Kilkenny County Council

Mission / Aims

The function of the Arts Office includes:

• developing and coordinating artistic activities and events across the county;
• encouraging and inspiring enthusiasm for the arts and promoting it as a valuable, positive and worthwhile activity for all;
• through partnerships and linkages working to bring the arts to a wider community;
• broadening participation through increased audience and practitioner involvement;
• administration of annual bursaries and Arts Act Grant;
• facilitating partnering synergy and skills exchange between groups, individuals and agencies involved in arts advocacy.

Areas of activities

The Arts Office continually develops and delivers an inclusive arts programme working to dispel notions of elitism in the sector. We do not define our programme into areas but feel that our projects cross over areas. We recognise that arts project are recreational as well as learning experiences and have added benefits to participants.

An example of one of the Arts Office projects that highlights our inclusiveness and relates to arts and health is the 5 to 6 Project. This is an inclusive arts-based programme accessible to all women. It provides life-long learning by supporting women in identifying their own personal development needs and explore creative responses to address those needs. The project operates in essence as a community development programme for the benefit of socio-economic disadvantaged women and women who feel isolated or marginalised in Kilkenny city and county. It aims to provide support and educational activities with a view to enhancing knowledge and understanding of the visual arts for the local community, thus contributing to the economic development of the area through the development of life long learning, developing new skills among participants and helping combat disadvantage among women in the county.

Artform(s)

Multidisciplinary