This month, the Arts Council released The Living and Working Conditions of Artists in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which was jointly commissioned by the Arts Council and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The study, the first of its kind in thirty years, reveals how many artists are now working on the island, and the challenges they face as they pursue their chosen profession.  The findings of the study will inform how the Arts Councils continue to provide supports and the measures they take to improve conditions for artists on the island.

Arts Audiences releases findings from the New Media Mentoring Scheme through which Balor Arts Centre, the Dock, the Gate and Éigse Carlow Arts Festival received mentoring from Google Ireland.  Each organisation received expert advice on the best ways to utilise Google tools to optimise the web performance of any arts organisation. 

Also in this edition, we announce a new scheme for supporting the touring and dissemination of work in all arts disciplines in 2011. The principal purpose of the scheme is to ensure that audiences throughout the country have access to high quality arts experiences.  The Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport, in partnership with the Arts Council, invites applications for grants towards the cost of equipment and/or improvements to the quality of artists’ workspaces.  The Arts Council and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government have launched a new Engaging with Architecture Scheme, which is intended to encourage projects that create a better public awareness, understanding and enjoyment of architecture.  We also inform subscribers of a new award - the Artist in the Community Scheme Bursary Award 2010 – which aims to support individual professional artists in any artform working in the field of arts and older people.  We have information on three upcoming deadlines for music schemes including the Music Recording Scheme, the Performance and Touring Award and the Music Capital Scheme as well as reminders on deadlines for the Small Arts Festivals Scheme and the Visual Artists Workspaces Scheme. We also announce the successful recipients of the Artist in the Community Scheme and have an important update on the Travel and Training Award.

The Arts Council was delighted to welcome the announcement on the delegation chosen to represent Ireland at the 54th Venice Biennale International Arts Exhibition.  Emily-Jane Kirwan, who has been appointed to the role of commissioner, working with curator Eamonn Maxwell, will present the work of Irish artist Corban Walker.  We also send out a call to funded artists and arts organisations to help us assert the value of the arts.  

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 average professional artist living in the Republic of Ireland earns just €14,500 a year from his or her art, despite having a higher level of formal education than the wider labour force, new research shows.

Under the Arts Audiences New Media Mentoring Scheme, Google Ireland provided mentoring to four arts organisations across the country.  The findings from the scheme have now been published on the Arts Audiences website.

The Arts Council are delighted to announce a new scheme for supporting the touring and dissemination of work in all art disciplines.

The Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport, in partnership with the Arts Council, invites applications for grants towards the cost of equipment and/or improvements to the quality of artists’ workspaces.

The Arts Council and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government have launched a new scheme with the purpose of engaging the public with architecture.

The Artist in the Community Scheme Bursary Award 2010 aims to support individual professional artists in any artform working in the field of arts and older people.  There will be two information and discussion sessions held in Dublin and Mayo to discuss the award.

The closing dates for the Music Recording Scheme, the third round of the Performance and Touring Award and the Music Capital Scheme are announced.

We remind you that the deadline for the first round of the Small Arts Festivals Scheme 2011 is 10 September at 5:30pm.

We remind you that the deadline for the Visual Artists' Workspace Scheme is Thursday, 9 September at 5:30pm.

The recipients of the second round of the Artist in the Community Scheme 2010 are announced.

The Arts Council wishes to advise that from 1 September we will be unable to support further applications in literature and music (for activities taking place in 2010) under the Travel and Training Award.

The Irish representation at the 54th Venice Biennale has been announced. 

The Arts Council calls on funded artists and arts organisations to help us assert the value of the arts.

News from the arts community in August includes:  a notice from Lismore Castle Arts who are seeking an Exhibition and Events Coordinator; information on a new  Artistic Director position available from Ormeau Baths Gallery;  volunteering opportunites on Culture Night (24 September);   a new professional development course is available from Music Network and finally we have a reminder on the Making Tracks Music Recording Assistance Opportunity from Dublin City Council and Axis, Ballymun.

News from the CCP in August includes: a notice on Circa, the festival of contemporary circus where performers will have an opportunity to present their works to programmers; a new website from the European Federation of Professional Circus Schools has gone live; the Council of Europe is organising a conference in Belgium on the theme of The Culture and Politics of Change; a call for young performing arts professionals to attend the 11th edition of Les Coups de Théâtreas as well as the 14th edition of the Platform hosted by CINARS in Montreal;  a call for proposals for grants for activities within Morocco and finally information on a new online database for circus and street arts.