A key deliverable of the European Capital of Culture designation was the development of a legacy framework to sustain and build on the capacity, networks and opportunities arising from the cultural programme of Galway 2020. A Performance Delivery Agreement is in place between my Department and the Galway Culture Company to ensure the appropriate oversight of the implementation of the legacy programme and the expenditure of the Government's funding allocation of €1 million.
My Department officials continue to work closely with the Galway Culture Company in this regard. Quarterly meetings between the Department, the Chief Executive of the Galway Culture Company and the Chair of the Board of Galway Culture Company have taken place on 29th November 2023, 31 January 2024 and most recently on 13 March last. At each meeting, Galway Culture Company provided an update to the Department on programming and expenditure. The minutes of the quarterly meetings are published bilingually on the Gov.ie website.
To-date Galway Culture Company has drawdown €849,572 of the €1 million allocated to the Galway 2020 legacy programme. This funding has supported each of the three strategic objectives of the legacy programme as follows;
• €191,919.61 supported the first strategic objective to ‘Facilitate International and EU Relationships and Funding’,
• €435,822.63 supported the second strategic objective ‘Support to Place based Cultural Programming’, and
• €221,829.91 supported the third strategic objective the ‘Provision of supports to the cultural and creative sector’.
In line with the Performance Delivery Agreement, drawdowns of the remaining €150,427 funding will be the subject of drawdown requests and the provision of supporting documentation. The drawdown of the remaining funding is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024.
This funding has provided the opportunity for the artistic and cultural sector to access funding through open calls, partnerships on funding applications to EU programmes, opportunities for presentation in other European countries and targeted capacity building supports.
Of the funding drawn-down to-date, latest figures from the Galway Culture Company show that €552,282 of this has been delivered through open calls, with an additional €179,563 supporting artists and cultural organisations through other development and capacity building programmes.
In total, at least 16 open calls are expected to be delivered under the Legacy Programme which will see a large number of local organisations, artists and creative practitioners supported. Latest information from Galway Culture Company indicated that there are two open calls currently seeking applications:
• The Galway International Art Festival Open Call for collectives
• Design Lab - Open Call with Architecture at the Edge
A number of additional open calls are now closed for applicants but the delivery of those projects is currently ongoing.
The latest information on any open calls is available on the Galway Culture Company website. GCC are also available to meet with the Deputy to discuss the legacy programme and the open calls in more detail.
