Creative Places West Cork Islands is an islands initiative funded by the Arts Council and Cork County Council.
The project aims to build sustained arts investment and create opportunities for local arts programmes across the 7 islands of Cape Clear / Oileán Chléire, Sherkin Island / Inis Arcáin, Heir Island / Inis Uí Drisceoil, Long Island / An tOileán Fada, Whiddy island / Oileán Faoide, Bere island / An tOileán Mór, Dursey island / Oileán Bao. The project duration is over a 3-year period, with an implementation period from 2023 to 2025 and is an exciting opportunity to think long-term and to build slowly.
Vision: A long-term engagement in the arts in the West Cork Islands where the integrity of community and place is developed and sustained by, with and for inhabitants.
Mission: to develop and sustain community-led cultural resilience across the seven inhabited West Cork Islands in a long-term, meaningful way that supports the environmental, social and economic well-being of place.
Aims: Creative Places West Cork Islands will endeavour to improve access to arts participation through connection and championing of the cultural and physical assets of place, critically examining new, existing and vernacular cultural models that affect and give effect to island life. This will be done through community-led and centred socially engaged arts practice, creating long-term sustainable and impactful programmes; by developing inter-island connections through shared cultural infrastructures involving local and international artists. To promote the use of the Irish language alongside the spectrum of other languages used across the West Cork Islands.
VALUES: → Inclusivity → Diversity → Celebration
Governance
Creative Places West Cork Islands is led by Cork County Council and includes a consortium of local arts and development agencies such as Bere Island Projects Group, Sherkin Island Development Society, Comharchumann Chléire and Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre.
Partnership
The Partnership Group is made up of representatives from local arts and development agencies
- Comharchumann Chléire
- Sherkin Island Development Society (Sherkin, Long & Heir Islands),
- Bere Island Projects Group (Dursey, Whiddy & Bere Islands),
- Uillinn – West Cork Arts Centre
- Cork County Council Arts Office
Project Research & Coordination
The Project Coordinator (Peter Prendergast) is responsible for the day-to-day management of the project. He works closely with the Partnership developing call-outs, managing stakeholders, and facilitating community engagement. He also leads the project’s long-term vision and evaluation and will work across the 7 islands to help develop projects in conjunction with the island communities and Partnership group. peter.prendergast(at)corkcoco.ie
Get in touch with us
If you have a project in mind, are working on a proposal through the open calls or want to know more about the opportunities surrounding Creative Places WCI, get in touch.
Creative Places West Cork Islands, Skibbereen Library, North Street, Skibbereen, Co Cork. P81 PW10.
Our Partnership
