Minister Josepha Madigan today announced some of the new opportunities to enjoy cultural and creative activities online being made available by our national cultural institutions, the Arts Council, Screen Ireland, TG4 and RTE, as well as by new partners like Facebook. The Creative Ireland Programme will be playing its part too. In the coming weeks, we will be offering a selection of free creative resources online to help you #CreateAtHome. From museums and galleries to Irish artists, designers, and writers, there are so many ways for you to get creative and keep your mind active while isolating.

Our partners in Fighting Words have continued their invaluable work by developing online resources to support creative writing in English and Irish. The Story-Starter, for primary school writers aged 7 to 12, will spark imaginations and help them get started on a story. Poems, stories, graphic fiction, plays and more are welcome from secondary school students aged 13 to 17, for inclusion in Analecta, their online anthology. Check them out at https://www.fightingwords.ie/news/we-want-your-stories-send-your-creative-writing-fighting-words

Youth Theatre Ireland have also responded to the challenge. They plan to extend the Young Critics experience to all young people aged 16+ during this period of isolation by launching Young Critics Online on Tuesday 7th April. Young people will be invited to submit a review of a theatre production they saw live, prior to lockdown, or alternatively that they watched online. Young people interested in trying their hands at reviewing can find lots of resources to help them in Youth Theatre Ireland’s Young Critics Resource Suite, including examples of critical responses by past Young Critics.

Music Generation partnerships throughout Ireland are continuing to work hard to find ways to keep music alive for children and young people in spite of our social distance. Live, online tuition for individual young musicians, small groups and ensembles is being delivered by musician educator teams across platforms including Zoom, Soundcloud, YouTube and Moodle. Free digital resources have also been launched including 40 video tutorials for young people of all ages and levels of experience to learn ukulele from their own home https://rockjam.ie/ukulele-licence/. Young singers participating with Music Generation in Louth will have a chance to tune in to a choral webinar next week in partnership with Sing Ireland.

Creative Ireland and Healthy Ireland will support a partnership with the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland called Get Ireland Making, with new online resources to engage young people and adults in home-based making activities. Over the coming weeks, DCCI will engage a team of talented makers and designers to develop a series of online workshops ranging from how to make musical instruments from recycled materials to a series on jewellery making that will appeal to all ages. In the first week, the focus will be on ‘Craft Hacks’ providing ideas for decorating homes across Ireland over the Easter period. These fun and engaging activities will include step-by-step interactive workshops and short video tutorials broadcast on DCCI’s YouTube channel.

Last but by no means least, our Programme’s flagship initiative Creative Schools is finding imaginative, innovative ways in which the skills of their Creative Associates can be used to support children, young people, schools and families across the country. Details will be unveiled shortly by the Arts Council.