The Hide Sculpture by Garrett Phelan, commissioned by Fingal County Council, one of the sites for An Urgent Enquiry, Invitation to Collaboration, 2017

Invitation to Collaboration

Invitation to Collaboration supports regional and national initiatives in the field of local-authority-led arts development. The scheme is rooted in the policies set out in the Arts Council’s ten-year strategy (2016-2025), Making Great Art Work: Leading the Development of the Arts in Ireland (0.22 MB), and in A Framework for Collaboration: An Agreement Between the Arts Council and the County and City Management Association (1.5MB, PDF). The emphasis is placed on supporting partnerships that focus on developing projects, resources or services that are ambitious and are testing new ground. The following projects were funded in 2017. 

Exit 15
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown with Queens University, Belfast City Council, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Voluntary Arts Ireland and Create

Exit 15 is an creative place programme responding to the artistic aspirations of local people in the Ballyogan area of DLR. It is coupled with an action research project led by Queens University in tandem with two other local authorities and arts partners with extensive experience in arts and communities of interest.

Dance and Health
Kildare County Council with Tipperary and Kerry County Council and Dance Ireland

A Dance and Health action research programme to deepen the place of dance in healthcare in partnership with regionally based local authorities, communities and dance artists with the overall aim of providing a model that can be used nationally.

Local Arts Research
Leitrim County Council, with Kildare, Fingal and Limerick with Indecon and Prof. John O’Hagan

A research project which represents a strategic intention by the local authority partners, who all work in different contexts, to examine Arts Service work practices in a variety of contexts, to better understand their changing roles, inform future policy development and meet the sector’s needs.

Symphony for the Blind
Clare County Council with the Irish Memory Orchestra, Arts and Disability Ireland and National Council for the Blind 

A research and development participatory orchestral project for musicians who are visually impaired leading to the composition of a new work and to create a learning and supportive environment for musicians, which will be artistically led by the Irish Memory Orchestra and 3L an online teaching resource.

The Autonomy Project
Limerick City and County Council with UL, Dance Limerick, Music Generation, GOSHH

The Autonomy Project is a multi-disciplinary youth programme, led by Lisa McLoughlin which focuses on tolerance and action through art culminating with week-long performance / installation and symposium with international contributors on art and autonomy in UL led by Dr Niamh NicGhabhann. Facilitating artists in the youth projects will be mentored by Amanda Coogan.

An Urgent Enquiry
Wexford County Council with Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council

A collaborative and interdepartmental enquiry with biodiversity officers to research new models of future public art commissioning with focusing on the pertinent issue of art and biodiversity, common to their eastern coastlines, which will take the form of a forum in each county coastline with invite local national and international art & biodiversity experts to contribute to the research and development.