Projects and activities

Answers to questions about Arts Council projects, partnerships, initiatives and activities.

How does the Arts Council define an artform - e.g. Circus or Dance?

Our short policy statements summarising the Arts Council’s position on over 20 areas of work, provide an outline of how we understand these areas of work. These statements are available from the Arts in Ireland section of the website.

Can you help me find historical information about an artist, organisation or artwork?

Unfortunately the Arts Council does not provide the type of service you require. You might refer to a librarian in the institution/ organisation to which you are affiliated. You can access a list of contact details for libraries in Ireland from Library.ie. Library.ie is a portal site for libraries in Ireland. The site is managed by An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, the state agency for public libraries and library co-operation. Library.ie aims to be your first stop on the web for information relating to libraries in Ireland: public, academic, special www.library.ie

What is the Arts Council policy on Irish language literature/Dance/Theatre ... ?

You can find details of Arts Council policy by going to the Arts in Ireland section of the website. Here you will find short policy statements summarising the Arts Council’s position on over 20 areas of work outlining: draft policy area profiles, strengths, challenges, and what might be done by the Arts Council and others to address these challenges. You can also download a copy of Partnership for the Arts: In Practice (PDF, 0.31 MB) which is the Arts Council’s action plan for the next three years and outlines our programme of work

What does the Arts Council do other than provide financial assistance?

Our core functions under the Arts Act 2003 are to:

stimulate public interest in the arts;
promote knowledge, appreciation and practice of the arts;
assist in improving standards in the arts;
advise the Minister and other public bodies on the arts.

We do this by:

providing financial assistance, mainly, but not exclusively, to artists and arts organisations;
we also support others who develop and promote the arts;
offering advice and information on the arts to Government and to others;
publishing research and information as an advocate for the arts and artists;
undertaking a range of projects to promote and develop the arts, often in partnership with others.

The Arts Council publishes a free monthly email newsletter which includes information about current Arts Council events and news, including updates on funding deadlines and decisions. You can sign up for the newsletter here.

Also information on our past activities from 1951 to the present is available in our Annual Reports in the Publications section.