Heather Humphreys TD, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, let key people across the culture and art scene including Irish in Britain know all about the Creative Ireland programme.
Caption: Denzyl Feigelson, adviser to iTunes and Apple Music; Minister Humphreys; Kevin Rowland of Dexys Midnight Runners; Ambassador Dan Mulhall; Orla Kiely, designer pictured at the Creative Ireland event in the Irish Embassy in London.
The programme, which is a five–year initiative placing creativity at the heart of public policy, was outlined at the Irish Embassy in London yesterday.
Creative Ireland is the Irish Government’s Legacy Programme for Ireland 2016, which will run until 2022.
Minister Humphreys, emphasized the importance of showcasing Irish culture, saying, “I am pleased to take the opportunity to present Creative Ireland to key stakeholders across the Irish arts sector in London and to ask for their support. It is important to me that Irish artists at home and abroad are given the opportunity to participate in this ambitious five year initiative, which aims to place culture at the centre of our lives, for the betterment of our people and for the strengthening of our society.
“The Diaspora thoroughly embraced the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme, and this is especially true here in London where a series of fantastic commemorative events were held.”
The Minister will also meet with representatives of the London St Patricks Day Festival which will take place from 17–19 March. Supported by Culture Ireland, it includes top Irish musicians performing on the main stage at Trafalgar Square with a street parade and street performances by Macnas.
The Festival, now in its 15th year, attracts over 100,000 people and explores the rich diversity of Irish culture across the city in many London venues as well as showcasing world–class Irish artists in London. More than €140,000 in Culture Ireland funding has already been announced to support Irish artists to perform across the UK in 2017, with a further grant round to be announced in April.
Ambassador of Ireland in Great Britain, Daniel Mulhall is pleased with the programme saying,
“As Ambassador, I attach great priority to the promotion of Irish culture in Britain and to the cultural links between our two countries. I value Creative Ireland as an exciting opportunity to encourage creativity and to enhance further its standing and to celebrate Irish cultural vibrancy and diversity.”
The Creative Ireland programme is built around five pillars, which are:
- Enabling the Creative Potential of Every Child
- Enabling Creativity in Every Community
- Investing in our Creative and Cultural Infrastructure
- Ireland as a Centre of Excellence in Media Production
- Unifying our Global Reputation