Culture Ireland supports a number of organisations who work in partnership with Culture Ireland promoting Irish arts worldwide on an annually funded basis. These are:
Irish Arts Center in New York, founded in 1972, has continuously evolved and grown to become a multi-disciplinary institution, presenting, developing and supporting work by Irish artists, groups, and theatre companies. It plays a key role in the cultural life of New York and offer key opportunities for Irish artists to present their work. Over the years Culture Ireland has supported Irish Arts Center’s annual programme of Irish arts and the development of the vision and plan for the Center’s future.
IAC has been developing a new state of the art facility which is due to officially open with a grand Opening Season later in 2021. With Culture Ireland’s support it will be comprised of a series of landmark theatrical projects, including world premiere commissions and co-productions, U.S. premiere presentations, a new contemporary dance program, visual arts installations, and an expansion of concert programming. Culture Ireland also supports IAC’s globally accessible digital programme for 2021 which features At Home with Irish Arts Center, new commissioned online performances and workshops from artists at home; Live from Irish Arts Center: Encore, recorded highlights from music and literature archive; Poem of the Week and Irish Word of the Week, weekly releases of poetry readings and Irish language offerings with graphic responses; and a wide selection of online classes, with courses in language, music, and step dance. In 2021 the digital programme will also include St. Patrick’s Open Day, Book Day, Irish Language Day/Féile na Gaeilge and NYC Irish Dance Festival.
Literature Ireland is a not-for-profit organisation fully funded by the State. Supported by Culture Ireland Literature Ireland awards translation grants to publishers, hosts literary translators in Ireland, and represents Irish writers at international events, book fairs and festivals, bringing Irish literature in the best possible literary translations to readers around the world. Since its opening in 1995, Literature Ireland has funded the translation of almost 2,200 works of Irish literature into 57 languages.
In 2021 Culture Ireland will also support a series of virtual events (such as translation podcasts and videos or an online industry trade showcase) which will be run by Literature Ireland with the aim of helping to provide income streams for Irish authors as well as additional promotional supports for international publishers working with Irish writers.
First Music Contact ( FMC ) is the State-funded free information and resource organisation for the popular music sector in Ireland with local, national and international impact. For over 20 years FMC have supported and showcased the careers of Ireland’s popular musicians and professionals.
Music from Ireland is the Irish Music Export Initiative funded by Culture Ireland, supported by IMRO and run by First Music Contact to showcase Irish music internationally. This year MFI is supported by Culture Ireland to cover the following events: Eurosonic in January, SXSW in March, The Great Escape in May, Primavera Pro and A2IM in June, Reeperbahn and IFF in September, Mondo NYC and Iceland Airwaves in November.
Music From Ireland with Culture Ireland’s support also brings international delegates to Ireland Music Week every year with 50 Irish artists showcased annually.
Opened in 2002 the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris is Ireland’s flagship cultural centre in Europe. The Centre presents the work of contemporary Irish artists, reinforces the rich heritage of Franco-Irish relations and fosters a vibrant and creative resident community. Its cultural programme is supported by Culture Ireland.
The planned culture programme at CCI in 2021 includes a mixture of live performance and exhibition to be experienced onsite and online work and commissions and among other events includes St. Patrick’s Day celebrations with Kila, Lords of Strut, Cuig and Gaulin Singers; an online collaboration with Dublin Dance Festival; outdoor screening showcasing Cartoon Saloon in presence of Tomm Moore; solo exhibition of new work by George Bolster.
IFI International provides Irish film programming services for cultural exhibitors worldwide. Drawing on the collections of the IFI Irish Film Archive and liaising with film directors, producers, sales agents and distributors, IFI International provides access for cultural exhibitors to new and classic Irish cinema. Supported by Culture Ireland, IFI International works with over 100 exhibition partners in more than 50 countries annually to strategically develop a global audience for Irish film culture.
In 2021, in addition to the support offered towards screenings at various film festivals around the globe( including Irish Film Festival Boston, Irish Film Festa in Rome, Australian Irish Film Festival in Sydney, Irish Festival of Oulu in Finland, London Irish Film Festival in the UK to name a few) Culture Ireland will fund the development of IFI International Viewing Room which will provide IFI-curated content for IFI International Online, a new digital platform which will serve as a Virtual Venue; as well as the launch of Subtitling Programme 2021, a pilot programme offering support to IFI International partners to assist with translation and subtitling costs for films presented both online and, where guidelines allow, in cinemas.
