The Welcoming Project, Culture Night 2020. Presented by Catherine Young Dance, in association with Kerry County Council, the Arts Council, Creative Ireland and Siamsa Tíre.
In 2019, we published our Equality, Human Rights and Diversity Policy, including a three-year action plan (2019 – 2021). Within this three-year plan, we have committed to collecting more information about artists that apply for and receive funding. We have new systems in place to collect information about gender, ethnicity and disability, and we report on these statistics on an annual basis. We do this to provide a clear picture of gaps we are not addressing and to inform new actions to address those gaps.
Diversity and Arts Council Awards 2020
On 30 March 2021 we published a report covering data collected during the 2020 calendar year. This report provides details of all those who applied for and received funding across our individual awards. It also looks at applicants to specialist schemes operated on our behalf by third parties: the Artist in the Community Scheme managed by Create and Arts & Disability Connect managed by Arts & Disability Ireland.
To understand the relative demographic representativeness of applicants and recipients, each of the report metrics are compared to the population of Ireland Census 2016.
Download the full report here: Diversity and Arts Council Awards 2020
Key Findings
In summarising the key findings, the following differences were found to be most pronounced.
Gender: There is a lower proportion of both applicants and recipients, and a lower award value, for those who identify as male. The average value of applications from and awards to people identifying as non-binary is higher than for either male or female applicants.
Disability: Those who have a disability are under-represented amongst applicants and recipients, as well as having a lower average value for applications and awards. Applicants with a disability were also under-represented in all but two counties compared to the local populations.
Ethnicity: The most prominent ethnicity / cultural background amongst applicants and recipients is White Irish, in line with the national population. The success rate for awards is also highest among applicants from White or White Irish backgrounds, but noticeably lower amongst those from Black or Black Irish backgrounds.
Artist in the Community Scheme: Cultural Diversity Strand Research
Alongside these general award statistics, and to offer a more human perspective on how awards are encountered, we would like to share the findings of research conducted by Create in 2019/2020 with artists from minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds who engaged with the Artist in the Community scheme. The research was undertaken by Evgeny Shtorn in his capacity as Cultural Diversity Researcher with Create and took the form of in-depth interviews with 14 artists. The research reveals the many challenges and barriers for artists from minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds, to developing and sustaining collaborative arts practice while navigating new cultural perspectives and landscapes.
The full report can be downloaded here: Creating a Welcoming Environment, Stimulating Diverse Art