19 October 2007: Arts Council awards a further €545,000 to bursary recipients

The Arts Council is delighted to announce today its decisions on the second round of Bursary Awards for 2007. A total of €545,005 has been offered to a further 54 individuals, bringing the total amount awarded to bursaries in 2007 to €1,494,621, an increase of almost €260,000 on the previous year. Nine individuals were awarded multi-annual bursaries in this round, bringing to 44 the number of artists now in receipt of multi-annual bursaries.

The Arts Council has awarded a total of 146 Bursary Awards to artists this year; 21 more than in 2006.

Speaking following the announcement of the decisions, Mary Cloake, Director of the Arts Council said, "I am confident that today’s announcement demonstrates the Council’s ongoing commitment to assisting artists in realising their artistic ambitions. The Bursary Award is a central means of achieving this and it is our intention to continue improving this and all our supports to artists into the future.

The purpose of an Arts Council bursary is to support professional artists at all stages in their careers and in the development of their arts practice. The aim of the award is to allow artists, working in any context or in any artform, to buy space and freedom to concentrate on a body of work and provide the equipment, facilities and third party expertise to develop practice.

Recipients can receive up to a maximum of €15,000 per year through the Bursary award. A number of multi-annual bursaries, which offer artists funding for up to a three-year period, are available each year.

The Arts Council is the Irish Government agency for developing the arts.