Praxis Union responds after Arts Council rescinds 20 Next Generation Awards

Praxis Union have responded after The Arts Council have made a statement admitting to the incorrect issuing of grants to over 100 applicants.

"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].

The Arts Council yesterday made a regrettable error.
We issued letters to 141 applicants for the Next Generation Artists award, incorrectly indicating that an award would be granted.
We then emailed all affected to inform them of our error and we apologised unreservedly. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/xpfComqVe1

— The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon (@artscouncil_ie) June 29, 2023

Praxis Union has since responded, emphasising the massive distress caused to artists already struggling financially.

The Artists’ Union of Ireland envisions a progressive and just society that values artists and art. The aim of the organisation is to unite artists, in the widest sense of the word, and to give them the power to influence their working conditions.

"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," Praxis posted across their social channels. They then received an email rescinding the award without an adequate apology for the mistake."

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

"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."

Responses have flooded in from other artists who have been impacted by the error.

Today the @artscouncil_ie emailed me saying I had been awarded €25k through the Next Gen award. They then emailed to say "ignore that, it was an error." I am beyond heartbroken. I thought I'd finally escaped poverty. I had hope. @praxis

— Trudie Gorman (@Trudie17) June 28, 2023

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

This is shockin bad @artscouncil_ie & it happened to loads of people. The artists applying for these grants arent allowed to make any mistakes whatsoever in the application or we're disqualified, but someone on a salary can make a huge mistake and it's grand?! Ssssssake. https://t.co/rirwdKusYm

— Emma O'Grady (@ogradyemma) June 28, 2023