Core value across all areas
The strategic context for the Arts Council’s support of arts participation and all other artforms and areas of arts practice is set out in Making Great Art Work: Arts Council Strategy (2016 –2025) (PDF, 3.29 MB). It describes how we will lead the development of the arts in Ireland over the next decade. Our strategy has five priority areas: the artist; public engagement; investment strategy; spatial and demographic planning; and developing capacity.
The Arts Council understands arts participation to include a broad range of practice where individuals or groups collaborate with skilled artists to make or interpret art. The practice involves a mutually beneficial two-way engagement that nurtures and values the different ideas, experiences and skills of all involved. Arts participation is a core value across all areas of the Arts Council's work, as we are committed to increasing public access, participation and engagement in the arts.
Because of the diverse nature of the artists, groups and communities involved in arts participation, the Arts Council subdivides the area into five different strands, each with its own set of knowledge, expertise and cross-sector partnerships. These are:
The Arts Council funds a number of key organisations and agencies that have a central role in supporting these strands of work, including