Local Authorities and Arts Council Launch €8k Bursary Scheme for 31 Mid-Career Artists

Boyne Music Festival which is supported by Creative Louth, the arts office of Louth County Council (Photo: Dan Butler)

Local Authorities and Arts Council Launch €8k Bursary Scheme for 31 Mid-Career Artists

'Platform 31' scheme is open to artists who have received Local Authority Arts Office or Arts Council funding within the last 3 years.

The Arts Council and all 31 Local Authority Arts Offices in Ireland have launched a new bursary scheme for mid-career artists worth €8k each. There is one bursary available in each local authority area. A full list of the local authorities is available here

Titled ‘Platform 31’, the scheme is open to artists who have received Local Authority Arts Office or Arts Council funding within the last 3 years. The scheme comprises two parts, financial and developmental, so in addition to the €8k in funding, a networking framework for participating artists will be established, lasting approximately six months from February 2021.

Commenting on the new scheme, Arts Council Director Maureen Kennelly said:

The bursary seeks to provide artists with the time and resources to think, test new ideas, research new approaches and to reflect and engage with their artistic practice. The Arts Council is delighted to partner with local authorities, who are responding thoughtfully and ambitiously to the challenging environment for artists. The carefully considered support network built into Platform 31 sets this bursary scheme apart.

Jenny Sherwin, Wicklow County Council Arts Officerand Acting Chair of the Association of Local Authority Arts Officers, added:

We embrace the opportunity in our communities to inform and lead new ways of working collaboratively towards cultural development. At the heart of all of this are artists, the real animators of the arts in Ireland – the writers, musicians, actors, performers, dancers and filmmakers. We envision this pilot scheme as a platform for these creatives to value their time, to showcase their work and their collaborations, sharing their learnings locally and nationally as a legacy of the project.

Artists of any discipline living in the thirty-one local authority areas can apply. Applicants must provide a CV, evidence of their track record and a written proposal on the Platform 31 website by 30 November at 5pm. Successful applicants will be notified in January 2021 and the scheme will run until autumn next year. 

For more on Platform 31, visit: https://platform31.localartsireland.ie/

Published on 10 November 2020

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