Some of Ireland’s most talented and most promising writers, musicians, film-makers, visual artists, dancers and performers received individual grants of up to €15,000 in funding, the Arts Council has announced.
A total of 111 individual artists from right across the country received the grants as part of the Arts Council’s first round of Bursary Awards for 2010. The Arts Council received over 650 applications and has offered funding totalling €892,295.
Among those receiving the awards were authors Gerard Fanning, Katy Hayes and Máire Mhac an tSaoi; traditional musician Ciaran Somers; film-makers Agnieszka Grandowicz and Joe Lawlor; dance artists Colin Dunne and Tanya McCrory; and visual artists Clea Van der Grijn and Brendan Earley.
Speaking following the announcement of the decisions, Pat Moylan, Chairman of the Arts Council said: "The Arts Council is committed to assisting individual artists achieve their creative ambitions, and this announcement is an indication of the confidence we have in them. Irish people are rightly proud to live in a country with such creativity, and of the role we all play in nurturing such talent through this investment. In the months and years to come, the work of these artists will enrich our society and pay real dividends for our economy".
The purpose of an Arts Council bursary is to support professional artists at all stages in their careers and in the development of their arts practice. The aim of the award is to allow artists, working in any context or in any artform, to buy space and freedom to concentrate on a body of work and provide the equipment, facilities and third party expertise to develop practice.
Recipients can receive up to a maximum of €15,000 per year through the Bursary Award. A number of multi-annual bursaries, which offer artists funding for up to a three-year period, are available each year.
To view the artists and organisations in receipt of funding - please go to the decisions database on the Arts Council website: select 'Bursary award' from the 'Fund' menu; select the year '2010' and click on 'Search'.
