Creative Places
2020 - 2025
Creative Places Tuam
Creative Places is an Arts Council programme for places around Ireland that have not had opportunities to benefit from sustained investment in the arts and creativity.
In 2020, Create was awarded the tender to manage Creative Places Tuam, the pilot programme. The programme aims to develop a grassroots approach to creativity and arts engagement, building capacity for a rich, engaged artistic and cultural practice in the town and its hinterlands. It makes space for new ideas and new collaborations.
Creative Places Tuam has offered a number of opportunities for everyone to be involved in a meaningful way. This includes artist residencies, community funding initiatives, commissions, creative exchanges and development days, publications, short films, songs, community-based artist awards, public events including conversations with Tuam voices, and more. Creative Places Tuam is now led by a team in Tuam, following over six years of work from Create. We continue to support the work ongoing in Tuam.
Click here to visit Creative Places Tuam website
Creative Places National Network
Since the successful inception of the pilot programme in Tuam, the Arts Council has expanded the programme nationally. The new Creative Places include Athy (Kildare), Bagenalstown (Carlow), Balbriggan (North Dublin), Ballaghaderreen (Roscommon), Ballyconnell (Cavan), Baltinglass (Wicklow), , Darndale, (North Dublin), Edenderry (Offaly), Edgeworthstown (Longford), Enniscorthy (Wexford), Kilfinane (Limerick), Knocknaheeny (Cork), Loughlinstown/ Ballybrack (South Dublin), Mac Uilliam (South Dublin), Shannon (Clare), Tipperary Town, Uíbh Ráthaigh (Kerry) and the West Cork Islands.
Create managed the Creative Places Network Services from 2021 to 2024. Our aims included to connect the Creative Places awardees, provide opportunities for peer support, learning and knowledge exchange, and to contribute to the Creative Places goal to “… build local arts programmes which will benefit the people who live in these places”.
This involved regular Conferencing and Networking events, weekly informal catch ups and advisory sessions, individual mentorship for each programme’s coordinator/ researcher, etc
