This article is from page 2 of the 2012-07-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
OFFICIAL funding for the arts in Clare has been slashed this year by almost 25 per cent leaving many small festivals and large institutions fighting for their survival.
Figures obtained from the Irish Arts Council reveal that the total amount of funding for projects in Clare fell from € 481,000 in 2011 to just € 362,000 this year – a drop of 24.7 per cent.
This latest drop comes after a series of funding cuts in recent years and is having a serious financial impact on the arts in the county.
Some of the worst hit areas include Glór, the Willie Clancy Summer School and the Clare County Council Arts Office – each of which saw major funding cuts this year.
Funding for Glór fell from € 112, 500 last year to just € 90,000 this year while the Clare County Council saw a total, year-on-year cut of almost 27 per cent with Arts Council funding dropping from € 102, 500 to € 75,000. The Willie Clancy Summer School, which last week generated millions for the local tourist industry in West Clare, saw its annual Arts Council funding cut from € 100,000 in 2011 to just € 80,000 for 2012.
Smaller local festivals have also been hit hard with the total allocated through the Small Arts Festivals Scheme dropping from € 69,000 last year to € 45,000 this year while the annual allocation to Liscannor publishing house, Salmon Poetry, fell from € 50,000 to € 42,000 this year.
Reacting to the funding announcements, Clare arts officer Siobhan Mulcahy said that Clare artists and festival organisers are resilient and would survive the funding cuts.
“These cuts represent the difficult situation artists and arts organisations find themselves in. Many of these organisations and festivals rely on Arts Council of Ireland support to keep going, but their successes over the years show that they are resilient and creative in the face of such adversity,” she told The Clare People .
“Clare County Council contin- ues to support the arts in Clare and views the arts as a key component of cultural life in the county and as a resource to be supported for the benefit of all.”
Besides the overall cuts to certain funding streams, a number of Arts Council schemes have been discontinued. Clare projects received no funding through the Deis Scheme or the Project Award scheme in 2012 but the was a one gain – with € 8,000 more coming to the county through the Bursary Scheme in 2012.
A spokesperson for the Arts Council declined to comment on the cuts but government funding for every section of the arts has been hit badly since the beginning of the recession in 2007.