Welcome to the March edition of our newsletter

‘In God’s name, give us our country and let us see what we can do with it’. 

This was the clarion call from one of the 10 major projects that we had the pleasure of announcing recently, as part of ART:2023, a major programme of events happening throughout 2023 and into April 2024 to mark the final phase of the Decade of Centenaries. The stirring line was invoked by the Clonmel Junction Festival and is a quotation from writer and republican Charles Kickham. whose spirit informs an outdoor theatrical spectacle for the new Civic Plaza in Clonmel. ART:2023 will build on the ART:2016 programme, also previously supported by the Department of Arts and Culture, and it is once again being delivered by the Arts Council. 

We’re entering an exciting research period here and we’re seeking participants for two important pieces of research. In partnership with the Irish Research Council, we are carrying out research into the lived experience of disabled artists in receipt of welfare supports. This work is being led by Philip Finn, who is a postdoctoral researcher at Maynooth University, under the Irish Research Council Enterprise Partnership Postdoctoral Scheme. 

We’re also working with Lucy Michael Research to help us understand why Black or Black-Irish artists are more likely to be deemed ineligible than other ethnic or racial groups amongst applicants to our funding programmes. The findings will inform a review of our application process to ensure that decision-making processes are based on best practice and applicants of all backgrounds are treated fairly. Please spread the word to anyone whom you think may be able to help us with these vital areas of enquiry – the resulting research will be all the richer when we have a really wide range of voices connected to it.   

The first project out of the traps in the Art 2023 programme was The Ark’s Right Here Right Now festival, which took place from 23rd – 25th February. As part of the festival, children from a wide range of schools in Dublin and beyond spoke at an open-air rally in Meeting House Square to an audience of 600 children about their rights– it made for insightful and inspiring listening. The children spoke of their right to be different and to be equal, they asked us to reflect on what it would be to be a child without rights and they spoke of the right to be happy, and safe and loved. The sentiment that stayed with me most was ‘If you don’t care for children, what kind of future will we have?’. It echoes back to Kickham’s injunction, and it’s one that all of us fortunate to work in the arts can carry with us in everything that we do. 

I hope you all have a wonderful March and here’s wishing the very best of luck to all the brilliant artists who will represent Ireland at the Oscars!

 
Maureen Kennelly
Director

ART:2023 programme launched

Working in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, we are delighted to present an ambitious national arts programme, ART:2023.

ART:2023 is a call to artists and arts organisations to create new and exciting work, while reflecting on the themes of the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012-2023.

The programme, which will be delivered throughout 2023 and into early 2024, comprises three strands:

Open Call 2023 - A Call to Artists

ART:2023 Participation Award 

Next Generation Artists' Award

King House Piano Commission 2023

Roscommon County Council Arts Office have announced that composers, Bianca Gannon, Peter Leavy and Fiona Linnane are the recipients of the King House Piano Commission 2023 Awards.

This is the third in a series of music commissions funded by Roscommon County Council together with the Arts Council, in collaboration with Boyle Arts Festival and in association with the Contemporary Music Centre. Each composer will write a 6-minute piano solo and they will be premiered by Roscommon pianist, Peter Regan, at a concert during Boyle Arts Festival on Friday 28th July 2023.

Phase 4 of RAISE is underway  

Since January, 50 strategically funded arts and cultural organisations and arts centres spread over four cohorts (RAISE Academy - 12 organisations, RAISE Accelerate - 6 organisations, RAISE Advance - 10 organisations, and the RAISE Up Fund - 22 organisations) have been engaging with Phase 4 of RAISE.

RAISE is an initiative funded by the Arts Council aimed at promoting private investment and drive philanthropic activity for the arts. Participating organisations benefit from a variety of workshops, materials and bespoke consultancy support from the Arts Council’s RAISE delivery partners, OKC.

Applications open for the Opera Projects and Production Award

The Opera Projects and Production Award is now open for applications. This award is intended to support initiatives by professional practitioners to develop and present opera in three distinct stages:

• Opera Projects: Development - up to a maximum of €20,000 
• Opera Projects: Developmental Presentation and smaller scale full production - up to a maximum of €110,000 
• Opera Production: up to a maximum of €450,000 

The deadline for applications is Thursday 23 March, 17:30.

International Residency Initiatives Scheme

The International Residency Initiatives Scheme application window opens on Tuesday 7 March, with a deadline for applications of Thursday 6 April.

The scheme aims to support art organisations to facilitate diverse residencies programmes that involve partnerships with organisations based abroad, thus creating a supportive framework for the international mobility and professional development of artists and art practitioners.

The scheme is open to professional organisations working in all art forms and art practices. Contact Evelyn O’Keeffe, International Arts Officer, for more information: evelyn.okeeffe@artscouncil.ie.

Arts Grant Funding

The Arts Grant Funding scheme application window opens on Tuesday 21 March, with a deadline for applications of Thursday 11 May.

The purpose of Arts Grants Funding is to ensure that there is a breadth of high-quality arts activity and programmes throughout the country by offering flexible support that responds to the needs of those who are making, presenting and supporting work.

Applications can be made to cover the costs of activities taking place from either January - December 2024, or January 2024 - December 2025.  Guidelines will be published on the available funding section on our website in mid-March.

Capacity Building Support Scheme

The Arts Grant Funding scheme application window opens on Tuesday 11 April. The scheme is available across all artforms and arts practice areas supported by the Arts Council.

The Capacity Building Support Scheme has been developed to support arts organisations to gain support, skills and expertise to review and adapt their artistic and/or business models and support their strategic development in the medium to long term.

The award guidelines can be downloaded from the available funding section of our website.

Capacity Building Support Scheme: application clinic for festivals

We will host an online application clinic for festival organisations on Thursday 6 April at 2pm.

The purpose of the Capacity Building Support Scheme is to support festivals to review and adapt their organisational and/or business models and develop their strategic development in the medium to long term. The scheme supports activities that will assist in building organisational capacity, in developing inclusivity, professional development and/or in growing peer support and collaborations. Festival/artistic programmes are not supported.

Further information on clinics offered to festivals can be found here.

Culture Night Late Award

The Culture Night Late Award application window opens on Tuesday 14 March, with a deadline for applications of Thursday 13 April.

This award is designed to support innovative flagship late night events on Culture Night 22 September 2023. It is offered in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Night Time Economy Taskforce to offer audiences a greater diversity in their Culture Night experience late into the night, and to encourage more-inclusive and innovative late-night arts events suitable for a range of audience types into the future.

The maximum award €16,500 for flagship events, or €750 to support late openings. For more information, please contact eimear.kelleher@artscouncil.ie.

Creative Places Award

The Creative Places Award application window opened on Tuesday 28 February, with a deadline for applications of Thursday 30 March.

This award is an opportunity for places that have not benefitted from sustained arts investment in the past to build local arts programmes to benefit the people who live in these places. Applicants can apply for the Creative Place Award or Research and Development Award. You must be a local authority, an arts organisation or a community development organisation in order to apply.

The maximum award is €330,000 over three years (Strand One), or €35,000 to be drawn down over eighteen months (Strand Two). For more information, please contact eimear.kelleher@artscouncil.ie.

Please note that the Creative Places Baltinglass coordinator role is currently being advertised. 

AEMI film clinic and interview with filmmaker Tadhg O'Sullivan

A free in-person presentation from the Arts Council on funding opportunities for film artists and a career interview with filmmaker Tadhg O’Sullivan took place at the Goethe-Institut Ireland on Friday, January 20th, 2023. 

This free event gave invaluable insight into the Arts Council’s funding opportunities for film artists as well as a personal account from Tadhg O’Sullivan on how Arts Council support has enabled him to develop his career as a film artist. 

Artist in the Community Schemes

The 2023 Deadlines for the Arts Council’s Artist in the Community (AIC) Schemes Round 1 and Round 2 have been announced. 

Applications for Round 1 are now open. The application deadline is Monday 27 March 2023 at 17:00.

Applications for Round 2 will open on Tuesday 8 August. The application deadline will be Monday 25 September 2023 at 17:00.

The Artist in the Community Scheme is managed by Create on behalf of the Arts Council.

Arts Centres Arts Grant funding clinic

The Arts Centres team will be running a clinic for prospective Arts Grant funding applicants on Friday 24 March at 11am. 

Arts Centre Arts Grant Funding is available across all artforms and arts practice areas, and is open to organisations.

Creative Schools Week 2023  

The Creative Schools Team at The Arts Council is delighted to invite your school to join Creative Schools Week 2023 which will run from the 8 - 12 May. Creative Schools Week is a celebration of creativity in schools within curricular subjects or in separate projects and activities.   

There will be a Teacher Drop-In informational session on 8 March 4:30pm-5:30pm via Zoom. If you are a teacher interested in participating in Creative Schools Week 2023, please join us by registering for the session here.

Creative Schools Week is open to every school and we warmly invite all schools to join in.

Creative Associate Opportunities  

Opportunities for Creative Associates to work with the Creative Schools initiative from September 2023 will be announced on Arts Councils social media accounts shortly. 

Creative Associates are artists or creative practitioners. Each participating Creative School is assigned a Creative Associate who works in partnership with them to plan and implement a range of arts and creative opportunities which will provide ways to engage the whole school community. More information to follow shortly. 

Creative Schools 2023 online information clinics

The Creative Schools team is running a series of online information clinics in March for teachers and Principals in schools and Youthreach centres who are curious about joining the Creative Schools programme in autumn 2023. The team will explain the programme and how to apply, and there will be plenty of time for questions.   

Clinics take place online on 20, 21 and 22 March from 16.00 - 17.00.

Meet the IETM Global Connectors 2023

IETM is thrilled to announce the introduction of the Global Connect 2023 cohort, consisting of 15 exceptional performing arts professionals from around the world who were selected from a pool of 225 applicants through an open call.

Building on the success of its pilot program in 2021-2022, this new cohort brings a wealth of diverse experiences and motivations, and will work closely with the broader IETM community to promote global awareness, inclusion, accessibility, and connectivity within both the network and their local communities.

Come work with us!

We are currently recruiting for a number of new exciting roles, including:

•  Head of Arts in the Irish Language
•  Council Secretary / Pay & Pension Manager
• Temporary Corporate Services Assistant - Payments

Traveller Wellbeing through Creativity

Proposals are invited from Traveller organisations with experience of working with health/wellbeing and/or creative arts, and from other interested and experienced organisations and/or individuals to apply for funding under the initiative: Traveller Wellbeing through Creativity.

Grant funding between €30,000- €50,000 per project will be provided in 2023 under this initiative, up to a total of €200,000, including a new Shared Island grant for one project of up to €50,000. The deadline for applications is Friday 31 March, and there will be an information webinar on Friday 10th March.