July Galway International Arts Festival & NUI Galway celebrate Business to Arts shortlisting

Galway International Arts Festival and its Education Partner NUI Galway are delighted to announce that they have been shortlisted in the Best Long-Term Partnership category of the Business to Arts Awards 2022. 

The shortlisting, which was announced this morning, acknowledges the long-standing partnership between the two bodies, which sees the parties collaborate across education, culture and vision. 

The partners have collaborated on the creation and delivery of postgraduate courses in Creative Arts Management and the SELECTED internship programme, which educate the next generation of arts professionals. 

The partnership also covers GIAF’s very successful volunteer programme, which, with a recruitment of 1,000 volunteers in a ‘normal’ year, is integral to the delivery of the festival. 

In terms of culture, GIAF has assisted NUI Galway in establishing itself as a Cultural Campus, with an increasing number of productions presented on campus and NUI Galway associated with award-winning productions, bringing an average of 80,000 visitors to campus each year. 

GIAF and NUI Galway collaborate by playing a central role in re-imagining Galway, defining the landscape in which NUI Galway graduates operate by supporting new career pathways, and pursuing a creative industries development strategy.

GIAF and NUI Galway also activate the partnership via an archive agreement, whereby the college holds GIAF’s archives. The partners are also collaborating to create oral histories of the festival, kicking off earlier this year with a podcast on the making and staging of GIAF’s major artwork Mirror Pavilion during the global Covid pandemic.

Commenting on the announcement, GIAF CEO John Crumlish said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted for the award and have the partnership recognised in this way. The relationship with NUI Galway is a very valuable one, which has grown significantly in recent years. It plays a role in the development of the next generation of artists and arts producers while also facilitating the development of a best practice volunteer programme. It provides a very valuable resource for GIAF and also helps inform our thinking as to what a festival can be.”

NUI Galway Vice-Dean for Engagement, Patrick Lonergan said: “At a time when NUI Galway is focussing on the links between the arts, business, and our communities, our relationship with Galway International Arts Festival is ever more important. Being shortlisted for a Business to Arts award is a huge honour - and a huge boost to our joint efforts to transform the cultural landscape of Galway, the west of Ireland, and the nation.”

Galway International Arts Festival 2022 kicks off next Monday, 11th July. Back to full size, the festival will take over the city once more with a huge programme of events spread across various locations and venues until 24 July. 16% of the shows will take place on the college campus. 

Ends