There are some big winners in this year's investment by the Arts Council in cultural organisations. The Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO), the Gate Theatre, dance companies and arts festivals did well from the council's biggest annual funding round, announced yesterday. Deirdre Falvey, Arts Editor, reports.
The council's annual budget is up 11 per cent to €80 million this year, and rather than spread the funding thinly, it opted to prioritise by giving substantial increases to a number of companies to allow them to do specific projects.
The ICO, based in Limerick, has its grant increased this year by €185,000, to €1,130,000, to allow it to employ wind and brass musicians on contracts rather than an occasional basis, and to bring its subscription series to Cork.
ICO chief executive John Kelly was pleased with the increase yesterday, which he feels is "an endorsement of ICO's hard work over the past 20 years".
The Gate Theatre's annual grant goes up this year by €150,000, to €1 million. In previous years, Gate artistic director Michael Colgan has complained about how badly the theatre has fared in State funding.
The increase this year reflects a very good programme, including a production of Sweeney Todd. Mr Colgan could not be contacted yesterday as he was travelling home after a successful Gate Beckett season at the Sydney Festival.
The Cork Midsummer Festival's grant has increased this year by €82,000 to €187,000, and the Galway Arts Festival's grant has increased by €85,000 to €530,000.
The Abbey Theatre in Dublin, for which a three-year funding programme was announced last year, is to receive €8.5 million in 2007, an increase of €1.3 million on last year. Other big increases go to Film Base, Druid Theatre, Corn Exchange Theatre and the World Association of Symphonic & Brass Ensembles, a first-time applicant which has got a one-off grant of €60,000 for its world convention in Killarney this July.
Other organisations which have got revenue funding for the first time are: Association of Irish Stage Technicians €10,000; Irish Architecture Foundation €50,000; Co Kildare street theatre company Artastic €10,000; Airfield Trust €5,000; Ardbia Gallery in Galway €5,000; Four Gallery €12,000; Highlanes Gallery in Drogheda €10,000; Ionad Ealaíona Iorras (Mayo) €7,500; Solstice Arts Centre (Navan) €25,000; Source Arts Centre €25,000, Music In Great Irish Houses €20,000 and Sundays at Noon €27,950.
The council's director, Mary Cloake, said that she was happy with the funding decisions, although, she added that "there were at least 20 other stellar projects, first-class ideas, that we'd love to have been able to support if we had the resources".
Last December, in advance of this general round of funding offers, the council announced revenue funding in what it sees as a few key areas - circus, opera and traditional arts - as well as funding for local authorities.
The Ramor Theatre in Cavan got an increase in funding to €50,000, which gives a well-rounded boost to the theatre. Its resident theatre company, Livin Dred, has just got project funding for The Tinker's Curse, a new play by Michael Harding, and both Ramor and Livin Dred are members of the Nomad venues group in the north midlands, which this month received Arts Council touring money for the play, Conversations on a Homecoming.
Ramor theatre manager Mary Hanley and Livin Dred co-founder Padraic McIntyre said that "we were in wilderness for a while. At last the Arts Council is beginning to acknowledge the contribution regional theatre can make".
Two organisations that had a drop in funding this year were the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival - down to €20,000 from €70,000 - and Cork University Press, which received €16,000, down from €21,500 last year.