Wicklow Arts Plan 2026-2030
I am currently working with the Arts Office in Wicklow County Council on the new Arts Plan 2026-2030. The Plan will be published in October 2026, and will focus on artists, engagement and infrastructure in county Wicklow.
Public comments on the value of the arts in the county.
The first phase of the project was to gather as much data as possible about the arts in Wicklow over the life of the previous plan (2020-2025).
May 2026 concentrated on data analysis for arts provision in the county 2020-2025. In synopsis the findings from the data analysis were extremely positive, with:
43% more artists in the county than expected per capita (Dept of Arts data 2026).
Visual Arts is the most prevalent supported artform for individual artists (WCC data 2026).
Music is the predominant festival artform in the county under the Arts Act 2003 (WCC data 2026).
Culture Night has grown at a significant rate (from 8 events in 2020 to over 50 in 2025).
West Wicklow has benefitted hugely from the Creative Ireland investment in Baltinglass, and this momentum needs to be developed further in the next 5 years.
Infrastructure for the arts in the county has gaps (specifically geographically in Arklow, and artform wise there is a significant deficit in artists’ studios and gallery exhibition space).
Current arts hubs are in urgent need of capital upgrade (Mermaid Arts Centre, and The Courthouse Tinahely).
This data will be extremely useful to build arts development strategy for the years ahead.
The second phase of the project was the Public Engagement phase in June. The data was shared, and facilitated workshops took place in Arklow, Blessington and Glen of the Downs.
Thanks to the hundreds of people who took part in those workshops as part of the Public Engagement stage of the project. Meetings and workshops took place during June, and a survey is live until 24th July 2026.
Eileen Hanratty and Jenny Sherwin of Wicklow Arts Office at the Glenview Workshop
Read more about the Public Engagement for the Arts Plan, and complete the survey through the link here: https://www.wicklow.ie/Living/Services/Arts-Heritage-Archives/Arts/Arts-Plan-2026-2030
