Town of Shannon to bloom under 'Creative Places' partnership

Clare County Council is delighted to announce that the Clare Arts Office has been successful in its application to the Arts Council to further develop Shannon as one of its 19 'Creative Places' nationwide.

Supported by artists and led by local people, 'Creative Places' celebrates people-powered arts. Established in 2019, it is a programme of sustained arts investment, enabling people to create and run vibrant, accessible and stimulating arts programmes in their own local area.

Shannon was one of the research and development towns; and over the last number of years, with the support of Clare Arts Office, has seen the emergence of a new dynamic around creativity in the community.

Led by local community groups such as Shannon Community Partnership and Shannon Tidy Towns, the town has come together to create and reinvent cultural activities and events such as the Clare Mela and Culture Night.

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Clare Arts Officer, Siobhán Mulcahy explains, “We are delighted for the people of Shannon, that their hard work, enthusiasm and embracing of creativity in developing their community has been recognized at national level. The enthusiasm, dedication and investment by local groups and individuals came through the application very strongly and we look forward to supporting their endeavours going forward.”

This funding allocation will enable the appointment of a 'Creative Place' coordinator to work with the local community to explore, plan and deliver creative projects over a three-year term.

It recognises the latent creativity in the town. Surrounding areas and projects will have a strong social leaning to engage those who may not normally get involved in the arts or creative activities.