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Year two of the Creative Places Baltinglass programme – which will see an investment of nearly €400,000 in local art programmes over three years - was officially launched in Rathcoran Estate recently.
The event provided the opportunity for Wicklow County Council representatives to meet with leaders of local organisations and projects and to hear from community members and creative practitioners about their Creative Places journey.
The Creative Places initiative was devised by the Arts Council of Ireland to provide communities and places that had not benefited from sustained arts investment in the past with funding and professional support to build their local arts programmes and benefit people living in these places.
Baltinglass is one of 17 places in Ireland selected for the Creative Places scheme that brought €1.7m in investment across the country and provided over 100,000 people in rural areas with access to the arts.
Spearheaded by the Wicklow County Council Arts Office, the Creative Places Baltinglass programme aims to build on existing cultural strengths in Baltinglass, encourage community participation and support local artists.