Monaghan County Council Arts Service

Monaghan County Council Arts Service recognises the potential of the arts as a tool to enhance the wellbeing of students in our education system and add value to the core curriculum through engagement with professional artists. Promoting the arts in education has the potential to create a lasting legacy for our younger generation. In recent times this important work received a critical boost through the development of the National Charter for Arts & Education. The charter was adopted by the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. It has been adopted at local level by the Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board (ETB) to meet identified needs. An Arts in Education Officer has been appointed and an Arts in Education Partnership has established to advance this agenda. Monaghan County Council is a partner in this initiative.

Our objectives are to increase opportunities for engagement in the arts by both the communities and pupils in schools and we take a long-term strategic view in planning for and investing in the arts for children and young people. We have put in place strategic partnership agreements with relevant local agencies for jointly planned and funded initiatives to extend and expand arts outreach opportunities.
We promote and support involvement in the arts by children and young people in the following ways:

• Support Primary and Post-Primary Schools annually to avail of the Artists in Schools Scheme, across a range of art forms
• Assist in the activation of the local Arts in Education Partnership to ensure the implementation of the Arts in Education Charter
• Work in partnership with other relevant organisations to support a County Monaghan application to the national Music Generation Programme.
• Increase the range of performance opportunities for young people in alcohol-free settings
• Facilitate workshops and events that will increase the access to arts for children and young people
• Conduct an open call annually for grant assistance to arts organisations, festivals and groups who run targeted arts programmes for young people in non-educational settings.

The commitment in the Creative Ireland Programme is that by 2022 every child should have the opportunity in accessing tuition or engagement in music, drama, art and coding. Creative Monaghan will support and collaborate, where feasible, with the Arts in Education Charter and The Creative Youth Plans through strategic local partnerships and alliances.