Arts Council announce funding for Circilár

A Westmeath based contemporary circus organisation and training hub has been announced as one of two arts organisations in the county to receive Arts Council funding for the coming year.

Circilár is a professional development programme for emerging circus artists, funded by the Arts Council.

Created by artists Aoife Raleigh and Tony Mahon it is a professional training that combines theatre, dance, and physical preparation with core circus disciplines like aerial work, object manipulation, partner acrobatics, and equilibristics.

The programme offers developing artists the opportunity to perfect their skills and support pathways towards professional artistic practice.

Run in partnership with Motion Chapel (Roscommon) and Shawbrook Residential (Longford) the participating artists go through circus fundamentals in the very centre of Ireland.

The Arts Council announced that the programme will be awarded €55,000 under their Arts Grant Funding scheme.

Circilár is one of 220 recipients of Arts Grant Funding, representing an investment of €17.2 million in organisations and individuals across the country on behalf of the State.

Another Westmeath arts body, Athlone Arts And Tourism Ltd, will receive €71,500, bringing the total awarded to the county to €126,500.

Arts Grant Funding supports organisations and individuals to carry out multiple activities over a fixed period. In doing so, it builds and reinforces the national network of support for artists and audiences, complementing other Arts Council funding schemes that are open to either organisations or artists.

The awards announced today support both arts activities for the public to engage with and artist support, as part of the Arts Council’s ongoing work to cultivate a thriving and sustainable arts sector in Ireland.

Arts Grant Funding will support the delivery of artistic activity across various artforms throughout 2027.