COMMUNITY arts, arts and disability, regional development and festivals will benefit most from the Arts Council's grant allocations for 1997, announced yesterday.
The council has a budget of £20.9 million this year, an increase of £2.5 million on 1996. Half of that increase goes to local arts development. The council's recently established Development Unit will liaise with arts agencies and community groups to carry out this work.
"We believe that the arts are not a luxury that should be reserved for the few, but a right that should be accessible to all, said Ms Patricia Quinn, the council's director.
"There is enormous public interest in all forms of artistic endeavour right around the country. People see the arts as having a real part to play in their lives, and there is a growing demand from both artists and the public for access at all levels. We are confident that the allocation of our funding this year will make a real difference in addressing these issues of accessibility."
This new commitment takes account of the recent publication, Poverty, Access and Participation in the Arts, which was jointly commissioned by the Arts Council and the Combat Poverty Agency. There will be an increase of £15,000 for community arts and a 100 per cent increase in the disability budget.
Other significant increases are in the areas of visual arts, drama and multi disciplinary arts. There also an increase of 15 per cent in bursaries and awards to individual artists. Members of Aosdana will be given a small increase in the cnuas, the first in five years.
Ms Quinn said: "More than 21,500 people are employed full time in the arts in Ireland, generating an annual turnover of £380 million, and the lives of vast numbers of people are enriched through contact with the arts."
Children and young people will benefit in the shape of increased funding for the Ark in Temple Bar, Dublin, and for the Kilkenny based Young Irish Film Makers There is also a new grant for Baboro the Galway based childrens festival. Macra na Feirme receives £27,000 for its work in promoting links between local authorities and the voluntary sector.
Arts centres around the State will get more funding, and the new Letterkenny Arts Centre gets a grant for the first time.
There will be a system of three year funding cycles on a pilot basis to six theatre organisations the Dublin Theatre Festival, Rough Magic, TEAM, Bickerstaffe (Kilkenny), the Hawkswell (Sligo) and Druid (Galway).