Cork County Council has this week announced arts funding to over 135 organisations and individual artists throughout County Cork. Grant funding totaling €160,000 has been approved by members of Cork County Council at its meeting today, 12th February 2018.
This year’s Cork County Council Arts Grants Scheme will support the work of many of the county’s arts groups including Pipe and Brass Bands, Choirs, Traditional Music and Creative Writing groups to name but a few.
Welcoming the allocations, North Cork Councillor, Cllr. John Paul O’Shea said that it was important that the Council should support arts activity at community level, particularly in view of the fact that so much activity is generated by the work of voluntary arts organisations. “Voluntary effort plays a huge role in the county’s arts scene, providing opportunities for young people to gain confidence through performance in music and drama and for older members of society to engage in beneficial social activity through the arts”.
Cllr. O’Shea also noted that the Arts Grants Scheme would provide support to a number of youth organisations, groups working with the elderly and with special needs to create new opportunities for creative projects specifically catering for these sometimes marginalised groups.
Allocations to 34 arts festivals account for the largest share of arts funding provided by the Council in 2018. The range of festival activity supported is wide ranging, including classical music (North Cork Classical Music Festival) Traditional music (Scullyfest in Newmarket), as well as multi disciplinery arts festivals such as Kanturk Arts Festival. Cork County Council is also supporting the expanding Arts Festival in Mallow area led by Mallow Arts Collective.
Some of the art projects funded through the scheme in North Cork during 2018 are as follows:
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Village Arts Centre Kilworth – €5,000
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Irish Wheelchair Association (Mallow) – €1,300
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Include Me In Kaleidoscope Theatre Company (Cope, Mallow) – €600
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Castlemagner Sinsir Club – €300
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Love and Care for People is Brea Festival, Millstreet – €600
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Cuisle Avondhu – €450
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Mallow Arts Festival – €2,000
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Mallow Camera Club – €400
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Mallow Art Club – €400
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North Cork Classic Music Festival – €1,800
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Kanturk Arts Festival – €1,600
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Scully’s Traditional Music Festival (Newmarket) – €1,800
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Kiskeam Brass Band – €800
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Cullen Pipe Band – €800
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Freemount Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Eireann – €650
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Rockchapel Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Eireann – €800
The annual Cork County Council Arts Grants Scheme is just one of an array of financial supports that Cork County Council now has in place to help drive community development in the Arts. Cllr. O’ Shea added “I wish all these groups and individuals every success in the events and activities which they have planned during 2018. Council funding will go some way to ensuring that our communities continue to have access to and the possibility of participating in a wide range of art forms”.
