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Including underrepresented groups in the arts key focus of creative partnerships across the country

This year’s Business to Arts Awards winners featured purposeful creative partnerships that sought to address a range of societal issues—from climate change to enhancing the shared public spaces in which we live. In this final article in our series, we profile three partnerships that are making the arts more inclusive and accessible to all

Little readers take part in KPMG’s Reading Heroes. Credit: Julien Behal

Fri Sep 15 2023 - 09:32

Munster-Based Partnership Provides ‘Sanctuary’ to Diverse Group of Artists

Improving the provision of services for marginalised voices in the arts was at the core of this year’s winning project for the Best Philanthropic Support to the Arts Award, supported by the Arts Council, Tomar Trust and Sample-Studios in Cork for ‘Studios of Sanctuary’—a residency programme for artists from an asylum seeker, refugee or migrant background. Through the philanthropic assistance of the Tomar Trust, Sample-Studios hosts five exceptional artists from diverse backgrounds in socially engaged artistic practice to amplify their own voices, as well as those of the communities they represent. The programme provided them with a bursary, tailored training, mentorship, a supportive peer network and studio space.

Sanctuary Artists-in-Residence include filmmaker Jerome Jefferson Kiyemba, a Tanzanian former child soldier; Portuguese artist Catarina Araújo; South African writer and singer Neo Gilson; Japanese artist Seiko Hayase; and landscape painter Tetiana Milshyna, who fled Ukraine in 2022. Their work in the past year has focused on helping mental health nurses through visual art, men with acquired brain injuries through film, and teens in direct provision through theatre.

The residents are now established arts practitioners, with significant awards, funds, platforms, networks and personal mentors. They have the skills, networks, experience and infrastructure to be voices for the marginalised communities they represent and those they have decided to advocate for.

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These artists-in-residence are proud to have engaged with over 1000 beneficiaries by the end of 2022 with a particularly significant impact on communities typically considered outside of the ‘traditional’ arts community. The Studios of Sanctuary is now a proven model for the provision of a supportive infrastructure to enable marginalised artists to thrive in the Irish arts community. Philanthropic support for the arts is imperative to enable powerful progressive projects like this and to enrich our society, and this Munster-based partnership is a shining example of this.

Bursary Winners Focus on Inclusion in Dublin Communities

The inclusion of Dublin communities in artistic initiatives was also a focal point of the awarding of bursaries on the night. The winner of the Jim McNaughton/TileStyle €10,000 bursary for emerging artists was Thommas Kane Byrne, a multi-award-winning writer, actor and director. Thommas is passionate about producing work for and about Dublin’s north inner city and through his partnership with the Gate Theatre, he hopes to make this iconic Dublin 1 venue more accessible to those who live within its community. And Axis Ballymun, together with the Irish Hospice Foundation won the daa €5k Arts Award for ‘Deadly Conversations’ a project focused on supporting the community in dealing with grief and loss by using creative interventions facilitated by artists.

Participants of the NCH’s Creative Lab Programme in partnership with Accenture. Credit: Mark Stedman

Impact of Initiatives for Young People Highlighted at Awards

Two winning projects this year focused on improving access to the arts for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Creative Lab

NCH Creative Lab, an eight-month programme run by the National Concert Hall, in partnership with Accenture, RTE Toy Show Appeal and New Music Dublin, won the Creative Access Award, a new category supported by Community Foundation Ireland. The award is aimed at highlighting the increasing need to support access to the arts for all. NCH Creative Lab is for young people between the ages of 12 to 18 who are passionate about writing music but who come from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in music composition—for example, Black, Asian, the Minceir/Traveller and Roma Communities, other Minority Ethnic Communities within the island of Ireland, as well as women, transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people. The programme consisted of one-on-one tuition, mentorship, professional development, performance opportunities, and high-quality recordings of the young composers’ work.

The outcomes were extremely positive with participants gaining new music skills and opportunities, as well as confidence and a sense of community. This partnership allowed participants to not only work alongside role models and mentors Amanda Feery, Emma O’Halloran, Tonia Ko, and Bushra El-Turk, but to be given the opportunity to become role models to members of their own communities. “Its success shows that once the historic barriers are removed, they are just as capable and talented as musicians who come from more typically represented groups,” said Helen Carroll, head of Partnerships & Philanthropy.

This kind of deeper impact is what interests Accenture according to Michelle Cullen, managing director and head of Inclusion and Diversity, Accenture: “We are honored to have collaborated with the National Concert Hall in championing diversity within classical music and the development of Creative Lab. While important discussions on diversity in classical music have long been underway, there remains a journey ahead. Creative Lab, fuelled by innovative technologies, empowers the next generation of musicians. Congratulations to the exceptional participants of the programme and all the supporting partners including New Music Dublin and Community Foundation Ireland.”

NCH was also the winner on the night of the Judges Special Recognition Award supported by Accenture for its outstanding relationships with a portfolio of corporate partnerships including—Walkers, The Tomar Trust, Grant Thornton, and ESB.

Reading Heroes

KPMG and Children’s Books Ireland (CBI) have a shared vision and understanding that reading can allow children and young people to achieve their full potential, regardless of their background. Their project ‘Reading Heroes’ won Best Long-Term Partnership, supported by the Irish Times, at this year’s awards. The partnership, which encourages a young person’s reading potential and recognises outstanding young readers in Ireland has been ongoing for over six years. The partnership has also helped to get books to those most in need of support in direct provision, homeless services and other charities.

Karina Howley of KPMG says that she is excited about continuing this meaningful partnership: “Working with CBI on Reading Heroes brings an opportunity for KPMG staff to work creatively in schools with children and young people, bringing the joy of reading to their own communities all over Ireland, with 51 volunteers visiting 45 schools in 14 counties in 2022 for the Awards alone”.

Role of Awards in Celebrating Impactful Partnerships

Business to Arts, a non-profit that connects Ireland’s corporate and cultural sectors hosts the Business to Arts Awards every year to celebrate these purposeful creative partnerships. Speaking about the winning partnerships chief executive Louise O’Reilly said: “Business to Arts is proud to showcase organisations in the arts sector that have deep expertise in connecting with marginalised communities, enhancing opportunities for people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and abilities, and working collaboratively within a community over long periods of time. These award-winning projects are indicative of a really strong trend of meaningful and impactful partnerships between businesses and the arts all over Ireland,” she said.

The Business to Arts Awards, now in its 31st year, recognises businesses, philanthropists, artists, and arts organisations that develop creative partnerships. Entrants focus on arts sponsorship, commissioning of artists, staff engagement and CSR initiatives, philanthropy, and community engagement. To discuss available supports for creative partnerships with your arts programme or corporation or to become a member of Business to Arts, contact info@businesstoarts.ie

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