County’s ‘Creative Ireland’ role outlined
THE Wicklow County Council Arts Office has outlined its involvement in a Government led cultural initiative called the Creative Ireland Programme which was launched this year.
The programme provides new local authority investment and offers national cohesion in the way delivery of culture.
Local culture teams will be established in each local authority.
Arts Officer, Jenny Sherwin, outlined what activities have already taken place in Wicklow as part of the Programme and what was planned for the future, during a presentation in front of the recent monthly meeting of Wicklow County Council.
The initiative contains five strategic pillars.
Enabling the creative potential of every child is one and can be achieved through an integrated implementation plan for arts in education.
Enabling creativity in every community will involve the empowerment of local authorities to lead the engagement of citizens with arts and culture.
Focus will also be placed on Ireland as a centre of excellence in media production. The overarching, long-term objective of this pillar is to elevate the creative industries including media, architecture, design, digital technology, fashion, food and crafts.
Investing in creative and cultural infrastructure is the fourth pillar. The Government recognises that high quality infrastructure is critical for a vibrant arts and culture sector and that investment in cultural infrastructure underpins social cohesion and supports strong and sustainable economic growth.
The final pillar is unifying Ireland’s global reputation. Amid increasingly fierce global competition for investment, tourism and export markets, a clear articulation of a country’s values, capabilities and beliefs about itself is increasingly important.
So far Wicklow organised a programme of free cultural events on Easter Monday as part of Cruinniu na Casca.
An action plan will be produced for joined up cultural measures in line with Wicklow’s strategic proposals going forward. A website will be developed and a strategy will also be created exclusively for Creative Ireland Wicklow.