Music Network has announced the introduction of an exciting new award, which will provide support and work for professional musicians in Ireland.

With funding from the Arts Council, the new Performance and Touring Award has been developed by Music Network, the national music development organisation, to assist Irish and Ireland-based musicians in realising performance opportunities.

Read on for more….

With an initial award fund of €65,000 in 2006, it is hoped the award will: offer increased employment opportunities to Irish musicians; develop the skills base of Irish artists in areas such as project planning and administration, self-promotion and self-management; and offer a new source of music programming to concert promoters, and in turn to audiences throughout Ireland

Welcoming the announcement of the Award, the Arts Council’s Director, Mary Cloake commented: “This initiative is great news for Irish musicians. Performing is a crucial part of any musical career; however, opportunities can be limited and many musicians do not have the financial resources to plan and realise concerts themselves. This Award not only creates those opportunities but will also help musicians to acquire additional skills which will be of huge benefit to them professionally.”

Commenting on the Award, Music Network Chief Executive, Deirdre McCrea stated: “Music Network has a long track record of working with and supporting professional musicians. We see the development and operation of this new Performance and Touring Award as a natural extension of our existing services to Irish artists and promoters.”

The Award is open to musicians and ensembles of all genres who are of Irish nationality or resident in Ireland. It is hoped it will appeal to a wide range of artists and ensembles at different stages in their career.

Projects eligible for the Award will include tours, concert series and individual concerts to take place anywhere within the Republic of Ireland. The Award is also open to multidisciplinary projects with live music as a key element, and to collaborative projects involving other Irish or visiting international artists.

Music Network will provide musicians with guidelines and information sheets to assist them in planning their project prior to application. Musicians are also encouraged to liaise and co-plan with prospective promoters in all areas relating to their projects.

Further information and application packs are available from Music Network, Coach House, Dublin Castle, Dublin 2, 01 6719429, and will be downloadable from www.musicnetwork.ie from Wednesday 26th April. The first 2006 deadline is 5.00pm on Monday 29th May, with a further application deadline in September (for projects taking place either in 2006 or 2007).

ENDS
Further media information: Sarah Murphy admin@musicnetwork.ie 01 6719429

Music Network
Music Network is the national music development agency, which aims to make high quality live music available and accessible to everyone in Ireland. It organises subsidised tours of internationally acclaimed classical, jazz and traditional Irish musicians in partnership with local promoters throughout the North and South of the country, and offers a more flexible programme of stand-alone subsidised concerts featuring emerging and established Irish performers. It has developed a music information service and publishes online information databases including the Irish Music Handbook Online and www.learnmusic.info, Ireland’s first online directory of music schools and private music teachers. Music Network is also responsible for innovative research in the area of music education and music in healthcare, and was a partner in the development of the Vogler String Quartet residency in Sligo.

Blueghost’s new EP, ‘Collapse Or Keep Going’, is in the stores and if you buy it, you will receive “the funk”. Seriously though, support a local act, drop into town and lay your hands on the new EP, available from decent music stores locally!

Jester, who recently joined the ranks of KKM have announced their new website will be up and running by the middle of next week. You can check out the band for now at their MySpace profile, available by clicking here. Chemical Addiction also launched their MySpace profile recently which is available here, while Saving Judas and sons of rock Itchy Trigger Finger are readying to launch their own sites real soon!

KKM has received funding from the local Arts Acts Grants for 2006 through Kilkenny County Council which will finance the future offline development of KKM to the tune of over €5,000. I would personally like to thank Kilkenny County Council, Mary Butler, and all involved in the selection process. There’s a whole lot to come from KKM!
Its been a good week for KilkennyMusic.com. I think I’ll be allowed announce that
Not only that, but we’ve just broke 500 members thanks to the boys from Sideshow who played on Saturday night in Cleere’s alongside Clergy and Southern Discomfort. It’s a battle between two of you but I think John has the claimed the title ahead of Tony – cheers lads!

-Ken

Kilkenny County Council, in partnership with Wexford, Waterford, Carlow and Wicklow County Councils, and the Arts Council of Ireland are currently supporting the research and pre-development phase of the formation of a South East Professional Development Forum for artists of all disciplines. This seeks to provide an accessible professional development service to artists in the area. Recognising that the arts services in every local authority throughout the country have evolved in different ways and have different areas of specialisation, the project seeks to capitalise on the cumulative experience and expertise of local authority arts services in the region to create professional development opportunities for artists in the South East.

Read on for more…

Exchange Day for Artists – An opportunity for artists of all disciplines in the South East to contribute to the establishment of their own Professional Development Forum

On Saturday, 6th May, artists of all disciplines in the South East will come together for an Exchange Day in the Parade Tower, Kilkenny, as a key part of current research into setting up a Professional Development Forum for artists in the South East. This research has been commissioned by five local authority arts offices – Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford (county), Wexford and Wicklow – with the support of the Arts Council.

A line-up of eminent artists of different disciplines from around the country and abroad, comprising composer, Ian Wilson, traditional musician, Fintan Vallely, novelist, Sean Hardie, playwright and performer, Michelle Read, theatre director Jim Culleton, dancer and choreographer, Cathy O’Kennedy, filmmaker and digital artist, Nicky Gogan, and Wales-based public artist, Brenda Oakes, will talk about their own professional development as a means of generating thought and discussion among artists. The opening address will be given by John Gerrard who since first graduating less than ten years ago has received international acclaim for his work with new media. Thematic sessions based on ‘working in context’, ‘working in partnership’, ‘artist-led initiatives’ and ‘working on an international level’ will facilitate further dialogue. Eve O’Kelly, Director of the Contemporary Music Centre will lead the closing, plenary discussion.

There will also be opportunities for networking and information exchange whereby artists are invited to bring along information on themselves and their work and a resource of relevant publications will be available. Feedback to the content of the day will inform a strategy for the formation of the Professional Development Forum.

According to Mary Grehan, who is carrying out the research and co-ordinating the Exchange Day, ‘An artists’ career is not a typical one. It can be isolated, lonely and entirely self-directed. Artists need skills, knowledge and support not just in making their work, but in finding their audience. The challenge will be to develop a Forum which is responsive to the highly individual needs of artists while linking in with various arts infrastructures at county level. We hope that this Exchange Day will give us an insight into the developmental needs of artists in the region.’

The event is free. Places are limited and early advance booking is essential. Booking forms will be available on 3rd April from the Arts Office, No. 72, John Street, Kilkenny, T: 056 7794138, E: niamh.finn@kilkennycoco.ie

For further information, contact:

Kilkenny Arts Office, T: 056 7794138, E: niamh.finn@kilkennycoco.ie

Or Mary Grehan at : grehanm@gofree.indigo.ie or 086 3703537.

Completed booking forms must be returned to Ann Brazil, Wexford Arts Office, Wexford County Council, County Hall, Wexford, before 21st April.

Straight out of Slave Zero it seems the new CD, ‘The Pain Remits’, has just been through the mastering stage and will be released as soon as the artwork is ready. The lads are releasing ‘I Fear For You’ as an MP3 to their MySpace page. Its been a while in the waiting, but its almost here!

Check the lads official website at SlaveZero.net