Creative Ireland

Programme Information

Creative and Cultural Strategy 2023 – 2027 Consultation.

Click the links below for details of ongoing and past Creative Ireland Laois projects and events

Creative Ireland Laois Projects 2022

Creative Ireland Laois Projects 2021

Creative Ireland Laois Projects 2020

Opportunities

For all opportunities arising from the Creative Ireland programme in Laois click here.

Artist Aishling Hennessy with family and friends at the Fad Faces outdoor drive-by art exhibition supported by Creative Laois as part of the Creative Ireland Programme (2017-2022) in partnership with Laois County Council. The exhibition celebrated the lives and stories of older people in Laois, through traditional portrait painting and digital art by a selection of local artists on SundayÊ18th July at Laois Co. Council Plaza.Ê
Picture: Alf Harvey.

Creative Ireland Programme

Creative Ireland is a five-year Programme which connects people, creativity and wellbeing. It is an all-of-government culture and wellbeing programme that inspires and transforms people, places and communities through creativity. Working with Creative Ireland at national level, the Laois Culture Team is committed to the vision that every person in Ireland should have the opportunity to realise their full creative potential.

Through partnerships with local and national government, cultural and enterprise agencies and local enterprise, Creative Ireland creates pathways and opportunities for people and communities to unlock their creative potential.

The Programme is built around key themes: Creative Youth, Creative Communities, Creative Places, Creative Nation.

Creative Communities is a local authority-led initiative which pioneers and supports local creative projects in arts, heritage, local history, STEAM and the creative industries. In Laois, the Creative Communities Programme is led by the Laois Culture Team, working to deliver a five-year Culture and Creativity Strategy for the County.

Laois Culture Team members with Tania Banotti Director of Creative Ireland and Cllr Willie Aird, Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council, at the Arthouse Stradbally in 2019. Photo Michael Scully.

The over-arching theme of the Creative Communities programme in Laois is “Sense of Place” and we aim to create a county in which culture and creativity are recognised as integral to life with opportunities for everyone in the county to become involved in creativity and culture be that as initiators and innovators as well as participants and audiences.

The values inherent in achieving our ambitious programme include,
-Striving for excellence in all areas of cultural and creativity
-Building the confidence of Laois to take its place as a leader in the cultural arena
-Using creativity to improve quality of life in Laois
-Embedding a culture of collaboration within the local authority and the wider community

Participants who have recently completed the Azure Dementia Inclusive Training as part of Laois Arts Office and Irish Museum of Modern Art partnership programme. Supported by Creative Laois as part of the Creativity in Older Age fund – Creative Ireland Programme (2017-2022) in partnership with Laois County Council. From left: Antoinette Breen, Castletown; Muireann Ni Chonaill, Laois Arts Officer; Sarah Delany, The Art House Stradbally; Caroline Schofield, Kilkenny; Sandra McAllister, Bennettsbridge and Angela Delaney, Portlaoise.
Picture: Alf Harvey.