NO ARTS COUNCIL FUNDING FOR BUI BOLG NEXT YEAR
WEXFORD street theatre company Buí Bolg is ‘disappointed but not surprised’ by a decision of the Arts Council of Ireland not to award it any funding for 2017.
The withdrawal of funding to the company comes as Wexford Festival Opera is set to receive €1.44 million next year and Wexford Arts Centre €150,000, a marginal increase on last year’s funding levels in both cases.
Buí Bolg which received €70,000 from the Arts Council in 2012, has been on a sliding Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, the scale of financial support Jest Fest in Wexford and other since 2013 when it was initially events which make up about given nothing and eventually half its annual income. The rest awarded €66,500 as a once-off comes from the commercial payment. sector. The Youth Group is also
The leading street spectacle continuing. outfit received €45,000 in 2014 ‘In the last three or four and then that was reduced to years, we’ve had to hone in €15,000 last year. on commercial work to make
‘I am disappointed but not up for the lack of Arts Council surprised,’ said Acting Artistic funding and we are very successful Director and founder Colm that that,’ he said. Lowney. ‘Last year’s allocation ‘In essence, what the Arts was the equivalent of no grant. Council has been saying to us In our application, that was is that their funding focus is on the cost of running the youth professional performance and group.’ Colm said Bui Bolg was on organisations with strong advised by the Arts Council links to the community whereas to look at some of its other a lot of our work is based on funding streams apart from installations and the element annual funding but last year it of spectacle rather than performance,’ applied to the Project Fund and he said. Making Great Art Scheme and For the first time in many was unsuccessful. years, Bui Bolg will be staging
He said the company has a full show for the St. Patrick’s been expanding its commercial Day Parade next March in its activities in response to home town of Wexford which, a reduction in State funding as the oldest parade in the while also continuing with community country projectsis celebratingsuch as its the 100thSt. anniversary in 2017. This will be in addition to spectacles for St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin, Dundalk and Cork and assistance with the parade in Waterford.
In awarding €1.44 million to Wexford Festival Opera, up from €1.42 million in 2016, the Arts Council described the event as ‘internationally significant’ and said ‘we fund it because it is a festival providing high-quality opera productions of rare/niche operatic repertoire for Irish audiences and audiences from abroad, all in a vibrant international festival setting of considerable regional importance’.
Wexford Arts Centre is being funded to the tune of €150,000 in 2017 under the ‘Multidisciplinary Arts’ category. The Arts Council said it will receive funding because it is an arts resource in County Wexford with a programme of touring work an in-house visual arts programme, art classes for the community and collaborations with other organisations. Founded in 1974, it is a 122 seat venue with gallery spaces, cafe and workshops.
Arts Centre executive director Elizabeth Whyte said the 2017 allocation represents a €5,000 increase on last year and 26% of the centre’s current budget.
‘ Though the funding has not been fully restored to pre-recession cutback levels, the small increase represents recognition to enhance support where possible which is vital to the ongoing delivery of the centre’s arts programme in the county.’