Seven organisations in Kilkenny will receive financial investments from the Arts Council, the Government agency for funding and developing the arts.
The Arts Council this week pledged a total of €1.4 million to the seven Kilkenny-based organisations, with each to receive a portion of the sum. All of the organisations have a proven track record of delivering great arts experiences for people all over the county and beyond.
The ever-popular Kilkenny Arts Festival will swing into action in August, filling ten days with the very best in Irish and international visual art, music, theatre, dance, literature, film, architecture, craft and a special programme of children’s events.
The Butler Gallery promises an impressive series of exhibitions, among them the work of artists Mairead O’hEocha and Vera Klute – and entrance is free.
In Callan, the Kilkenny Collective for Arts Talent (KCAT ) is working on an exciting new piece of work to be performed at the arts festival and elsewhere. KCAT is a model of inclusion that is unique in Ireland.
The younger generation are set to raise a Barnstorm in 2011 – the highly-successful theatre with a focus on our citizens aged between four and 18 is planning two separate new productions in the county, followed by a national tour.
The Arts Council is also supporting Kilkenny County Council's arts programme, Watergate Theatre and Young Irish Filmmakers.
Chairman of the Arts Council, Pat Moylan, said: “Despite the financial challenges we face as a country, the council sought to ensure that organisations remained viable and maintained jobs in order to deliver the best of the arts for people across the country.
“Now, more than ever, we need the arts to help restore our self-esteem, bind our communities together, and send a clear signal to the world that Ireland is a hub of creative and innovative talent.”
The people of Kilkenny will also have access to the work of many companies and organisations that tour nationally with funding from the Arts Council.
The Arts Council pledged to announce further funding for individual artists and to groups undertaking projects, festivals, and other events later in 2011. These will receive support through the council’s many flexible funding schemes and other award programmes.
