www.cultureireland.gov.ie
Culture Ireland recently announced details of its summer funding round: over ?400,000 was awarded to 80 arts projects across Europe, USA, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Australia. A number of younger Irish traditional bands have been supported to tour North America, having made a strong impact during Culture Ireland’s promotional mission to New York earlier this year. Among others, Téada will be performing at the Edmonton Folk Festival in Alberta, Canada, while Slide, Líadan and the David Munnelly Band will play at various music festivals across the United States.
“The strong demand for emerging traditional groups during our promotion at the APAP arts market in New York has translated into a strong list of festival and touring engagements. More generally, we are also seeing a gradual move towards a collaborative and co-production model with international partners, which is a more sustainable long-term model for presenting work abroad” said Eugene Downes, Chief Executive of Culture Ireland

Culture Ireland’s Autumn 2008 call for projects taking place from November onwards has a 15th August deadline for receipt of applications, with decisions in September.
Full detail of the awards can also be found online at www.cultureireland.gov.ie.