Culture plan for the county is launched
A NEW culture programme for Co Wicklow was unveiled last week by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Heather Humphreys, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
Members of Wicklow County Council joined them at Dublin Castle to launch the Wicklow Culture and Creativity Plan as part of the Creative Ireland Programme.
The Garden County plan includes the promotion of creative engagement via high-quality arts experiences at The Courthouse Arts Centre, Shekina Sculpture Garden and Wicklow County Libraries; heritage workshops and residencies; a choral activation programme that will see the county’s choirs perform music of all disciplines; Wicklow Heritage Forum promoting a county pollination project; and the premiere of Music Generation Wicklow’s new participatory project for young people.
The development of Culture Plans for every county is a cornerstone of Pillar 2 of the Creative Ireland Programme. Since the launch of the programme in December 2016, every Local Authority has established a Culture Team, which includes arts officers, heritage officers, librarians, museum and gallery curators and led by a local Creative Ireland coordinator, which has put together a plan to encourage communities and citizens to engage, participate and enable their creative potential.
‘I would like to sincerely thank all of the Culture Teams in Wicklow who have been working so hard in recent months to help us realise some of the key ambitions in the Creative Ireland programme,’ said Minister Humphreys.
‘Wicklow already has a vibrant cultural scene and through Creative Ireland we want to see more people in Wicklow participating in the arts locally.
‘ The power of culture cannot be overestimated; arts and culture can open our minds, enliven our communities and enrich our children’s lives. The development of a Culture Plan is an important commitment in the Action Plan for Rural Development, because we believe that culture should be part of the development of every community, be it rural, urban, or somewhere in between. I look forward to seeing this plan being implemented in Wicklow in the coming months, to see Creative Ireland in action,’ said the Minister.