PRESS RELEASE

Culture Ireland has awarded almost €700,000 in grant funding to over 80 projects, across all art forms, following a recent grants decision meeting.

Over the coming months, a wide range of Irish artists and companies will present their award-winning work to international audiences across the US, Asia, Europe and South Africa.

see full list of projects funded

Theatre highlights include the Barabbas production of Circus and Gare St Lazare’s production of Beckett’s First Love, both of which will tour to the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, New Haven, Connecticut (June 2009) with the latter also touring to Grahamstown and Capetown in South Africa (July 2009). 

Irish contemporary dance is particularly in demand internationally with five companies planning to tour extensively over the coming months including Irish Modern Dance Theatre who will perform The White Piece at Dance Landscapes, a network of three festivals in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine (April 2009) and Dance Theatre of Ireland who will bring their production of Block Party to Korea (May 2009) and London (June 2009).
One of the most exciting new projects in receipt of funding is the Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre and English National Opera co-production of a new version of the Rite of Spring scheduled for November 2009. 

Classical, contemporary, jazz and traditional music are all represented in an extensive Spring touring schedule which includes Opera Theatre Company’s production of Handel’s Orlando which will receive its international premiere at the Buxton Festival (July 2009), Na Píobairí Uileann’s extensive tour of Piperlink (May - September 2009), Kevin Brady and Organics performing a tour of Mexico (March-April 2009) and performances by Gemma Hayes, Liza Izabor and The Republic of Loose at the US Ireland Alliance Oscar Wilde event to honour Brendan Gleeson, Jonathan Rhys Myers and Hylda Queally in Los Angeles (February 2009).

New Irish film features prominently in a range of prestigious festivals including specialist showcases by Kerry Film Festival at Sundance, Cork Film Festival in Morocco, the Craic Film and Music Festival in New York and the London Irish Film Festival. Paul Rowley’s acclaimed feature documentary Seaview will tour to Berlin and ten other cities between February and March 2009.

Over 17 visual arts exhibitions and performances have received funding support.  Highlights include Ground, an exhibition of contemporary Irish art hosted by the George Moore Society at the American Irish Historical Society in New York (February – March 2009) and Drawing Eire, curated by 411 Galleries, which will tour to Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou from March 2009.

Vona Groarke, Conor O’Callaghan, Maurice Scully, Paul Perry, Gabriel Rosenstock, Kevin Higgins, Susan Millar DuMars, Thomas McCarthy and Sebastian Barry are amongst a large contingent of Irish writers who will give readings of their work in literature festivals across the United States, Europe and China. 

Full details of the December grants round is available from: www.cultureireland.gov.ie/grants.  For further information on Culture Ireland funding programmes and initiatives, contact Madeline Boughton at +353 1 631 3906 or email MadelineBoughton@dast.gov.ie