New arts strategy hailed as ‘strong strategic framework’ as Galway County Council sets priorities for culture and community
A new five-year arts plan for County Galway has been adopted, setting out an ambitious vision for investment in artists, communities and arts infrastructure across the county.
Following almost 200 submissions gathered through public engagement across Galway’s six municipal districts, the Arts Plan 2026-2030 was adopted by Galway county councillors at the July meeting.
The plan aims to support individual artists, strengthen creative infrastructure and find new ways to connect communities with the arts.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Galway County Council Arts Officer Sharon O’Grady said the new chapter is defined by optimism, growing investment and a clearer understanding of what the county’s arts sector needs.
The previous Arts Plan was adopted in 2019, just before two defining events reshaped the cultural landscape: the Covid-19 pandemic and Galway’s year as European Capital of Culture.
At the time, Ms O’Grady said the priority was making the most of limited resources while continuing to support artists and creative organisations throughout the county.
“We needed to do a plan because the money was so small that we couldn’t do everything, so we needed to figure out what we needed to prioritise,” she said.
“We just kept our head down, and we kept working with the core things that we felt were working - with festivals, developing festivals, supporting the artists, and revising all of our open calls.”
Those years also highlighted a significant gap in the county’s arts landscape: a lack of creative infrastructure.
“We did identify the challenge of infrastructure being a huge issue, and you know artists obviously getting support was another issue,” she said. “From that, we learned a lot. That’s where we did the research.”
Looking back on the previous plan, Ms O’Grady believes substantial progress was made despite the challenges and uniquely set the scene for the introduction of a new plan that will pilot a variety of future projects.
“I do think when we go back and look at what we said we’d do; we did a lot.
“Things just feel like they’ve changed a lot, our whole programme has developed a lot, so that when we go into the future, we know what we can say yes to and we know what we’re doing, because we cannot do everything, so that’s why this is the direction.”
French performance company Gratte Ciel in Eyre Square for the recent launch of the Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture programme. © Aengus McMahon
Galway County Council Chief Executive Liam Conneally said the new plan is a “strong strategic framework” to outline where priorities lie. “It aligns with the Council’s wider ambitions for community development, wellbeing, placemaking and sustainable economic growth.”
One of the most significant projects emerging from the new plan is the development of Tuam as a long-term creative hub. The Arts Council has allocated €90,000 towards the initiative.
The Creative Places Tuam project is being led by part-time directors Fiona Hession and Joanna McGlynn, who are working “from the ground” to build relationships across the town’s communities and business sector.
“We felt like [Galway County Council] were the only organisation that could actually take it on from Galway because we have the expertise, and because we were involved in the beginning.”
Ms O’Grady said the project reflects the broader ambition of the new arts plan: creating sustainable infrastructure that can support creative activity long into the future.
“It’s in a very exciting time. I think we’ve put together a really solid plan, a plan that we know potentially we can deliver and we know we’re going to need to find extra funding in different places,” she said.
Support for Tuam’s creative hub and wider artist supports has also grown among elected members, according to Ms O’Grady, who said years of internal advocacy have helped build understanding of the value of arts investment.
When asked if Ms O’Grady has confidence in receiving future and increased funding, she said a resounding yes but not without a lot of hard work.
“This kind of work takes a long time. And it’s really based on relationships, to be honest. In my experience, relationship building is a key part of this.”
“The biggest thing I’ve noticed is if we have a director that understands what we are trying to do, they’re making a pitch. We’ve also got a couple of the councillors who understand that this money is needed, that this is not just keeping your programme going, but that it’s very specific,” Ms O’Grady said.
“It’s basically getting a return on their investment that we’ve already had.”
Looking ahead, Ms O’Grady hopes to expand her four-person team with the addition of a Public Arts Curator. The role would help activate funding opportunities for artists and organisations, ensuring available funding streams are fully utilised and directing more resources into the local arts sector.
Annual targets under the Arts Plan will be monitored throughout its lifetime, with a mid-term review scheduled for 2028 and a full evaluation taking place in 2030.
The completed plan is expected to be published this autumn.