We were delighted to receive news of the appointment of Pat Moylan as the new chairman of the Arts Council. In addition, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Martin Cullen TD announced six new members; Louise Donlon, Paul Johnson, Fiona Kearney, Sheelagh O'Neill, Caroline Senior and Orlaith McBride (re-appointment).  The first plenary meeting of the Council chaired by Pat Moylan took place on the 20 January. 

We would like to remind you of the deadlines for the Once-Off Project Award, the New-Work Project Award, and the second round of the Small Arts Festivals Scheme.  We would like to announce that the application window is now open for the Artist in the Community Scheme, the Location One Fellowship and the Young Ensembles Scheme.  In addition, we include in this month's newsletter an invitation to tender for a research project on artists in Ireland. 

Elsewhere in the newsletter, we publish the decisions for the latest round of Deis, and the first round of the Small Arts Festivals Scheme for 2009. We also announce the recipients of the Cinema Digitisation Scheme, an initiative of the Cultural Cinema Consortium, a strategic partnership between the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board.  The newsletter rounds off with our regular articles on news from the arts community and international opportunities from the Cultural Contact Point.

Mary Cloake
Director

The Director of the Arts Council, Mary Cloake, welcomes Pat Moylan as chairman of the Arts Council, as well as new Council members.

The closing date for receipt of applications for the Once-off Project Award is 5:30pm on Thursday, 12 February 2009.

The closing date for receipt of applications for the New Work Project Award is 5:30pm, Thursday 5 February 2009.

Reminder: Small Festivals Scheme 2009 closing date round 2 - Friday 27 February 2009.

The deadline for the next round of the Artist in the Community Scheme is 26 February 2009.

The deadline for the Location One Fellowship is 20 February 2009.

The closing date for this year's Young Ensembles Scheme is 20 March 2009.

The Arts Council and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland wish to retain a research consultant for a project on artists in Ireland.  The deadline for applications is 20 February 2009.

Deis is a proposal-based scheme which is aimed at encouraging and facilitating the traditional arts community to seek funding from the Arts Council for a range of projects.

The Arts Council is delighted to announce its decisions on first round of the small arts festivals scheme for 2009.

The Arts Council and the Irish Film Board wish to announce grants that have been awarded under the Cinema Digitisation Scheme.

Temple Bar Cultural Trust are seeking to engage production management services for 2009.

News from the CCP in January includes: a call for applications for the EU Culture Programme Strand 1.3; the announcement of funding for pilot mobility projects; news that the European Parliament has voted to continue the Mobility Pilot Project; views on 'Architecture: Culture’s Contribution to Sustainable Development'; recommendations on media literacy; a new programme entitled 'Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013'; and information about a fellowship for young translators.