Sligo Arts Service sits in the Directorate of LIVE, INVEST, VISIT (Culture) in Sligo County Council.
The role of the Arts Services Department is to encourage, foster and support cultural activity in Sligo through a policy-based approach.
We offer a range of supports to arts venues, workspaces and organisations, festival and event organisers, artists and practitioners.
The Arts Act 2003 Defines the arts as:
‘any creative or interpretative expression (whether traditional or contemporary) in whatever form and including in particular visual arts, theatre, literature, music, dance, opera, film, circus and architecture and includes any medium when used for those purposes.’
“Sustain, Renew, Collaborate” is the title of the current Arts Plan 2020-2025 and this guides our work and sets out the vision, mission & core values of the department. In summary:
VISION 2020-2025:
To create an environment where the arts is widely recognised & valued across all sectors of society support an ecosystem where the arts thrive - benefiting artists, communities and visitors to the county.
To make Sligo a place where everyone actively values and celebrates arts and creativity as central to all of our lives; and where the arts and culture are confident, connected and thriving.
MISSION 2020-2025:
Work in partnership with key stakeholders to deliver a high-quality arts service for the people of Sligo & promote greater public involvement in the arts.
Work with the arts community to promote culture and creativity as an expression of contemporary Sligo at a national and international level.
Consolidate and to strengthen and promote it, by integrating the arts into Sligo County Council’s cultural, social, economic and tourism development policies and by working in partnership with the key stakeholders in Sligo and the region, to ensure the arts are central to civic life in Sligo.
Through a range of responsive and new programmes, invigorate the artistic and creative life of Sligo with additional resources including new funding streams, developing & deepening relationships among artists and communities
CORE VALUES:
- To promote the value of the arts as an essential component in building balanced, inclusive communities with a sense of their own identity.
- To promote inclusiveness and wider access for all citizens who wish to be involved in the arts.
- To develop and deliver an arts service in a fair, open and transparent manner.
- To develop sustainable policies in consultation with the various departments of Sligo County Council, relevant organisations and community groups in the context of local, national and international arts policies and trends.
Link to current and previous arts plans: http://www.sligoarts.ie/Publications/ArtsPlansandStrategies/
Arts Services Department Contacts
General Enquiries:
Clerical Officer with responsibility for arts: Michelle Dunleavy mdunleavy@sligococo.ie
Arts Officer: Averyl Dooher: adooher@sligococo.ie
Assistant Arts Officer: Awaiting Appointment
