‘CREATIVE Places: West Cork Islands’ has been launched by the Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Gillian Coughlan, at Whiddy Island Community Centre.

The programme will see Cork County Council lead a consortium of local arts and development agencies that includes Bere Island Projects Group, Sherkin Island Development Society, Comharchumann Chléire and Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre as part of the Arts Council’s Creative Places programme 2021-2024.

The Creative Places: West Cork Islands programme hopes to strengthen existing local contemporary and traditional arts practices, create long-term community-led engagement in the arts that continues post-project, and make visible and strengthen the interconnectedness of the islands and the coastal communities on the mainland in West Cork.

The commitment by the Arts Council to sustain investment through the Creative Places Scheme over a three-year period allows the necessary time to develop and deliver a range of initiatives to support sustainable artistic and community engagement on each of the islands.

Cllr Coughlan said: “Many individuals and groups have worked tirelessly to ensure that the rich, unique cultures on the West Cork Islands are sustained and continue to thrive.

“This programme is bringing us together — starting on Whiddy Island — to create something new and exciting.”

Creative Places: West Cork Islands supports creative community engagement with climate adaptation and digital technology on the islands and coastal communities with connections to the islands.

It seeks to give expression to what it is to be an islander from a person-centred perspective, focusing on the lived experience of inhabitants, which is governed by nature: tides, weather, and climate change.

Further details can be sought by emailing arts@corkcoco.ie or by phoning 021 4285995.