.

Belfast-based artist Shadé Mawoyeka received £2,500 to curate three Listening Room showcases over the coming months. The events will feature local musicians, poets and spoken word artists, and will include both digital experiences and in-person events.

Karishma Kusurkar, a multidisciplinary creative based in the Lisburn and Castlereagh area, has been awarded £3,232 for creative research and to develop an online archive of visual imagery. Her project will examine third-culture experiences and belonging, focusing on migrant and diaspora South Asian identity in the UK and Ireland.

The Arts Council has also launched an Arts Impact section on its website, offering reports, official statistics and case studies on the outcomes of public investment in the arts.