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Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan, announced details of 30 initiatives and projects supported by the Creative Ireland Programme as part of a new National Creativity Fund.

The National Creativity Fund enables the Creative Ireland Programme to activate, enable and support genuinely ground-breaking and innovative initiatives, research projects and community programmes, which have creativity and wellbeing at their centre. Through a series of strategic partnerships with cultural organisations, education and academic institutions and healthcare specialists, the selected projects are ambitious, innovative and inclusive and will help inform and implement the vision of the Creative Ireland Programme right across Government. Over €1.2m will be invested in the 30 initiatives over the duration of the Fund in 2018 and 2019.

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan, said:

I am delighted to announce details of the 30 exciting and ambitious initiatives which will be supported as part of the new National Creativity Fund of the Creative Ireland Programme. Each of these initiatives offer new opportunities for more integrated, local, community-focused interventions which bring together all aspects of creativity and wellbeing - from good health, community cohesion and resilience, to building strong social networks, culture, arts and local economies.

Collaboration is at the heart of the all-of-Government Creative Ireland Programme and I am particularly pleased to note the range of new and imaginative partnerships included in the list of successful projects. They represent the growing dialogue between the arts and health professions, between our educationalists and creatives, each on their own path to a common goal of promoting our individual and collective wellbeing. I look forward to sharing the learnings and insights from these initiatives with my colleagues across our partner agencies and Government Departments.

A selection of the new National Creativity Fund initiatives, include:

• Le Chéile: a project to develop music ensembles for young disabled musicians, culminating in the founding of the Open Youth Orchestra of Ireland, the EU’s first national youth orchestra for disabled musicians (Royal Irish Academy of Music/University of Ulster/Athlone Institute of Technology)
• The ‘DESIGN Skills’ programme aims to develop design thinking capacity with students in post-primary schools. The programme will link professional designers and makers with teachers to develop a six hour mini project that explores the design process, emphasising ideation, problem solving, divergent thinking, risk taking and experimentation (Design and Crafts Council of Ireland/ Junior Cycle for Teachers - Arts Team)
• Develop a programme of 6 diverse and nationwide artists’ residencies in care settings, which aim to make arts and creativity intrinsic to life-in-care settings for older people, particularly those who live outside major urban areas and in hard to reach situations, so that they can realise their full creative potential (Age & Opportunity)
• A research and development project to design and pilot a model for an intercultural Schools Programme, the first of its kind in Ireland (Chester Beatty Library/Mary Immaculate Training College, Limerick)
• A pilot initiative which supports a series of artist residencies at the Ushers Island Clinic, working with current patients of the Central Mental Hospital who are on day leave from the hospital site (National Forensic Mental Health Service/Waterford Healing Arts Trust)
• Re-Imagine: a programme designed to better connect communities with their local neighbourhoods and environment using creative and collaborative design strategies, putting people at the heart of their places (Irish Architecture Foundation/South Dublin County Council/ Kerry County Council/Kiltimagh Town Improvements Company and Imagine Dundrum)
• Modhanna nuálacha a fhorbairt le saothar drámaíochta a chruthú le healaíontóirí a bhfuil an Ghaeilge mar an chéad teanga acu, tríd spás turgnamhach a chur ar fáil dóibh (Ealaíon na Gaeltachta Teo/Comhairle Contaie Dhún na nGall/Comhairle Contae na Gaillimhe/ Oifig na nEalaíon/Ollscoil na hÉireann Gaillimh/Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe).

Full details of the projects supported as part of the new National Creativity Fund are available at https://creative.ireland.ie/en.

Notes to Editors:

Creative Ireland is an all of Government five-year initiative, from 2017 to 2022, which places creativity at the centre of public policy. It is built around five pillars: Enabling the Creative Potential of Every Child; Enabling Creativity in Every Community; Investing in our Creative and Cultural Infrastructure; Ireland as a Centre of Excellence in Media Production; Unifying our Global Reputation. Each of the 31 Local Authority Culture and Creativity Strategies are available to download at creative.ireland.ie

285 applications were received for the Creative Ireland Programme Scheme 2018/2019 (National Creativity Fund) 63 of which specifically referred to projects relating to Children and Young People. Project activities and initiatives will take place in Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Limerick and Westmeath.

The projects supported as part of the National Creativity Fund are based around three thematic areas:

1. Individual and collective wellbeing: Creativity based projects and initiatives that support and advance policy development in the areas of (a) physical, psychological and mental health (b) social cohesion and (c) Sustainable, inclusive and nurturing environments

2. Innovation: Imaginative and innovative projects which support and encourage the development and sustainability of the creative industries

3. Connecting communities: Projects and initiatives that address or explore how community challenges can be addressed through increasing participation in creativity, with a particular focus on isolated, rural and disadvantaged communities