Closing Date: 4pm Monday 11th September 2023

Following an application for funding under Strand 2 of the Creative Places national programme,  Roscommon County Council, together with representatives in Ballaghaderreen, was successful in receiving a Research and Development Award for Ballaghaderreen.

We are now looking for a number of Artist-Researchers to join our project, from any arts discipline,  and to be part of a socially engaged Artist Research Team who will engage with the Ballaghaderreen community.

About Creative Places

Creative Places is an opportunity for places to build local arts programmes which will benefit the communities living in these areas. The funding builds on existing cultural strengths by supporting artists to work with local businesses, community groups and individuals to lead an inclusive, diverse programme, rooted in socially engaged practice and community development principles, to enable
sustained and vibrant cultural activity in the areas.

The Arts Council-led programme is underpinned by a commitment in its Making Great Art Work 2016–2025 strategy to increase engagement in the arts, whereby the Arts Council invests directly in a place and its people, working with key local partners to uncover each location’s key assets, resources and ambitions.

In particular, this Research & Development funding will create a better understanding of the evolving and new community profile in the Ballaghaderreen area and its particular interests and needs in relation to arts and culture. It will engage with the local community, inclusive of arts and cultural workers and practitioners, to imagine and develop a vision for Creative Places Ballaghaderreen.

To learn more, visit: https://www.artscouncil.ie/News/Creative-Places-2023

Budget / Fee: €9,000

Up to three individual artists will be offered a fee of €9,000 to work with an identified community group. Budget is inclusive of the artist’s time, travel & accommodation. There is a separate budget for each specific programme and materials throughout the year, e.g. Culture Night Programme, Bealtaine Programme.

Role of the Artist-Researcher

Roscommon County Council are looking for Artist-Researchers who can work creatively with a local community group to develop a vision for Creative Places Ballaghaderreen, establishing local interests and needs from the community’s perspective.

Artists are invited to apply as individuals or as a team, but it is not necessary for artists to have worked with each other previously. This call out is to establish a panel of experienced artists as an Artist-Researcher Team who will work together with and be supported by Roscommon County Council Arts Office in their research of Creative Places Ballaghaderreen.

Each Artist-Researcher will engage in an exploratory Residency with their community group. The outcomes will include Pilot Programmes including, potentially, a temporary Public Art Commission for the town centre (exploring / developing identity).

This call out is open to artists from any arts background or medium, but experience in socially engaged arts practice and community facilitation and engagement is required.

Period of engagement

The project is for a period of 12 months with dates and format of the Residencies to be confirmed with the Artist-Research Team. We are proposing activity to commence from October 2023 onwards.

The Artist-Researchers will be part of the initial Public Consultation and Focus Group phase to identify target community groups.
Thereafter each respective community group would have approximately 200 contact hours with their Artist-Researcher. 

Roscommon County Council Arts Office will arrange to meet with the Artist-Research Team once a month. This meeting will include sharing updates from each residency and to plan future project steps to ensure a cohesive and collaborative research enquiry process and outcomes. The Arts Office will be responsible for updating the Creative Places Ballaghaderreen Steering Group.

The Creative Places Ballaghaderreen Steering Group will hold a quarterly meeting with the Artist-Research Team to offer support, give contacts, and deal with any queries and concerns that may arise. The Artist-Research Team will be expected to share project updates to the Group. 

On project completion, appointed artists will be expected to create a final report with their community group which will be included in the larger evaluation of the project.

How to apply

Please email

• A CV
• Three or four examples of relevant work with community groups to include images, a description and links to any video and documentation.
• Two references relating to the examples
• A short letter of interest (1 page of A4 max) or a link to a 5-minute audio file/video of yourself talking which highlights:
  - What interests you about this project and this place?
  - Your approach to working with communities
  - Propose the type of group/s you are interested in working with

For queries and submission email Mary at msmyth@roscommoncoco.ie

Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated by the Creative Places Ballaghaderreen Steering Group which includes representatives from the local authority, local community development organisations, arts organisations and community groups.

Applications will be evaluated based on the applicants’ experience and ambition for the project

Note:
Those interested in applying as an Artist-Researcher for the project may be interested in attending
Ballaghaderreen’s first arts festival ‘Ballagh-Dream’ which will take place August 5th-13th (www.ballaghdreamartsfest.ie)