26 February 2022
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Cork County Council has announced the allocation of over €140,000 in funding through its 2022 Arts Grants Scheme. Following a second difficult year for the county’s arts sector, the funding provided to 105 artists and arts organisations in this year’s scheme will help to further revitalise the county’s arts sector.
The Council’s Arts Grants Scheme is designed to support events, activities and new initiatives that enhance public access to the arts and support cultural development in all eight of the county’s Municipal Districts. The scheme supports arts for older people, community arts, craft, dance, disability access projects in the arts, festivals, literature, music theatre, visual and youth arts.
Welcoming the announcement, the Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Gillian Coughlan said,
“Over the past two years we have seen the devastating effects of the pandemic on the social and cultural life of our communities. The wide range of proposals received from arts organisations around the county is very heartening and demonstrates a desire to help our citizens reconnect with each other through participation and engagement in arts and cultural activities. The funding allocated will enable festivals, artists and voluntary arts organisations to deliver projects that will have real impact. It will assist in the revitalisation of social life in our local communities, putting art at the heart of our lives in 2022.”
The Arts Grant Scheme supports the work of individual artists, with 21 bursaries and residencies set to be awarded to individual creative artists this year. The 2022 scheme will also support arts projects in schools, allowing 8 schools to employ artists to work with young people in the school environment.
Cork County Council is one of the few local authorities in the country that has a specific scheme supporting arts projects that promote use of Irish language, by encouraging arts organisations and artists to develop creative projects that are Irish Language based. This year support will be given to a new project proposed by the First Cut film Festival in Youghal that will encourage young people to submit films in Irish.
Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey highlighted the role of the Council in ensuring that enjoyment of the arts is accessible to all citizens,
“Our aim is to see the arts thrive and in turn to ensure that all our citizens have the opportunity to enjoy and use creativity in their lives. The experience of the past two years has shown the importance of creativity for personal wellbeing. In particular, we are pleased to support organisations who promote inclusion in the arts such as those working with the elderly, new communities, young people and those with special needs. Arts funding will help these organisations deliver great experiences for all sections of society.”