Ministers announce €175,161 of funding in 2022 for Creative Ireland local authority projects in Kildare
The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’ Brien TD, have announced a funding allocation of €175,161 for the implementation of Creative Ireland initiatives in Kildare.
This funding is part of a €6.6 million investment in local authorities throughout the country that will support creative projects that will connect people, creativity and wellbeing in 2022. The Creative Ireland Programme is committed to the vision that every person in their community should have the opportunity to realise their full creative potential.
During 2021 in Kildare, the Creative Ireland Culture and Creativity Team delivered 69 projects including The Connections through Literature Series which united writers and artists with Kildare audiences. This was carried out by Kildare Libraries and the Irish Writers Centre and included talks by Liam Mac Amhlaimh and Doireann Ní Ghriofa. In addition to this, Kildare also carried out The Short Grass Walls mural project (shown above).
Minister Martin said about the programme “I am very pleased to continue to support the excellent work undertaken by local authorities on behalf of the Creative Ireland Programme. Every Creative Ireland project delivered by our local authority teams harnesses the creative potential of our people and their communities. Their work is the cornerstone of the Creative Ireland Programme and brings together local expertise in arts, heritage, libraries, enterprise and community engagement in a meaningful and inspired way. As we emerge from the last two years, I know that they will once again deliver creative programmes that can build resilience, foster personal confidence and sustain their communities.”
Since the Creative Ireland Programme was launched in 2017, it has received investment of €21 million from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. That funding has enabled local authorities to deliver over 5,700 community-led creative projects to support their respective Culture and Creativity Strategies 2018-2022 along with the flagship Cruinniú na nÓg – the national day of free creativity for children and young people that takes place in June.
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, added “Local authorities have extensive expertise across heritage, arts, libraries as well as vital local relationships. I firmly believe that culture plays a key role in local government’s work in creating great places to live and work. Creative Communities takes this a step further. Culture and creativity can be part of responses to social isolation, to creating a sense of place and to integrating new communities.”
For an overview of Creative Ireland projects in Kildare please go to https://www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/kildare/