Who we are and what we do
The Arts Service works towards a society which values the arts, and recognises their positive contribution to individuals and communities. By supporting those who create art, the quality of life and the richness of cultures in Louth will be enhanced.
The Arts Service works across five main areas
Community Arts
We support creativity at community level through initiating projects which sees art being made available outside formal arts venues. Work delivered includes arts in education programs such as the Irish Alive and Mostly Female projects which make the County Art Collection, Táisce Lú, accessible to both primary and secondary schools. We facilitate older people’s participation in Bealtaine through Music in Healthcare settings. With our membership of the Creative Ireland Initiative our Louth Culture & Creativity Team also provides funding to projects that bring arts and culture directly into community settings in particular areas of disadvantage and with marginalised groups, ensuring inclusivity across the county.
Programming & Development of Art
To support artists we engage in Artist in Residency programs with some of our strategic partners as well as support artist studios and offer a range of supports in our grant schemes. We also commission new and relevant artworks across a range of media which reflect Louth’s communities, heritage and aspirations, using the Per Cent for Art Scheme. We work on facilitating murals, acquiring artwork for Taisce Lú, the Council’s visual art collection and working with arts festivals throughout the county. With Creative Ireland Louth we also seek to identify county wide projects that have impact and legacy attached to them which we can provide support to. These have included the SEEK Festival, Borrowed Ground Artist Studios and Fighting Words Projects.
Funding and Partnership
Financially supporting artists and communities in Louth through a range of tailored funding opportunities and working with organisations at Board level to further arts and creativity in our county. Funding is available through Creative Ireland Louth with our Creative Community Grants Scheme and through our CreateLouth funding with our Arts Act Grant schemes including School Music Instrument Purchase Scheme, Tyrone Guthrie Residency Scheme and the Drama League of Ireland Summer School Scholarship programme. Our Partnership with the Arts Council of Ireland, Creative Ireland and our work with our strategic partners means we can deliver a meaningful and impactful programme to communities and the arts sector in Louth.
Creative Placemaking and Climate Action
We will work closely with other sectors within the Council such as Climate Action, Public Realm and Economic Development to support the delivery of key council policies and identify areas where we can use arts and creativity to contribute to the Creative Place Making of Louth and its environs and encouraging behavioural changes with regard to Climate Action.
Information and Advice
Providing information on events and opportunities through our website, www.createlouth.ie, and through the development of publicly accessible databases such as Taisce Lú. We respond promptly to requests for information on a one-to-one basis, and provide mentoring and advisory services for artists ion our county.
Strategic Partners
We work with a number of organisations within Louth such as Creative Spark, An Tain Arts Centre, Highlanes Gallery, Music Generation Louth, DKIT, NAYD and the Droichead Arts Centre. We are also involved in a number of projects throughout the county.
