Public meeting on Kildare creativity strategy taking place tonight
By Kim O'Leary
Following the success of Culture Night 2017, a public meeting on the Kildare Culture and Creativity Strategy will take place tonight in the Keadeen Hotel in Newbridge.
The framework, which runs between 2018 and 2022, is part of the Creative Ireland 1916 legacy programme which saw great success in organising nationwide celebrations to mark the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising.
The meeting tonight will bring organisers and representatives of Kildare County Council together to discuss culture events in Kildare for the next few years, and it follows a public consultation earlier this year.
The meeting is taking place in the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge at 7.30pm tonight.
Kildare's Culture and Creativity Plan, a Creative Ireland initiative, was launched by former Mayor of Kildare, Cllr Ivan Keatley, at a meeting of the Local Community & Culture Strategic Policy Group meeting last May in Áras Chill Dara, Naas.
Cllr Keatley welcomed the Plan, acknowledging the large attendance at the public meeting earlier this year, stating that the "cultural sector show great enthusiasm in getting involved to create greater visibility and to add value to their work. The Plan will inform future cultural initiatives in the coming years."
The County Culture and Creativity team is led by Sonya Kavanagh, Director of Services supported by County Librarian Marian Higgins who will act as County Co-ordinator.
Other members are, Lucina Russell, Arts Officer, Anne Marie Conneely, Community Officer, Bridget Loughlin, Heritage Officer, Mario Corrigan, Executive Librarian, Syl Merrins, Kildare Sports Partnership, Peter Black, Architectural Conservation Architect and Denis Mc Dermott, Irish Language Officer.
Speaking about the Kildare Culture Plan, Minister Humphreys said: “I would like to sincerely thank all of the Culture Team in Kildare who have been working so hard in recent months to help us realise some of the key ambitions in the Creative Ireland programme. Kildare already has a vibrant cultural scene and through Creative Ireland we want to see more people in Kildare participating in the arts locally.”
She said: “Through Creative Ireland we want to create an ecosystem of creativity in Kildare and every other county nationwide; we want to see more people not just attending the theatre or going to a cultural event, we want to see them getting involved. In this way, we can help to build happier, healthier communities. This Culture Plan is coming at a very good time for Kildare, after I approved a grant of €1 million for the Riverbank Theatre earlier this year.”