Creative Places Balbriggan has successfully awarded 11 artists to work with local Balbriggan community groups through a brand-new funding scheme.
Making Waves will contribute over €45,000 to 11 artistic programmes to be carried out involving artists collaborating with local community groups in Balbriggan between September 2026 and February 2027.
A full list of the funding recipients can be found here
Mayor of Fingal Cllr. Tony Murphy said:
“I greatly welcome the Making Waves funding for the community of Balbriggan. Being a local councillor here, I am fully aware of the vibrant arts community in Balbriggan and this is a great opportunity to share creative skills with the wider community. This seed funding will help stimulate more involvement in the arts and more accessibility to creative activities locally with the support of the Fingal Arts Office and the Creative Places Balbriggan Coordinator. My congratulations to the 11 artists who made the successful application and the community groups involved and I look forward to seeing what their collaborations will inspire and produce in the coming months.”
Creative Places Balbriggan is an Arts Council funded project coordinated by Fingal Arts Office. Its main aim is to connect with people, artists and places to allow ideas to develop into creative actions that are community-led and socially engaged. Under The Creative Places Balbriggan Strategy 2026-2027, the project has three main priority work pillars – Creative Youth, Creative Industry and Climate Action. The project is based for 3 years in Balbriggan, from 2025- 2027, with scope to develop in further 2-year cycles.
Fingal Arts Officer Sarah O’Neill said:
‘Fingal Arts Office is delighted to announce the successful recipients of the Making Waves Seed Funding Scheme 2026. The recipients were selected following extensive engagement with community groups and local artists. The scheme offers seed funding to create opportunities for artists, community groups and community organisations within Balbriggan enabling them to explore new avenues of creativity not previously open to them. Over €45,000 has been awarded which will support collaborative, socially engaged creativity while providing an opportunity for people of Balbriggan to participate in the arts. The funding will also further develop the skillset of many local creative artists providing them with the opportunity to work with these local groups who do great work for and within their community. ‘
The Making Waves programmes will be officially launched at a public event as part of Culture Night on September 18 at Ardgillan Castle.
For further information, please see: Creative Places Balbriggan | Fingal County Council