About
ART:2016
An open call to the Irish imagination.
ART:2016 is the Arts Council's programme as part of Ireland 2016.The Arts Council is placing the artist and the arts at the centre of how it responds to the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. The role of artists in the Celtic Revival and in the events leading up to the Rising cannot be underestimated. They challenged and provoked a different narrative that sought to imagine a new, culturally defined Ireland. In the century since the Rising, artists have continued to be the great signifiers of our island. Their work has been the enduring imagination of what Ireland can become.
ART:2016 is a diverse and distinctive public showcase of Irish art which will be presented across Ireland and abroad throughout the year. Key programme strands include the Open Call National Project Awards, which feature cutting-edge, contemporary art events in dance, visual arts, poetry and music; the Next Generation Bursary Awards which highlight the work of eighteen rising stars of Irish art; and A Nation’s Voice, an open-air, free concert at Collins Barrack on Easter Sunday, featuring new choral and orchestral work by Shaun Davey and Paul Muldoon, and the voices of a 1,100-strong choir. ART:2016 also includes a selection of national touring productions.
ART:2016 is part of the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme and is supported by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and created with a range of partners; local, national and international.
