Youth organisations across Ireland receive funding for collaborative arts projects
January 14th, 2010
Seventeen youth organisations across Ireland have been awarded €58,000 in total through the Artist in Youth Work Scheme run by the National Youth Council of Ireland’s Youth Arts programme. There are two awards under this scheme, the Artist in Youth Work Residency and the Youth Arts Development Award.
Thirteen organisations Dublin, Louth, Mayo, Galway, Tipperary, Waterford, Cork & Sligo received money to the value of €50,965 through the Residency Award. The funding will go towards projects such as the production of a documentary, photographic assignments, a rap programme, script writing, youth theatre and music*. In addition four organisations received €6,635 through the Youth Arts Development Award. Swan Youth Service will begin a photography programme and Corduff Youth Project in Dublin intends to set up an arts/crafts group. Navan Community Development Project will perform a play while Tipperary Regional Youth Service will develop a pilot project for youth cafés.
Both awards are co-funded by the Arts Council and the Office of Minister of Children and Youth Affairs (OMCYA). The Artist in Youth Work Residency Award funds collaborative arts projects between professional artists and groups of young people at a local and regional level, while the aim of the Youth Arts Development Award is to encourage the introduction of youth arts into an organisation’s programme of work and allow an organisation assess its sustainability.
Anne O’Gorman, Senior Project Arts Officer for the National Youth Council stated: “We are delighted to have the opportunity, through the Arts Council and the OMCYA to administer this scheme and make funds available to a range of exciting projects across the country. The opportunity to engage in an art form and collaborate with an artist, friends and peers to create a piece of work – be that a mosaic, a piece of dance, a music recording, a play, is an opportunity every young person deserves to have.”
“Besides the social and developmental benefits to such work; being given the space, time and right to dream and imagine, and to give those things a physical shape has an impact that cannot be underestimated. As always, the demand for funding in this scheme far outstripped the available funds, and shows the need for long term and sustained investment in this vibrant and exciting sector, particularly as we are in challenging economic times, when innovative and creative thinking will be more valuable to Irish society than ever,” Ms. O’Gorman concluded.
ENDS
For further information, please contact Clodagh O’Brien, Communications Officer at NYCI on 087 781 4903 or 01 425 5955 or email communications@nyci.ie
Notes to Editors:
*For details of the recipients visit: http://www.youtharts.ie/content/artist-youth-work-scheme.
National Youth Council of Ireland
The National Youth Council of Ireland is a membership-led umbrella organisation that represents and supports the interests of 55 voluntary youth organisations and uses its collective experience to act on issues that impact on young people.
NYCI’s Youth Arts Programme
The Youth Arts Programme in the National Youth Council of Ireland is supported by the Arts Council and the OMCYA and is dedicated to the development and advancement of youth arts in Ireland. It aims specifically to realise the potential of young people through good quality arts practice in the Youth Service and to develop appropriate policies and activities at local, regional and national level.