Arts Plan 2012-2016 - Offaly County Council

Festivals48offaly county councilFestivals in Offaly are one of Offaly’s bestassets in terms of our cultural tourism andeconomic potential. We have a highconcentration of festivals and events and newevents appear almost annually. Since the lastarts plan 3 new festivals have become wellestablished (Hullabaloo, IFONLY, OFFline FilmFestival) and newer ones are in developmentsuch as (Bo Leictreach Green Play Festival andTulllamore Arts Festival). We greatly appreciatethe mammoth community and voluntary effortthat goes into these events and have outlinedhere ways in which we can support anddevelop this sector.Objectives1. Given Offaly’s capacity to attract big eventssuch as the Fleadh Cheoil/NationalPloughing and the annual Tullamore Show,there should be an openness toaccommodate new large events as theyarise, particularly those which areprofessionally organised, culturally uniqueand would place the county on the map.2. Review how festivals and major events aresupported by Offaly Local Authorities andother agencies in Offaly and those whohave a remit in the county, to ensure astrategic and synchronized approach.3. Provide advice and information to festivalson their arts programming, and encouragethe inclusion of youth arts projects/eventsand arts forms which have not beenexplored such as film, literature or danceas appropriate.4. Create an annual calendar of events forOffaly that can be linked to service providers,tourism agencies and shared online.5. Explore with other agencies how to build agreater national profile of the festivals andevents in Offaly.6. Develop a new funding scheme for festivalsin Offaly that will reward innovative artsprogramming and those who areidentifying new ways to engage audiences.7. Facilitate and encourage festivals to thinkmore strategically about their own planningand development in areas such asgovernance, programming and marketing.8. Find ways in which festivals can develop anaudience with the diaspora of their locality.9. Facilitate potential festival venues,particularly public buildings and amenitiesto participate in the cultural celebration oftheir town, as appropriate.10. Encourage and facilitate festivals andevents to broaden and maximize theirfunding opportunities, such as the ArtsCouncils’ Small Festival’s Scheme, FailteIreland, Offaly Local DevelopmentCompany, and encourage local business tocontribute in kind.11. Encourage festivals to avail of specialistadvice and funding opportunities aimed atthe festival and voluntary, communitysector.