Tipperary council issues call out to artists to get involved in next year's Bealtaine Festival

Tipperary County Council has issued a call out to Tipperary artists to become involved in next year's Bealtaine Festival.

Bealtaine is an annual nationwide festival held in May that celebrates the arts and creativity as we age.

The festival is an initiative of Age & Opportunity, the national organisation that promotes active and engaged living as we get older.
Tipperary County Council runs an extensive, interactive programme throughout the county and in recent times has taken the lead in programming the festival with our partner Tipperary Libraries, inviting artists to become involved.
For the 2022 Bealtaine programme, we are taking a different approach through issuing an open call to Tipperary artists to become involved.

This open call, with a deadline of December 8, invites artists to submit a written proposal around themes of renewal and growth.

The Covid-19 pandemic and in particular its impact on older people, has underlined the natural and human ecosystem of dependence and connection.

Based on the experiences of the past 20 months and in light of the fact that 2022 marks a particularly significant year in our nation’s history, we see opportunities for all of us to renew ourselves and the world around us, and to grow, personally and in strength of connection to each other.

“We would like to hear from professional artists, from across all artforms. To date the Bealtaine Festival has comprised exhibitions, concerts, dance, storytelling, theatre productions, choral events, tours to and residencies in care settings, workshops and writer’s events – the emphasis is on engaging older people as both makers and audiences for the arts,” said a county council spokesperson.

“We have worked with care settings, active retired, resident’s associations, libraries, book clubs, choirs, Men’s Sheds, ICA etc. – any organisations in which older people are active or which work with older people. Artists with whom we have worked in the past are invited to engage with this process as a way of renewing and reinvigorating their own practice.

“We are keen to engage with artists in a new way and we are open to new collaborations. Artists who wish to respond to this open call will be required to demonstrate that they have already engaged with older people in relation to the concept or idea and/or that they have identified a particular context or physical setting in which older people can actively participate in the proposed project,” the spokesperson continued.

The artists selected will work closely with the older people whether in presenting or creating work.
The funding available to each project will range from €1000 to €5000 depending on size, scale and reach of the proposal.

Health & Safety Information: All potential health and safety risks must be fully considered and addressed for all Bealtaine events. Events must take place in accordance with current government health guidelines as well as Tipperary Arts Office’s own Health & Safety policies.

The application process is simple:
1. Tell the council about yourself and your practice (attach CV)
2. Why are you interested in working with older people?
3. Where / in what setting do you propose to work? Have you already made contact with the setting and can you provide a letter of support from the setting confirming this?
4. What do you propose to do and how will you respond to the themes set out above?
5. When will your project commence? Bealtaine runs throughout the month of May, residencies may commence in advance of this date
6. Please provide a budget in support of your proposal
7. Note – if successful, you will be required to provide publicity materials to support the promotion of the project and your work by 25th February 2022. Cognisant of the fact that projects won’t have commenced at that stage, we would ask for past samples of your work or work in which you are currently involved.

The assessment process will take place before December 31 and you will be informed of the outcome of this process also in that timeframe.

Deadline for Submissions is 12 noon, Wednesday, December 8.
Enquiries and submissions to tipperaryfestivals2021@gmail.com

Please note: This open call is open to artists resident in county Tipperary only.