The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys, T.D., joined the Chair of the Arts Council Sheila Pratschke and Director Orlaith McBride today to announce nine major arts projects to commemorate 1916. The commissions, which range across traditional music, poetry, dance and visual arts, form a key part of the Government’s Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme and will be presented to the public next year.
The projects were selected by an international jury after the Arts Council issued an ‘open call’ to the Irish imagination, and promised to invest a total of €1 million in ambitious ideas by artists across the country.
Announcing the successful projects today, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys said: “The arts and culture were an essential element of the movement that led to the events of the 1916 Rising, with the Gaelic and Literary revivals helping to inspire a new generation. It is vital, therefore, that the arts are central to the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme. These commissions will help us to not only reflect on the events of a century ago, but also to look forward to the next 100 years.
Arts Council Chair Sheila Pratschke said: “Almost one hundred years on, these proposals represent a key response to 1916. It will be very exciting to watch over the months ahead as they are transformed from idea to reality. I am already confident that these artists, with such vision and ambition, will inspire the nation.”
Arts Council Director Orlaith McBride said: “We in the Arts Council were overwhelmed – and delighted – by the response to our ‘open call’, even if it made the international jury’s task of choosing just nine applications from 258 all the more challenging. The successful projects will be at the heart of the commemoration programme, and we want as many people as possible to experience the work when it is presented next year.”
Also as part of the Government’s Ireland 2016 centenary programme, the Arts Council will offer 16 special bursaries for a new generation of emerging artists; additional touring support to bring arts events to communities across Ireland; and will gather dozens of the country’s best choirs for a free, televised concert featuring a specially-commissioned piece by Shaun Davey and Paul Muldoon.