Council preparing new five-year Arts Strategy for Offaly
Offaly County Council is in the process of preparing a new five-year Arts Strategy for Offaly (2023 to 2028) and the Arts Office is issuing an open invitation for people to come forward with their comments, observations and concerns.
The arts in Offaly have experienced huge progress through the life of the previous arts strategy (2018-2022). There are new festivals, new arts organisations and there has been an increase in the number and visibility of artists living and working in the county.
Financing the arts is always challenging, but there is now a belief and a certainty about what the arts represent, characterise, and embody in communal and individual identities. We have all seen at first-hand the extraordinary effect the arts have on people’s lives and the challenge now is how we can take this another step further in ways that are even more imaginative, more innovative, and more meaningful. The new Arts Strategy when adopted by Offaly County Council will serve as a mandate for the next five years, so it is important that everyone feels welcome to have a say.
Over the course of the next few months, Offaly County Council and the Arts Office will be engaging with a wide range of people across the county to gather information, ideas, and insights; to understand the impact of what has been achieved through previous plans, to build on successes and to address the gaps in policy, practice, and provision. The council has engaged the services of John O'Brien, an independent arts consultant, to work alongside them to support and facilitate this work. As well as several focus group meeting, and conversations with key stakeholders and arts organisations, there will also be several public meetings being held in the coming weeks. The public is being invited to attend one of the meetings below:
Public Meetings for all artists, creatives, arts groups, community groups
Tuesday October 10, Birr Theatre and Art Centre, 7.00pm to 8.30pm – booking directly with BTAC https://birrtheatre.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873651492
Thursday,, October 12, Esker Arts, 6.30pm to 8.00pm - booking directly with Esker Arts: info@eskerarts.ie, 057 938 3801.
Wednesday, October 18, Edenderry Library, 6.30 – 8.00pm – booking directly to arts@offalycoco.ie
Festivals – There will be a separate meeting and all festival groups (2- 3 reps per group) are invited to attend.
Tuesday, October 17, Esker Arts, 7pm to 8.30om booking directly with Esker Arts: info@eskerarts.ie, 057 938 3801.
Please book to attend any of the meetings before October 4.
Submissions are also welcome in writing. If you wish to send in your ideas (max 2 A4 pages) please send this in by Wednesday, November 1. These should be emailed to arts@offalycoco.ie. Please use the subject line Arts Strategy for Offaly (2023 to 2028) - Submission