[ Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028, Section 15(2) Two-Year Progress Report ]
[OBJECTIVE 8.11] STRATEGIC ARTS AND CULTURE OBJECTIVE
Cork City Council celebrates Cork as a city of culture and supports the further development of Cork as a centre for arts, culture and creativity. The Cork City Arts Office enables and champions the artistic and cultural ambitions of Cork city and its people. It advises and supports the Council on all arts and cultural matters and ensures the development of arts and culture in Cork City. This is provided through investment, advocacy, connection and animation, consistent with the strategic objectives of the Cork City Council Arts and Culture Strategy 2022 – 2026. Cork City Council also promotes the cultural identity of Cork’s urban and rural city neighbourhoods by providing Community and Publication Heritage Grant Schemes. Cork City Council Arts and Culture Strategy 2022 – 2026 The Arts and Culture Strategy adopted in June 2022 was devised in alignment with Objective 8.11 of the City Development Plan. Just under two years into the five-year period of the strategy, the following are the key deliverables to date, grouped under the Strategy’s strategic priorities:
Cork City Council delivered flagship events such as Culture Night in September 2022 and 2023 with almost 100 venues offering more than more than 250 free events with attendance at 33,000, and Cruinniu na nÓg, the national day of children’s creativity, in June 2022 and 2023. Cork City Council produced new 5-year creative communities plan for embedding creativity in communities across the city and introduced a new Creative Communities Grant Scheme. Since 2023, 25 community-led creative projects have been supported. In addition, a further 30 projects championed by members of the cross- directorate culture and creativity team have been delivered, including projects such as the Ardú Street Art Initiative, the Kinship creative climate action project in Tramore Valley Park, Cork’s One City One Book, and a pilot project ‘Creative Knocknaheeny’ as a model for place-based arts development. 10 projects were funded through the ‘Arts in Context’ Scheme where professional artists work with communities of interest, and a continuous professional development programme was delivered for social-engaged artists in collaboration with Leitrim County Council Arts Office. Cork City Council supported several programmes, including the Early Years programme, bringing quality early years arts
Strategic Priority 1: Art for Everyone This priority encourages and enables more people across all our communities to access and enjoy art. As an outcome of the projects and programmes delivered below, a rich mix of arts and cultural events and experiences are driving strong public engagement, a broader diversity of people in a greater variety of contexts are experiencing art in their lives, and constituent groups in Cork City are engaged in arts and cultural experiences that are by, of and for them. Since the adoption, the strategy distributed over €1.8 million in core funding to the arts and cultural organisations across the professional and voluntary bodies that make up the arts sector in Cork city. In 2023, €894,600 was dispersed to 76 organisations and groups and in 2024, €1,000,550 has been committed to 81 organisations. This covers arts venues such as Cork Opera House and the Everyman; festivals such as the Cork Midsummer Festival and the Cork International Film Festival; galleries and artist’s studios; youth arts organisations like Graffiti Theatre and Music Generation Cork City, as well as a host of community arts groups from bands to painting groups. Collectively these organisations provide a high-quality, diverse programme for citizens from across the city whilst also establishing Cork’s cultural reputation on a national and international stage.
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