Vol. 423 No. 1
87 Mr. Durkan asked the Taoiseach if he will outline the extent, if any, to which sculptors can qualify for any special grants towards the setting up of business or premises catering for this particular craft; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Sculptors, like all visual artists, are eligible to apply for individual awards offered by the Arts Council. Bursaries are made available for major work projects and are intended primarily to assist development and growth in the work or professional skills of artists in receipt of such bursaries. Priority is given to artists working full time. These grants are awarded once a year, in April/May.
Materials or documentation grants, the upper limit of which is £500, are offered by the Arts Council twice a year to artists in April and October. Moneys are not generally made available for the setting up of a business or private sculpture workshops. Individuals successful in obtaining a grant may choose to use it towards establishing their own sculpture facilities.
The Arts Council support a number of group studios throughout the country, where there are basic sculpture facilities. In addition to this, the council have provided a capital grant of £100,000 and grant-aid of £35,000 in 1992 to the National Sculpture Factory in Cork, which has facilities for all sculptural media (particularly on a large scale), together with a capital grant of £750,000 and grant-aid of £50,000 in 1992 to the Fire Station Artists' Studios, recently built in Dublin, where there is provision made for a large sculpture workshop, fully fitted. It is not the policy of the Arts Council to fund individual enterprises but, rather, to fund facilities which can be availed of by many artists, both long and short term, with technical supervision if desired.
The county enterprise partnership boards which are being established throughout the country will have, as part of their remit, the funding of small and start-up businesses. It would therefore be open to sculptors starting businesses to apply for funding of their enterprises to the local boards when established.
