The summer and the arts are in full swing now, with great work being made, exhibited and performed everywhere in Ireland.

Already, we have announced the first 150 schools – both primary and secondary -- that will take part in the Arts Council’s Creative Schools pilot, which forms an important element of the Government’s Creative Ireland programme.

I’m delighted to tell you that Mike McCormack, a writer with whom the Arts Council has had a long relationship through residency programmes and bursary awards, has won the International Dublin Literary Award for his wonderful book, Solar Bones. Read more here.

The Minister for Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan has just made her first visit to the Arts Council. The Minister welcomed the recent decisions by the Council in our new Arts Grant Funding scheme, where 116 artists and arts organisations received grant offers taking them right to the end of 2019. Read more here. This is part of our new funding framework, and we anticipate that the extra time will allow for better planning and better outcomes.

Equally, I would like to bring to your special attention the upcoming deadline for our Projects Award 2019. In a change from previous years, there will be only one round for the scheme for all of 2019, so interested artists and organisations should make sure to meet the deadline of  5.30pm, Thursday 16 August. The guidelines are already available on our website.

Finally, please note that the deadline for Strategic Funding and Venues Funding is 5:30pm on 6 September, and the guidelines are available here.

Best wishes,

Orlaith McBride
Director