Over €127k for cross-border cultural projects

Over €127,500 in funding has been approved for cross-border cultural projects under Cooperation with Northern Ireland Scheme 2019.

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan today announced the funding to support cultural projects with a significant cross-border element.

Eighteen projects across 30 applicants are benefitting, within maximum funding of €15,000 available per applicant.

Projects range from exhibitions, workshops and cultural events and involve bodies on both sides of the border cooperating in a cultural context.

Some examples of the projects being funded include the Smashing Times Theatre & Film Company. They are producing an arts-based project using creative processes of theatre, film and new digital technologies to promote peace building and positive community relations between people and traditions in Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland today.

Support is also being provided to Sticky Fingers, established 2002 to providing arts and cultural programs for children and families across Northern Ireland and the border counties. The fuding will be used to provide an opportunity to create an art trail, using visual arts to define and connect the two sides of the border from the perspective of young artists on their understanding and interpretation of the folklore and cultural heritage associated with the border region.

Speaking today Minister Madigan said: “We have a wonderful tapestry of art, music, film and heritage throughout the island of Ireland. The Cooperation with Northern Ireland Scheme 2019 is an important opportunity to recognise that culture has no borders and to celebrate this across the whole island of Ireland and encourage support at this particularly challenging political time.”