Baker’s dozen in the dough under Artist Supports in Galway
A baker’s dozen of Galway artists are in the dough this week – after they were chosen as the 13 recipients of Galway County Council’s Artist Support Scheme.
A total of €33,860 will be shared between the artists working across literature, music, theatre, traditional arts and visual arts.
The funding, administered by the local authority’s Arts Office, is aimed at supporting professional artists at all stages of their careers to develop their practice and progress new work.
The successful applicants are Aisling Conneely, Alison Mac Cormaic, Ari Bhatti, Fergal Scahill, Laurie Legrand, Lorraine Stack, Máire Robinson, Maisie Lee, Moira Mahony, Peadar-Tom Mercier, Roisin Lowry, Ruth Smith and Shirley-Anne Godfrey.
Galway County Arts Officer Sharon O’Grady said the scheme plays a key role in sustaining artistic development locally.
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“This annual scheme provides essential financial support to professional artists, allowing them to develop their arts practice and artistic career,” she said. “It provides a vital bridge in funding and often positions artists to apply for larger-scale opportunities in the future.”
Athenry-based theatre artist Moira Mahony, for example, applied as an early-stage artist to develop her play Lifejacket, which she will redraft, rehearse, produce and present.
Peadar-Tom Mercier, a musician and composer from An Cheathrú Rua, will undertake a residency with the Bothy Project on the Isle of Eigg in Scotland.
Visual artist Laurie Legrand, based in Killimor, will use the award to research and develop a new body of work titled “Strategies (of simultaneous presence and invisibility)”.
The work explores the implications of data misuse and neurodivergence and will be subsequently exhibited in Cork as well as other venues.
Speaking about the award, Legrand said it offered “a valuable opportunity to focus on my work without interruptions for an extended period” and described it as “sincerely heartening to be supported by an art panel in my own county.”