Peter Burke
Question:28. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the projects in County Westmeath that were successful in their applications to the national creativity fund. [47222/18]
View answerThursday, 15 November 2018
Questions (28)
Written answers
The Creative Ireland National Creativity Fund was launched on 17 May 2018 with a closing deadline of the 15 June. A total number of 287 applications were received in respect of the fund, far exceeding expectations. Following an initial review by officials by my Department, 77 of these these were submitted to an independent expert panel for analysis and scoring against published set criteria. A total of 30 projects were ultimately approved for funding, with grants varying from a minimum of €10,000 to a maximum of €70,000. Cumulatively, the total funding being made available to support these projects across 2018 and 2019 amounts to approximately €1.2m.
The purpose of the National Creativity Fund is to develop strategic collaborations with a variety of organisations/individuals in order to identify and develop new initiatives that support the broad objectives of the Creative Ireland Programme and help inform policy and/or cross-sectoral development in the area of culture, creativity and wellbeing.
Helium Arts (the national children’s arts and health charity) based in Mullingar, has received funding to pilot the development of a Creative Health Hub as a replicable model to significantly increase engagement among children living with illness with creative activities in both hospital and community settings. This pilot will look at improving access to creative activities for children and young people; complement the work of the medical community in treating illnesses; develop artistic skills in the field of arts and health, and capture a strong evidence base highlighting the contribution creative programmes make to health and wellbeing.
Full details on all the projects supported under the National Creativity Fund are available on www.creativeireland.gov.ie.