Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2022
218. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the new bursary schemes that have been created since June 2020 to encourage the next generation of young artists. [32170/22]
View answerPrimary responsibility for the development of the arts rests with the Arts Council under the Arts Act 2003. It is important to remember that the Arts Council is independent in all decisions around funding, including who to fund and how to fund them. A key strategic priority of the Arts Council is a commitment to support emerging artists of promise and all artists – creative and interpretive – whose quality of practice merits investment.
From the outset of the COVID-19 crisis, the Arts Council adopted a pro-active approach to supporting individual artists of all genres as well as arts organisations. Since then, the Arts Council introduced new and enhanced funding programmes of commissions and bursaries. The 2021 budget allocation to the Arts Council increased to €130 million. In 2021 the Arts Council had over 8,000 applications.
I understand that the Council expanded the bursary scheme across all art forms in both number and value in 2021. The number awarded increased from 170 in 2019 to 577 in 2021 (+239%) and the value of the awards increased from €1.8 million in 2019 to €9.3 million in 2021 (+412%). Particularly notable within this overall trend was an increase in funding for Literature from €366,084 to €1.8 million, Music from €127,775 to €1.4 million, and Traditional Arts from €30,410 to €531,158.
Details of 2022 bursaries' schemes can be accessed on the Arts Council's available funding page via this link www.artscouncil.ie/available-funding/
A report and analysis of the Arts Council’s response to the Covid-19 crisis for the arts in 2020/2021 was published by the Council and can be accessed at this link: www.artscouncil.ie/uploadedFiles/wwwartscouncilie/Content/Publications/Research_reports/Our%20Covid%20Response%20(July%202021).pdf.
The Arts Council supports artists in Ireland through grant funding, project awards and supports to individual artists by way of commissions and bursaries. The Next Generation Artists Award were first introduced to mark the 1916 centenary. The purpose of the Award is to support promising artists across all disciplines at an early but pivotal stage in their career - providing support for emerging artists from all backgrounds and genres with an opportunity to develop their skills and produce new work. Further details of the 2022 award including criteria and guidelines can be accessed at the following link www.artscouncil.ie/Funds/Next-Generation-Artists-Award/. In addition art organisations funded by the Council regularly engage in support of emerging artists and fostering of excellence in local contexts.
In addition to measures funded by the Arts Council, the Deputy will be aware of the Basic Income for the Arts Pilot Scheme. The overarching objective of this scheme is to address the earnings instability that can be associated with the intermittent, periodic, and often project-based nature of work in the arts. The scheme will research the impact on artists and creative arts workers creative practice of providing the security of a basic income, thereby reducing income precarity.
The following categories of applicants were eligible:
- Practising artists;
- Creative arts workers (see definition below), or;
- Recently trained applicants (within the last 5 years).
The key eligibility criteria is that applicants must either be an artist with their own creative practice or a creative arts worker who has a creative practice of their own which makes a key contribution to the production, interpretation or exhibition of the arts. The Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme will run over a three year period (2022 – 2025). Applications for the scheme closed on May 12th and the scheme was open to eligible artists and creative arts sector workers.
Culture Ireland also operates a range of funding programmes to support and promote the presentation of Irish arts internationally, including emerging artists.
In addition to direct funding from my Department and the Arts Council, RTÉ routinely offers new and emerging talent opportunities across all of its platforms including television, radio and online. It has also collaborated with the Creative Ireland programme in conjunction with its RTÉ Supporting the Arts initiative to highlight a broad range of cultural activity.
