Ireland is on the eve of a great anniversary; the centenary of the proclamation of the republic. In response the Arts Council is planning a national programme, an open call to artists and arts organisations, to surprise and renew the state.  Through support from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the programme will take place throughout 2016. It is a platform to the public and the state, and a unique opportunity for artists to invigorate the Irish imagination.

Celebrating the Centenary of the Easter Rising 1916 in art and ideas, the state again has turned to its artists. In the century since the rising artists have been the great signifiers of our island. Their work, created in hope has been the enduring imagination of what Ireland can become. Irish artists once, created a body of work, inseparable from the rising. Now this call is to create work that will be forever inseparable from its centenary.

The Arts Council’s programme, which forms part of the Government’s Ireland 2016 Programme, will include an Open Call for National Projects, 16x16 Artists' Bursaries, a special 2016 strand of touring as well as a large scale national event to be announced later.

• The open call for national projects gives artists and arts organisations the opportunity to engage with the centenary through the creation of ambitious projects.  An international jury will select the final projects.
• The 16 x 16 artists’ bursaries will allow a new generation of artists to pursue their practice. 
• The current Touring and Dissemination of Work scheme will have a specific 2016 strand.

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