THE Irish Government has announced a €6m funding injection to increase the number of workspaces available to artists across the country.
Revealed by Culture Minister Catherine Martin, the pilot scheme will be run through local authorities, who can apply for funding grants that they will have to match at 40 per cent of the funding total.
“As Minister for the Arts, I have been acutely aware of the pressures that artists and creatives, including those in the electronic music sector, have faced in finding suitable workspaces and that is why I made a commitment to provide capital funding towards the provision of artist workspaces,” Minister Martin said.
Cóilín O Reilly CCMA, Kelly Hickey Dublin City Arts Office, Culture Minister Catherine Martin, dancer Ella Clarke and visual artist Alan Mongey, who are two of the first artists to move into the new Artist studios in Artane“Much of our cultural infrastructure is initiated by our local authorities and they have been a crucial resource in the delivery of arts and culture interventions over many decades,” she added.
Ella Clarke performs during the Minsiter's visit“In 2023 my Department provided €3million to Dublin City Council for ‘Space to Create’ which will see the development of sixty artist workspaces in Dublin City. Today’s launch will now address the shortage of workspaces in the rest of the country.”
Local authorities are now invited to propose capital projects for artist workspaces in their areas which are “fit for purpose, design focused, accessible and affordable”.
Alan Mongey and Minister Martin pictured at the new artist studios in Artane, Dublin“Funding will be made available for projects that focus on the delivery of infrastructure to increase availability and access to artist workspaces,” Ms Martin’s department has confirmed.
“Each local authority can apply for up to €150,000/€300,000 -depending on their location) - for a single project under the scheme and would itself provide match funding of 40 per cent,” they added.
“This match funding will bring the overall value of the scheme to €10 million.”
Research conducted by Ms Martin’s department has revealed demand for artist workspaces “far outweighs supply” in Ireland, where there is a “widespread shortage of creative spaces such as studios and performance spaces”.
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