121 artists and arts organisations are set to receive funding of nearly €145,000 from Cork County Council through its Arts Grants Scheme 2023. There has been a sharp rise in applications to the Arts Grants Scheme for 2023, up over 33% on the number received the previous year, indicating that arts and cultural activity has finally returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Welcoming the Council’s funding allocation, Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Danny Collins said:

The arts and culture are central to our lives individually and as a society, and it is important that Cork County Council plays a role in supporting such activity. The wide range of proposals from arts organisations around the county is very heartening, demonstrating a desire to help our citizens connect through participation in arts and cultural activity. The funding allocated will be put to great use enabling festivals, artists, and voluntary arts organisations to deliver projects that will have real impact in putting art at the heart of our lives in 2023. We particularly welcome the funding allocated for projects that promote inclusion and address barriers preventing access to the arts.”

The Arts Grants Scheme is one of the Council’s funding mechanisms 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 covers services provided by voluntary arts groups and others that enable public engagement in the arts.  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.

Cork County Council is one of a few local authorities that has a specific scheme supporting arts projects that promote use of Irish language.  This category has seen an increase in the number of applications and in 2023 five projects will be supported across a range of artforms. The county’s only dedicated showcase for films made by young people, First Cut Film Festival in Youghal will receive funding for a specific strand that will encourage young people to submit films in Irish.

The Arts Grant Scheme also supports the work of individual artists and this year 20 bursaries and residencies will be awarded to individual creative artists.   This includes two awards supporting artists developing projects to promote their work abroad

The scheme supports arts projects in schools and this year will allow 9 schools to employ artists to work with young people in the school environment. 

Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey highlighted the role of the Council in making the practice and enjoyment of the arts accessible to everyone:

Our aim is to see the arts thrive and in turn to ensure that all our citizens have the opportunity to access and enjoy the arts in their own areas. We particularly commend the magnificent work that is being done by so many organisations throughout the county to support and promote creative activity in all its forms.

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