Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 February 2019
222. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she continues to engage with various local community groups involved in musical and artistic productions throughout County Kildare and nationally with particular reference to the best means of supporting their voluntary efforts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8962/19]
View answerThe Creative Ireland Programme is a culture-based programme led by my Department designed to promote individual, community and national wellbeing. Its core proposition is that participation in cultural activity drives personal and collective creativity, with significant implications for individual and societal wellbeing and achievement.
Under Pillar 2 - 'Enabling Creativity in Every Community' of the Programme, in 2018, my Department allocated a sum €2m and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government allocated a sum of €1m to all 31 local authorities (€96,000 each approximately) to enable them support an extensive programme of activities, events and initiatives in each county. This level of funding will be replicated this year.
In total in 2018, over 1,200 different initiatives around Ireland were funded under Pillar 2. These include arts projects, grant schemes, concerts, conferences, exhibitions, festivals, outreach projects, publications, research programmes, and workshops among other activities. They cover topics such as archaeology, architecture, biodiversity, crafts, heritage, dance, film, history, literature, music, photography, poetry, storytelling, theatre and the visual arts.
In Kildare in 2018, up to thirty projects were supported under the Creative Ireland Programme, many of which included musical and artistic elements. Among the highlights in 2018 were the following projects:
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Arts and Heritage Seminar - an initiative between the Irish Walled Towns Network, Creative Ireland, Kildare Heritage Office and Arts Office to explore ways to work together for the benefit of communities and arts practitioners. |
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Be-Lingual: Sense of Place: artist Marta Golubowska created 3 or 4 separate pieces of art reflecting on the process of learning the Irish language and immersing herself into the Irish culture in Kildare County. |
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Citizen Scientist: the project engaged with the members of the John Sullivan Centre (The Clane Irish Wheelchair Association) to record flora and fauna in the centre's biodiversity and heritage garden and submit their findings to the National Biodiversity Data Centre. |
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Creative Rathangan - Meitheal, exploring the transformation of Rathangan's people & environs, boglands, streetscapes and waterways through arts, heritage and local history. |
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Creative Rathangan workshops , June – December 2018, engaged with a number of selected themes, exploring the transformation of Rathangan's people and environs, its natural and manmade structures especially its boglands, streetscapes, and waterways. |
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Cruinniu na nOg Library events including Autism Friendly Sensory Story time, Craft and Gardening events at Leixlip Library, Immersive Story telling experience with The Gruffalo in Kildare Town and Celbridge Library and many others |
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Engaging the Senses Symposium: Helium Arts in partnership with Creative Ireland and Kildare County Council Arts Service hosted a symposium and practical workshop for arts, healthcare, and early years professionals interested in exploring multi-sensory, creative play through the arts for very young children with complex needs. |
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Féile na Sollán Festival – a celebration of music, dance, singing, language and Irish traditional culture, the festival is jam-packed with events for every age group. |
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Griese Youth Theatre: Commemoration of Armistice Day |
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Growing Gardens: Forest School in collaboration with Earthforce Education ran a 'Traditional Crafts Forest School' on the grounds of Castletown House, Celbridge. |
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If These Walls Could Talk: a project centred around young people from the north Kildare Area who explored themes of Wellbeing, Sense of Place, and Heritage. |
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Irish Sign Language (ISL) Festival in Athy Town: students of ISL taught others what they knew and helped them understand the beauty of ISL |
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Kildare Culture Night offered a myriad of cultural events, showcasing artistic endeavour that has taken place throughout the year across the county. Projects ranged from youth theatre, Irish language, and traditional Irish Music, orchestral, big-band and choral performances, pop-up galleries, and bat-walks to salsa dancing, book launches, comedy shows and historical tours. |
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Kildare Fáilte is reinvigorating the events calendar to communicate heritage, historical, creative and cultural activities in Co. Kildare. |
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Kildare Military Seminar June 2018 |
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Kildare Readers' Festival 2018 an entirely free literary festival connecting readers with authors and artists with a multiude of different events. |
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Kildare Walking Festival 2018 which promoted walking and a healthier lifestyle. It also showcased the natural beauty of Kildare and took walkers to locations they may not know and can return to. |
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Liffey Stories: a series of interpretation initiatives developed to interpret the built, natural, archaeological and geological heritage of the River Liffey from source to Sea. |
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Naas Youthreach Art Skills Development: artist photographer Brian Cregan worked together with two groups of young people at Naas Youthreach during an artist residency to develop their practical and artistic skills |
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Peat Crossing Borderlines: Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) marked European Year of Cultural Heritage and International Bog Day by organising this event |
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Prosperous Heritage Festival: a weekend full of history talks, music, re-enactments, a 1798 museum, old-fashioned crafting displays, a commemoration ceremony, and much more. |
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Seachtain na Gaeilge in Naas & Sallins. Highlights include Bricfeasta as Gaeilge, Pop-Up Gaeltacht, outdoor family concert with Michael Harrison, Andrew Meaney, Janine Redmond and Aoife Scott |
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Swift & Vanessa: A Love Story. This project involved commissioning author and dramatist Martina Reilly to research, write, direct and stage a play that depicts the tragic love-story of Jonathan Swift and Vanessa (Esther Van Homrigh), which unfolded in the grounds of Celbridge Abbey. |
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The Watchers: Climate Observations explored links between the local and global in terms of planetary scale systems of climate observation. |
These activities were delivered under Kildare's five-year Culture & Creative Strategy which was launched by me - along with those of every other local authority- last September.
These strategies highlight the critical role our Local Authorities play as providers and enablers of cultural and creative experiences in communities across Ireland, with all of the vitally important social, and indeed economic, consequences that follow. The strategies recognise that the arts and creative endeavours are crucial to society and community growth. With collaboration and shared purpose at the heart of the Creative Ireland Programme, each strategy provides meaningful opportunities for people and their communities, together with each Local Authority, to build and nurture a creative society. All the strategies are available online at https://creative.ireland.ie/en/creative-communities
In addition to funding directly from my Department, the Arts Council also provides significant supports for the arts at local level.
