Up to €300k to be available in Louth to deliver artist workspaces

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, has today announced details of a new pilot scheme that will enable Louth County Council to increase the provision of Artist Workspaces in the county.

Funding will be made available for projects that focus on the delivery of infrastructure to increase availability and access to Artist Workspaces.

A capital grant, up to a maximum of €300,000 will be made available to Louth County Council for a single project under the scheme and would itself provide match funding of 40%.

Research conducted by the Minister's department, and ongoing engagement with the creative and night-time economy sectors, over the last number of years has revealed demand for artist workspaces far outweighs supply and that there is a widespread shortage of creative spaces such as studios and performance spaces, across the country.

The Department Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media said that it recognises that Local Authorities are instrumental in delivering the infrastructure necessary to provide a number of artists´ workspaces nationwide. 43% of all Visual Artists’ Workspace buildings are owned by Local Authorities. In view of this the Department engaged with a number of Local Authorities ahead of developing this scheme.

Commenting on the scheme, Minister Martin said “As Minister for the Arts, I have been acutely aware of the pressures that artists and creatives, including those in the electronic music sector, have faced in finding suitable workspaces and that is why I made a commitment to provide capital funding towards the provision of artist workspaces.

"Much of our cultural infrastructure is initiated by our local authorities and they have been a crucial resource in the delivery of arts and culture interventions over many decades."