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Leeann Chapman and Victor Sheahan, of Kerry LEO with Meabh Ring, Mentor and Kate Kennelly, Arts Officer at Kerry County Council promoting access for artists to professional mentoring this week.
MENTORING sessions for visual artists in Kerry have been taking place this week at County Buildings in Tralee.
Developed by Creative Ireland Kerry and Local Enterprise Office Kerry, the high level of demand from artists for the initiative has resulted in the original offer of meetings over a two-day period, being extended into another round of sessions in May.
The meetings take place on a one to one basis and are led by Meabh Ring, an experienced creative industry professional.
Meabh stated today that “the sales and marketing need of visual artists can be very similar to those working in small businesses. This mentoring is a very positive collaboration between Kerry County Council, Local Enterprise Office and Creative Ireland Kerry. The guidance and advice given on business can often empower artists as they build up their body of work and get to know the community and artistic landscape”.
Arts Officer/ Creative Ireland Kerry Co-ordinator Kate Kennelly stated that “the level of demand is indicative of the extent of the creative skill base in Kerry. Being able to cater to this demand to assist career development and to bring work to market is made possible through the support from our colleagues in the Local Enterprise Office and one that arose out of the Creative Ireland Kerry Strategy”.
The enhanced valuing of creativity across sections within the Local Authority is a key component of the Creative Ireland Kerry Programme. The programme continues up to 2022 and has been fully informed by public consultation and feedback from research conducted in 2017.
