Balbriggan has officially been designated as a Creative Place and will receive a new stream of arts funding.
The Arts Council funding has been secured by the Our Balbriggan Rejuvenation programme and led by Fingal County Council. The Creative Places programme aims to provide local people access to the arts in their own community.
Creative Places funding allows towns build local arts programmes for the benefit of all, building on existing cultural strengths and enabling local artists to lead a programme rooted community development. The town will receive funding of €330,000 over next three years.
The Creative Place stance means the town can enjoy sustained and vibrant cultural activity in Balbriggan, as well as enabling Balbriggan based artists to work with local businesses, community groups and individuals. Mayor of Fingal Cllr Adrian Henchy said: “It will provide key funding for a strategy which will ensure the town develops a very strong artistic identity."
Director of Economic, Enterprise, Tourism and Cultural Development at Fingal County Council John Quinlivan said: “Balbriggan is 20 minutes north of Dublin Airport and just over 90 minutes from Belfast. It is very well situated as a destination celebrating artistic creativity. The long-term aim is that 10 years from now people from all creative disciplines will want to spend time in Balbriggan.”
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Co-founder of the local Scéal Arts Collective Eamonn Donlyn said: “Balbriggan has a huge number of creative people. The funding is a wonderful opportunity to bring them together and make the town a destination for the arts. Balbriggan is recognised as Ireland’s youngest town, as well as being one of the most culturally diverse."
The town also looks forward to the opening of a 400-seater sate of the art concert venue in the town which will transform the local economy, as well as further boosting its artistic credentials. The Irish Institute of Music and Song’s (IIMS) Lark Concert Hall, is part of a €12m investment by the Dawson family, in the IIMS campus which will create 150 jobs.
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