Every year Mayo County Council offers two special bursary awards to artists born or living in Mayo, to enable them to spend two weeks at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig, County Monaghan. Each bursary covers all board and lodging expenses for a two-week period, plus the use of a studio if relevant. There are a variety of work spaces including studios, a music room for composers and musicians, a multi-media room and a large rehearsal and performance space.
This year’s successful applicants were writer Elizabeth Reapy and visual artist Ian Wieczorek, who were selected by an independent, external panel of experts.
Elizabeth Reapy was born in Mayo. Since completing an MA in creative writing in Queen’s University in 2009 she has been shortlisted for New Writer of the Year (Over the Edge ), performed at various venues, created a popular online journal and had poetry, flash fiction, and short stories published. She is currently working on her first novel.
Ian Wieczorek has been living in Mayo since 1992. His practice is based primarily in painting and drawing, and more recently curation. Ian is also a freelance commentator/reviewer. Since 2003 he has exhibited widely in group/selected shows in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Germany, and China. His forthcoming solo show at the Linenhall will take place in September 2011.
The bursaries are advertised annually and are open to practitioners in all art forms born or domiciled within County Mayo. There is no age limit. Applicants should show significant achievement in their chosen field. This would normally mean that artists should have had one-person shows in reputable galleries, and composers or musicians should have had their work commissioned, recorded, or performed or whatever might be appropriate to the particular art form. Otherwise the applicant must demonstrate a high degree of promise attested by references or other forms of support from established figures in the arts.
For further information contact the Arts Office, Mayo County Council, telephone 094 902 4444 exts 7558 and 7560, e-mail [email protected]
