About Us: History of Create

Founded in 1983, Creative Activity for Everyone came into existence following a series of seminars on community arts. One of the original aims of the organisation was to promote community based arts activities and to act as a network service for arts practitioners. The creation of CAFE, as it became known, grew out of a sense of commitment to the empowering potential of the arts and cultural democracy. The founders were committed to social and cultural equality through creative action. The beginnings of the organisation were also fuelled by a desire to be instrumental in social change. Given the volatility of the arts sector in Ireland, and the tenuous support for community arts in general, it is a testimony to the tenacity and vision of a whole group of people that CAFE grew, prevailed and survived. The organisation was at the forefront of all kinds of pioneering initiatives, providing innovative training courses for arts workers and developing an all-island database of arts skills and resources. Over time, CAFE published national funding directories for voluntary community-based work. ‘The Funding Handbook’ became renowned as an invaluable resource. Throughout the 1990s, CAFE expanded its remit taking in regions outside Dublin and at different times there were offices in Belfast, and later in Cork and Sligo.

In 2003 the name was changed to Create, reflecting that times had moved on both for the organisation in the course of its twenty year history and in the broader arts environment. Recognising that there was a real need for specialised bespoke services for artists working in different social contexts, this became an organisational priority. Project support advice, research, information provision and membership constituted the core services, signposting the key directions of Create’s work.

Artists and arts organsiations who needed someone to address their queries about collaborative arts practice and to get sound, informed and impartial advice as to the best approaches to collaborative work that would challenge, innovate and inspire now had an organisation specifically devoted to their needs.