County council outlines 2019 arts funding
THERE are a total of eight county council schemes with funding available to support a wide range of Arts activity, providing opportunities for Arts Organisations, Festivals Community groups, Schools and Artists seeking funding for projects and activities in 2019.
Announcing details of the funding opportunities, Cork County Council Chief Executive Tim Lucey said Local Authority funding of the Arts supports a wide range of events such as festivals, performances, exhibitions and other publicly accessible Arts programming. “What is not so immediately apparent are the range of activities we also fund that enable people of all ages and abilities to have new experiences as participants in creative activities,” said Mr Lucey. “We support the work of many voluntary Arts organisations such as writers groups, theatre groups, community music organisations.
“Many of the groups we fund also provide opportunities for the elderly or persons with a disability to enjoy really positive creative activity in familiar local settings.”
There are eight schemes currently open for applications. The Arts Grants Scheme is the Council’s main scheme for funding events and activity. The Municipal Districts Arts Development Fund provides financing for new initiatives that will develop public access to the arts and which can demonstrate strong community involvement.
The Irish language Arts Scheme was introduced in 2017 with the purpose of encouraging organisations to introduce Irish language based Arts events or activities into their programmes. It also supports artists to make new work using the Irish Language.
Cork County Council provides funding through the Artists in Schools Scheme to enable schools employ artists to work on extended arts programmes in the classroom. The Council also supports artists to make new work or develop international opportunities for themselves through four bursary schemes, Artist Bursary Scheme, Tyrone Guthrie Bursary, Ballinglen Arts Foundation Bursary and the International Touring and Exhibition Bursary.
Welcoming the announcement, Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Patrick Gerard Murphy said: “Our funding of the Arts is important for individual creativity, for combating isolation and lack of access, for community spirit and for the economy.
“Last year we supported the activities of 145 arts organisations and artists. This included 37 arts festivals around the county. This in turn supported the involvement of 1,415 volunteers in cultural activity within communities. The projects we funded enabled over 18,962 people to actively participate in the arts, including the elderly, young people and those with special needs.
“Ultimately the fund enables organisations and artists to reach an audience of over 170,000 including both local audience and visitors to the county.”
The closing date for applications for all strands is Friday, December 7. All applications are made online see www.corkcoco.ie for more.