Arts and Culture
Ireland has a rich heritage of arts and culture. Ireland is famous for its playwrights, authors and poets alongside actors, artists, and other creative industries. Local authorities around the country work to support these industries through funding, events, and providing spaces for artists to produce and showcase their work. Many local authorities will also have an arts office responsible for the promotion of arts and culture in their city or county.
In this section
Art and cultural centres
There are many arts and cultural centres across Ireland hosting exhibitions, performances, workshops, and fairs. These are spaces where people can learn about Ireland’s cultural history, explore their creative side, and grow as artists. Many of these centres are managed by your local authority.
These centres include:
- Art galleries
- Museums
- Theatres
- Arts centres and hubs
If you are interested in visiting an arts or cultural centre, or if you would like to put on an exhibition or performance, visit the arts section of your local authority website.
Arts and cultural events
Arts and cultural events help to showcase both Ireland’s rich cultural history and today’s talented artists, creatives and craftspeople contributing to the arts across the country. These events are held throughout the year in different locations across Ireland, including festivals, markets, street and theatre performances and online events. Many of these are run directly by your local authority.
Other organisations run events such as Culture Night and Heritage Week and the local authority provides support to promote and run them.
To find out about events in your area, visit the arts section of your local authority website or follow them on social media. If you are interested in hosting an arts or cultural event in your area, contact your local authority to find out what support they can offer.
Grant schemes and initiatives
The arts are an important part of Ireland’s history, and artists make a valuable contribution to our society. Supporting the arts allows our artistic community to continue contributing to this history and exploring our culture in new ways.
Local authorities support the arts at the local level through several grants and initiatives.
These include:
- Awards and bursary schemes for artists
- Residency programmes
- Music programmes
- Youth arts programmes
- Arts participation programmes
- Public art programmes
- Supports for arts and cultural festivals
To find out about the grants and initiatives available in your area, visit the arts section of your local authority website or browse the funding section of the website.