Arts Council announces award increases
The Arts Council has announced major changes to its award schemes, including an increase in its support for individual artists and new schemes for commissions and projects.
The Council is to increase direct and indirect support to individual artists next year by £790,000, bringing total funding to £2.25m in 2002 as compared to £1.5m this year; the upper ceiling on individual awards will also be raised by 100%.
The new schemes, which relate to all the artforms and will replace or enhance existing awards, have been specifically designed to encourage collaboration by artists across different artforms, and to recognise innovation in artistic practice or media.
The Council was in Galway for its annual two-day policy meeting and made the announcement at a civic reception hosted by Galway County Council in Ballinasloe.
