The Arts Council was delighted this month to welcome the appointment of Harry Clifton as the new Ireland Chair of Poetry. The Chair of Poetry has gained momentum and profile in recent years, attracting significant audiences and developing increased enthusiasm for poetry among students and the general public.  Taoiseach Brian Cowen officiated at an event in July marking the appointment.
 
Arts Audiences, a partnership between the Arts Council and Temple Bar Cultural Trust, published findings this month profiling levels of arts attendance in Ireland.  The report was commissioned by the Arts Council using data from Target Group Index, the largest study of consumer behaviour carried out each year in Ireland.  Attendance levels are shown to be robust.

We also include information on funding deadlines for a number of schemes and programmes:  

The Small Arts Festival Scheme 2011 is open to organisations that co-ordinate and promote festivals or events with a clear artistic purpose.  This scheme is intended for festivals that will take place in the calendar year 2011.

Project Awards are open to individuals and organisations for activities taking place in 2011.

Touring  - a new touring and dissemination scheme for 2011 with a strong focus on audience development is announced.

Pilot schemes in theatre and dance for 2010-2011 - a Dance Artist Residency, a Theatre Artist Residency, Theatre Development Funding and Theatre Resource-Sharing Funding are made available.  

Visual Artists' Workspaces, a new grant programme intended to assist group studios in providing the best possible environment for working visual artists is announced.

The deadline for the Arts and Disability Awards 2011 is also approaching. This award is a dedicated grant system for individual deaf or disabled artists, managed by the Arts and Disability Forum on behalf of the two Arts Councils of this island.

Also this month, the Council announces the funding decisions for the Local Partnership Scheme 2010, a scheme designed to encourage and support partnerships and new collaborations between local authorities, arts organisations and other relevant groups or organisations.   We also make available details of the latest recipients of the Deis Scheme. 
 
We finish off the newsletter with our regular articles on news from the arts community and international opportunities from the Cultural Contact Point.

Mary Cloake

Director

The Arts Council were delighted this month to welcome the appointment of Harry Clifton as the next Ireland Chair of Poetry (2010 - 2013).

The majority of people in Ireland go to an arts event at least once a year, according to research to be published this week.

The deadline for the Small Arts Festival Scheme 2011, round one, is 10 September 2010 at 5:30pm.

The deadline for the Project Awards 2011 is Thursday, 2 September 2010 at 5:30pm.

The Arts Council is introducing a new funding scheme to support the touring and dissemination of work in all artforms.

The Arts Council has announced the introduction of four new funding schemes on a pilot basis for 2010-2011, one in dance, and three in theatre.

The Arts Council invites applications for grants towards the running costs of visual artists’ workspaces.

Operating on a cross-border basis, the Arts and Disability Awards Ireland scheme is a dedicated grant system for individual deaf or disabled artists, managed by the Arts and Disability Forum on behalf of the two Arts Councils of this island.

The Arts Council is delighted to announce the funding decisions for the Local Partnership Scheme for 2010.

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

News from the arts community in July includes: a music recording opportunity from Dublin City Council in partnership with Axis Ballymun; a call for artists from the Puppet Portal Project; a call for musicians for the Irish and Celtic Festivals Producers Conference; expressions of interest are sought under the Per Cent for Art Scheme for a project in Limerick; CoisCéim Broadreach are holding dance auditions in September;  information on the deadline for the next round of grants from Culture Ireland;  a reminder on the deadline for the Connect Mentoring Award; the award recipient of the Create/NCAD Bursary is announced and finally a notice on the postponement of Making Overtures 2010.

News from the CCP in July includes: an announcement on new strands under the Culture Programme;  EACEA will soon publish the application forms for strands 1.1 and 1.2.1; Léargas are looking for Irish partners to develop youth exchange and youth democracy projects; Journeys From Europe and Beyond, a unique selection of films and documentaries presented by the European Commission and the European Parliament Offices in Ireland were shown at the Festival of World Cultures this month; and the European Commission is calling on young Europeans (between 15-25) to submit a song expressing support for the fight against poverty.