Arts Council announces €450,000 for Creative Places Athy

The people of Athy will benefit from a three year investment programme to develop and sustain new creative opportunities for all age groups.

The Arts Council has expanded its Creative Places programme nationally and a successful application was led by Kildare County Council in partnership with local community development organisations in Athy. The opportunity was open to places which had not benefitted from sustained arts investment in the past. It will build upon existing cultural strengths in the town to create a new momentum which will ensure more people in the town can choose, take part in and benefit from brilliant arts experiences. Athy, will be one of nine places who will be part of the expanded national Creative Places programme, which includes small towns, inner cities, rural and island communities.

Director of the Arts Council, Maureen Kennelly said, “We are delighted to be awarding Creative Places Athy; we have not been able to invest in Athy before and it is very important to us that public investment in the arts reaches and benefits more people in a sustained and meaningful way. We are very excited to see how the people of Athy will respond to what matters to them most, and we look forward to working further with Kildare County Council, with whom we have had a strategic partnership with for almost 30 years.”

Responding to the announcement, Chief Executive of Kildare County Council, Peter Carey said ’The approach undertaken by the strategic partners in preparing the Creative Places Athy bid is an excellent example  of what can be achieved through effective collaboration and I look forward to seeing how the project develops to enhance cultural provision in Athy and environs .’

Cathaoirleach of Athy Municipal District, Cllr. Aoife Breslin said her hope for Creative Places Athy is to nurture and develop the capacity of the many artists living in the area, and to provide additional opportunities to local communities to participate in creative and cultural experiences. 

Over the summer the programme will be getting established, a coordinator will be appointed and conversations with the community will get underway. To keep in touch with how the project develops, the programme will be managed by Kildare Arts Service arts@kildarecoco.ie.

 

 

image: Sephora Mahon and Isabella Fayeun striking a pose in response to the Irish Sign Language Athy (ISLA) mural commissioned by Athy Sing and Sign club, Culture Night 2020.

Images credits:

Left (Sephora Mahon): James Mahon

Right (Isabella Fayeun): Niall Carson

June 2021

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