TikTok, St. Patrick’s Festival foster creativity through €100,000 community arts fund
TikTok and St. Patrick’s Festival have partnered to launch the St. Patrick’s Festival x TikTok Creative Fund, which will see €100,000 being distributed to support creative projects in community groups around the country.
The new community initiative will support the vital work of organisations, groups, workers, and volunteers in Ireland who connect with, empower, and uplift their communities through arts, culture, and creativity. This fund forms part of the €500,000 commitment made by TikTok earlier this year to support the St. Patrick’s Festival which took place virtually.
The fund, designed to support and inspire creativity, will be distributed to ten community groups who will each receive a creative project award of €10,000 to develop and deliver creative responses to their own unique community challenges. These groups can be community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises who use artistic and cultural interventions as a tool to connect, enhance and inspire their communities.
Cormac Keenan, head of trust & safety at TikTok, said: “Since establishing operations in Ireland, a huge priority for us has been continuously looking for ways to nurture our creators and the communities in which they belong. We see this fund helping to provide the tools and resources required to support well-needed community initiatives across Ireland and reawaken creativity after an uncertain and turbulent period. Our goal is to encourage and connect the wider Irish creative community via the TikTok platform by sharing their work and inspiring others.”
In addition to receiving the bursary, the successful groups will also be invited to participate in a special community focused TikTok masterclass, where they can develop and enhance their storytelling skills through the TikTok platform and learn how best to harness the potential of social storytelling to communicate with their audiences. These groups will also have the opportunity to learn more about building awareness and showcasing their work, as well as inspiring participation and driving fundraising.
These 10 community groups will be encouraged to work with local artists, arts workers, arts organisations, live events crews, and creative professionals, who can provide organisations with the supports, skills, and learnings they need to progress their creative project.
Anna McGowan, interim director of St. Patrick’s Festival, said: “Creativity and art have been crucial in helping us all navigate these past 18 months, and it’s been so inspiring to see how community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises have continued to connect with their communities through art and creativity despite the huge challenges they faced.
“Through the St. Patrick’s Festival x TikTok Creative Fund, we want to recognise and celebrate this remarkable work through meaningful investment in creative community projects that will bring connection, understanding and joy to many communities across Ireland.”
Applications for the St. Patrick’s Festival x TikTok Creative Fund are now open at www.stpatricksfestival.ie. The closing date for entry is 24 October 2021, with the 10 successful groups being unveiled in early November 2021. A selection of work will also be showcased to Ireland and the world during the national St. Patrick’s Festival in March 2022.
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