Latest from the Arts Council of Ireland

February saw the Arts Council starting work on Arts Audiences, a project devised and managed by the Arts Council and Temple Bar Cultural Trust. The project seeks to clarify and address issues around audience development and experience in the arts, recognising the importance of maximising engagement with, and revenue from, audiences in times of an economic downturn.

A new liaison group has been formed between the Arts Council and the County and City Managers Association, which seeks to establish greater co-operation and partnership, to secure all that has been achieved in local arts development over the past twenty years.

In addition, we have made plans to redevelop the publicart.ie website. This dynamic new site will act as a tremendous information resource, and will feature a great range of public art projects taking place all around the country.

Elsewhere in the newsletter, we have news of changes that have taken place in the Deis scheme for 2009; we update readers on progress with the Reel Art awards, and announce Dublin City Councils new Filmmaker in Residence.

Finally, closing the newsletter are our regular articles from the Cultural Contact Point and news from the arts community.

Mary Cloake
Director

1. Arts Audiences - a partnership project between the Arts Council and Temple Bar Cultural Trust

Work is beginning on 'Arts Audiences', a project devised and managed by the Arts Council and Temple Bar Cultural Trust.

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2. A new liasion group formed between the Arts Council and the County and City Managers' Association

A new liasion group has been formed between the Arts Council and the County and City Managers' Association, to establish greater co-operation and partnership in securing all that has been achieved in local arts development over the past twenty years.

Read more

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3. New public art website

The Arts Council, with the support of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, is currently redeveloping the publicart.ie website.

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4. Notice: Deis scheme 2009

The traditional arts community are reminded that there have been some changes to the Deis scheme, most notably in regards to the funding of recording projects and CD production.

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5. An update on the Reel Art awards

Reel Art is an Arts Council scheme designed to provide film artists with an opportunity to make highly creative and imaginative documentaries on an artistic theme.

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6. Dublin City Council announce Filmmaker in Residence

Dublin City Council, in association with the Arts Council, has announced that filmmaker Joe Lee has been selected as Dublin City Council's filmmaker in residence.

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7. News from the arts community

Opportunities in the arts community in February include a invitation for submissions for the 2009 Dublin Fringe Festival; a music recording assistance opportunity from Dublin City Council in partnership with axis arts & community resource centre, Ballymun; and details about a National Music Symposium which will compile and present findings from the research report Local Authorities & Music: Knowing the Score.

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8. International News from the Cultural Contact Point

News from the CCP in February includes: further EU cultural co-operation with Mexico; information on EU co-operation with Russia; a deadline for the EU Youth in Action Programme; a call for proposals for 'Preparatory Actions MEDIA International'; an announcement on the finalists for the Mies van der Rohe Award; an information day on European Capitals of Culture; a conference report on intercultural dialogue and digital culture; a paper of creativity and innovation; an IETM spring plenary meeting and details on the International Conference of National Trusts.

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Samhlaiocht Story Telling Sessions in Kerry Library

Laura Gutierrez Martin and Trish Thompson from Samhlaiocht

Kerry is probably best known as home to the most successful footballers in the GAA's illustrious history but it is nearly as well known as a home for writers, poets and storytellers. Kerry can boast a wonderfully strong literary tradition, in both English and As Gaeilge, having produced such fine writers as John B. Keane, Brendan Kennelly and Maurice Walsh.

To honour that strong tradition Samhlaiocht, the premier Arts organisation in Kerry, and Kerry Library are holding a number of Storytelling Seminars in Libraries in Kerry.

"Kerry has such a wealth of writers and a fantastically strong history of storytelling. We're also blessed with a strong infrastructure of libraries, with 9 branches throughout the county, and these act as focal point for cultural activities within the community," said Jason O' Mahony, Director of Samhlaiocht. "We've worked with Kerry Library in the past and were only too happy to get on board when they suggested holding Storytelling sessions in the libraries."

Two story telling sessions will take place in Listowel Library on Friday March 6th and in Castlesisland Library on Saturday March 7th, both sessions will take place at 11 am and are aimed at the four-year-old to six-year-old age group.

"The sessions are aimed at smaller children to encourage a love of reading and of storytelling from a very young age," added Jason. "The Libraries are such a wonderful resource and these sessions will bring younger children through the doors and hopefully go some way towards introducing them to the magic of reading. And we've lined up a stellar story teller in Laura Gutierrez Martin to make the introduction as rewarding as possible. I bet the attendees have an absolutely amazing time!"

Laura, who originally hails from Catalonia, but has been living in Ireland for three years has been facilitating workshops and seminars in storytelling for more than a decade. She has worked with Samhlaiocht in the past and will facilitate workshops as part of the upcoming Samhlaiocht Easter Arts Festival, to take place over the Easter weekend, April 11th to April 13th.

"I love working with younger children," says Laura. "Their imagination knows no limit and there is a freedom from the restraints that adults sometimes experience. I'm looking forward to the sessions and I'm sure the children will have a brilliant time, discover the wonders of the library and, who knows, perhaps some of them will grow up to be writers and storytellers in the years to come!"

As the Listowel Library session is on a Friday, the Library will take bookings directly for primary school children, interested teachers are asked to contact the Library on (068) 23044.

Castleisland Library will also take bookings directly on (066) 716 3403. As it takes place on a Saturday all interested parents and children are encouraged to get involved or to drop by on the day.

For more information on Kerry County Libraries please log onto www.kerrycolib.ie or call 066 712 1200

KFF presents MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS

With the Oscars just over and a hugely successful screening for Active Retired Groups and Individuals in January, Kerry Film Festival and Siamsa Tire have partnered to bring a wonderful double Oscar nominated film to the big screen in Tralee. The screening of MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS will take place in Siamsa Tire on Thursday, March 5th at 2:00 pm and is absolutely free to everyone over the age of 65.

"We screened Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps last month to a rapturous crowd. Everyone that came seemed to love the movie but I think they really enjoyed the social aspect of the afternoon too," said Jason O' Mahony, Kerry Film Festival Director. The Festival offers free refreshments to the film fans before each screening.

"I haven't been to the cinema in years. It's hard to know what to see. But I love old Hitchcock films and it was nice to see an old classic film like The 39 Steps on the big screen. We got a lovely warm welcome from everyone at Kerry Film Festival too. In fact I think we enjoyed the wee chat and cup of tea every bit as much as the film," said Mary Walsh, from Tralee, with a laugh.

Mrs. Henderson Presents is directed by Stephen Frears and was nominated for two Oscars. It stars Bob Hoskins and Judi Dench, in an Oscar nominated role, and was made in 2005. It tells the true life story of Laura Henderson who bought an old London theater and opened it up as the Windmill, a performance hall which has gone down in history for, among other things, its all-nude revues!

"It sounds a little racy but isn't at all," added Jason, "I'm sure that everyone that comes will have a great time."

And while many of the attendees are from the Tralee area organizers received a call from a gentleman from Dublin who saw a piece on the January screening in the Irish Times. Apparently he'll use his free travel-pass to come down by train for this one and head home again in the evening!

The final film of the series is Sidney Lumet's 1957 classic, 12 Angry Men, starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb and will screen in Siamsa on Thursday, April 9th at 2:00 pm. 12 Angry Men is consistently voted among the top ten films of all time and was nominated for 3 Oscars. Henry Fonda gives an absolutely riveting performance as a dissenting juror in a murder trial who slowly manages to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court.

All films will screen in Siamsa Tire at 2:00 pm. For more information please call Kerry Film Festival on 066 712 9934.

Samhlaiocht is supported through grant aid from The Arts Council, Kerry County Council, Failte Ireland and by the generous corporate sponsorship of Kerry Group.

Call to all Photographers

Lucie Harwood's winning entry, Sunset, from Samhlaiocht's 2007 Competition

Samhlaiocht is issuing a call for photographs for its upcoming Open Submission Photography Exhibition.

"The photography competition is always a huge success," said Mike Foley, Samhlaiocht competition Coordinator. "In previous years the quality and variety of photographs has been simply astonishing. In fact this year we've decided to have two separate heats because of the number of entries we have had in previous years."

The closing date for the first heat is Friday, May 1st with the theme being Winter Light. The closing date for the second heat will be Friday, August 28th with a theme of Summer Light.

"This year we've put together a fantastic judging panel including Kerry Kennelly of Kerry's Eye, Dan Murphy, who is a fine art and portrait photographer with Red Couch Studios, Michael Diggin of Irish Landscape Photography and Michael O' Meara of Custom Framing Services," added Mike.

When quizzed about the number of judges, Mike said, "Well we figured it was important to get an expert on all different styles of photography. Kerry is an obvious candidate to judge photo journalism, while Michael Diggin is a wonderful Landscape photographer, Dan Murphy, on the other hand, has an eye for fine art photography, which folks can see in his current exhibition running in Siamsa until February 16th, and Michael O' Meara is an all-rounder that prints his own landscapes and the work of other artists."

As part of the prize this year all winning entries will be professionally mounted and framed and will remain the property of the artist after the exhibition. The Framing Prize is kindly sponsored by O' Meara Fast Framing Service in Tralee Shopping Center. Selected photographs will be displayed in the Samhlaiocht gallery in the Old Presbytery on Lower Castle Street in the heart of Tralee as part of Samhlaiocht's ongoing search for emerging talent. The exhibition will take place from the October 1st until October 23rd, 2009.

The photographers are asked to bear the theme in mind when submitting their work. A liberal interpretation of the theme is encouraged, however, and the organisers look forward to receiving a wide diversity of styles and subject matter.

"With themes like Winter Light and Summer Light the sky is really the limit and we're all very excited to see the entries this year," said Mike.

When asked about digital manipulation, Mike had this to say, "With digital cameras in everyone's arsenal and this year's broad theme, we can't rule out digital manipulation, nor would we want to. Digital photography is an exciting medium and we encourage people to play around and to be as creative and artistic as they like!"

Photographs may be black and white or colour and must measure 8" X 6". Contestants must submit a hard copy of the picture to Mike Foley at Samhlaiocht, The Old Presbytery, Lower Castle Street, Tralee. For those submitting photographs taken with a digital camera please also email a a copy to mike@samhlaiocht.com citing 'Samhlaiocht Photography Competition' in the subject line.

Please include your name, address, a contact phone number, email and the title of each photograph submitted with both hard and soft copies of the photographs.

The closing date for entries in the first heat is Friday, May 1st and the closing date for entries to the second heat is Friday, August 28th.

For more information on Samhlaiocht please log on to www.samhlaiocht.com or call 066 712 9934