: L-R: William Hammond, Cork Folk Fest, Mary Ryan, Director of Services Cork County Council, Andrias Moynihan TD, Cork North West, Jean Brennan, Arts Officer Cork City County Council, Minister Heather Humphreys, Orlaith McBride Arts Council Director, Kate Kennelly, Arts Officer Kerry County Council, Liz Dunne, Chair of Listowel Writer’s Week, Mike Dowd, K-Fest, Ian McDonagh, Arts Officer Cork County Council, Danny Healy Rae TD at the Arts Council Ireland (Photo from Arts Council Ireland Facebook page)
Irish Examiner
€350k for new scheme to help six major arts projects
A new scheme to help six major arts projects is to be announced today by Arts Minister Heather Humphreys.
In the region of €350,000 will be allocated to the projects as part of the Arts Council’s ‘Invitation To Collaboration’ scheme.
Approximately €81,000 will go to two separate projects in the Munster region: €10,000 to promote and develop the Sliabh Luachra Music Trail in the Cork, Limerick, and Kerry regions; and €71,000 to develop a new creative mentoring plan for six festivals in Kerry and Cork which aims to strengthen their appeal.
Central to the Sliabh Luachra Music Trail project is documenting and preserving its unique cultural heritage.
The trail is a partnership project involving Cork County Council, Limerick City and County, Kerry County Council, along with musicians, tutors, venue owners and festival organisers in the area.
The aim also is to increase active participation from both musicians and audiences.
The Creative Mentoring for Festivals project will focus on Mid May Arts Festival in Midleton, Co Cork; Listowel Writers’ Week; Cork Puppet Festival; KFest; Mallow Arts Festival; and Cork Folk Festival, to develop new models of engaging with the public, strengthen audiences, and to develop each festival’s visibility.
The purpose of the invitation to collaboration scheme which invited submissions from arts offices in local authorities, is to enable greater collaboration between arts offices around the country and to highlight the role of the arts in helping to build sustainable and cohesive communities.
Each successful project involves two or more local authority arts services working with organisations and artists in their areas.
Successful projects proposed ways to progress on public engagement in the arts, policy development, regional approaches to collaboration, and new investment models for supporting the arts. The other projects being funded include:
- Developing a cultural diversity arts project and plan for Mayo, Donegal, and South Dublin councils working with agencies such as the Irish Refugee Council and the Mary Robinson Centre (€71,000);
- Commissioning one or more early years performances to tour across Dublin, aimed at placing children and families at the heart of culture provision in the capital (€56,598);
- Testing a new model of participation in the arts in Carlow with an international partner, Take A Part Plymouth (€71,000);
- Generating growth in Irish-language drama across the Gaeltacht areas of Donegal and Galway in a project called The Hare’s Corner/Cúinne an Ghiorria (€71,000).