New Baboró schemes are child’s play for artists

Baboró International Arts Festival for Children is introducing a new programme, GROW, to support artists in Galway and across Ireland who make work for children and young audiences.

The festival, now in its 21st year, has a long history of mentoring artists and educators who focus on the creative development of children and young people. Its latest initiative, GROW has two strands, Pathways to Production and Festival Mentoring. Baboró is currently seeking applications for both.

Pathways to Production will begin next month and will see Baboró partner with Druid and the Mick Lally Theatre, Branar Téatar de Phaistí and Galway Theatre Festival to support artists and young companies develop their ideas with a view to presenting a full performance piece. The scheme will involve workshops, the sharing of works-in-progress and help with funding strategies.

Pathways to Production will run from this October to October 2018 as a pilot programme. It will be reviewed annually.

The second new Baboró initiative is the Festival Mentoring programme, aimed at artists and creatives, including those with an established career, who haven’t yet made work for children.It will see four successful candidates being mentored by two experienced people working in the sector; Phil Kingston, Community and Education Manager at the Abbey Theatre and freelance producer Maria Fleming, who is Chair of Theatre for Young Audiences Ireland.

The four will have an opportunity to attend shows during this year’s Baboró Arts Festival, which runs from October 16-22. They will also attend industry and networking events.

The closing date for applications for both programmes is September 21. Successful applicants will be notified by September 29. For more details and to apply, go to baboro.ie/grow or call 091 562667.