Arts Plan 2012-2016 - Offaly County Council

Introduction6Culture and the Arts has become one of Offaly’s greatest assets in recent years.From a time of uncertainty in the arts, it has grown in confidence and leadershipto punch confidently above its weight in areas such as film, arts and health andcontemporary dance.offaly county councilOffaly has shown its capacity to assertively hostnational events such as the Fleadh Cheoil nahÉireann and to boldly generate innovative newfestival events such as the I.F.O.N.L.Y. DanceFestival and the OFFline Film Festival.It has become a haven for artists with over 300professional artists working in the county, manyof whom are proactive citizens in thecommunity at the fore of cultural andcommunity development. Offaly is a place ofrich histories and proud communities. There isa wealth of collective and individual creativeactivity contributing to the vitality of the county 1Our challenge and intention through this plan, isto manage our resources so that this recentcultural growth is not just sustained, but isencouraged further to enable all citizens andcommunities to find new ways to realise theirpreferred contribution to society and write thefuture cultural legacies of this county.Our priority in a challenging financialenvironment is to invest in innovative projectsand events that support excellence in artspractice, cultural tourism, social inclusion andincreased access to the arts. The strategicdirections outlined in this plan, are inevitablyflexible to our changing circumstances.1. See Appendix 1 on page 55 for a list of cultural organisations in the county