The people of Loughlinstown / Ballybrack will benefit from a research and development award to develop and sustain new creative opportunities for all age groups.
The Arts Council has expanded its Creative Places programme nationally and a successful application was led by Southside Partnership and local community development organisations including dlr County Council for the Loughlinstown Ballybrack area. The opportunity was open to places which had not benefitted from sustained arts investment in the past. It will build upon existing cultural strengths in the area to create a new momentum which will ensure more people locally can choose, take part in and benefit from brilliant arts experiences. Loughlinstown /Ballybrack is one of 12 places who are now part of the expanded national Creative Places programme, which includes small towns, urban areas, rural and island communities.
Director of the Arts Council, Maureen Kennelly said, “We are delighted to be awarding Creative Places Loughlinstown /Ballybrack; it is a place where we have not been able to invest in sufficiently before and it is very important to us that public investment in the arts reaches and benefits more people in a sustained and meaningful way. We are very excited to see how the people of the area will respond to what matters to them most, and we look forward to working further with the community and Southside Partnership”.
Reacting to the announcement, Sandra King of Southside Partnership said, “The Arts Council’s Creative Places Research and Development Award for Loughlinstown and Ballybrack is an amazing opportunity for the community to discover how creative practice and public spaces will improve social inclusion, wellbeing and connections for everyone in the community. Southside Partnership, DLR and partners are excited to lead and engage in this process, we believe this key investment in arts and culture will encourage and promote vibrant, collective community participation that will have far reaching ripples long into the future.”
