Gathering organised for Dublin today following Arts Council error

A masked gathering has been organised for today at Project Arts Centre (39 Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2) to allow 141 artists affected by the Arts Council's erroneous grants to come together.

Hosted by Dublin poet Trudie Gorman from 4pm until 6pm tomorrow (June 30th), the second gathering on Monday, July 3rd from 6pm will instead take place at Dublin Fringe Lab, Sycamore Building, Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.

Trudie is one of the artists who received a successful award letter yesterday only for the €25,000 to be taken away again, leaving her devastated.

A blanket generic apology is absolutely not good enough. The grief I'm feeling is immeasurable. There needs to be personalised apologies to every individual artist and supports and compensation put in place for every one of us. @artscouncil_ie https://t.co/WKe2OWBP6K

— Trudie Gorman (@Trudie17) June 29, 2023

"As a disabled and working class artist, I for a brief time believed I had escaped cycles of poverty and would have money to pay for living costs like rent and medical expenses. The heartbreak and grief I am feeling is immeasurable," Gorman told Hot Press. "I am currently one of the resident artists at Dublin Fringe Festival and will be holding collective space for all 141 artists who have been impacted to come together, grieve and support each other, as well as to demand we each receive a meaningful apology form the Arts Council."

The working-class writer's poetry and writings explore the personal and political interplay between class, gender, and the body. Gorman has performed her work across Ireland and the UK and has published in Poetry Ireland, Banshee, Poetry NI, Two Metre Review and The 32: An Anthology of Irish Working-Class Voices. Trudie's beautiful work has also been broadcast on BBC Radio London, while the artist was also selected for Poetry Ireland Versify Series in 2019. In 2022, she was awarded a residency at the Centre Cultural Irlandais in Paris. Gorman is currently writing her first collection exploring themes of poverty based trauma and disability.

Earlier today, the Arts Council made a statement apologising after incorrectly issuing grants to over 140 applicants. Today, 20 Next Generation Awards were rescinded. The overall grants amount to millions.

We received word today that 100+ artists in Ireland received an email from the Arts Council of Ireland saying they were receiving one of 20 Next Generation Awards. They then received an email rescinding the award without an adequate apology for the mistake. pic.twitter.com/eSKdcAfE3H

— Praxis - Artists' Union of Ireland (@Praxis_Union) June 28, 2023

"We issued letters to 141 applicants for the Next Generation Artists award, incorrectly indicating that an award would be granted," the Arts Council of Ireland posted this morning. "We then emailed all affected to inform them of our error and we apologised unreservedly. Our mistake has understandably caused upset and disappointment and, for this, we are truly sorry We have now put in place additional checks for the issue of decision letters to prevent a repeat of this error.

"Supporting artists is a core goal of the Arts Council and we sincerely apologise to the artists that we let down on this occasion. For any further questions or concerns, please email [email protected]."

Praxis (Artists’ Union of Ireland) later responded, emphasising the massive distress caused to artists already struggling financially.

"The level of distress that this has caused highlights the financial precarity we face. As artists we know Arts Council awards like this are a primary source of income. We can only imagine the sense of relief these artists felt when they thought they were funded.

"We offer our solidarity with the artists this has affected. We want to remind you that we are here as a union to support our members. We are actively working to improve conditions in the sector and develop a more stable working environment for all artists in Ireland."