Bursaries

Wexford-based violist Beth McNinch was awarded the South East Venue Network (SEVN)’s new Arts Council-funded Artist Bursary for 2021-22.
Beth, who is Artistic Director of Musici Ireland, will use the bursary to research and discover repertoire for solo viola. This will include both long forgotten and contemporary works, with a particular focus on Irish and female composers.
SEVN, which is comprised of Wexford Arts Centre, Theatre Royal Waterford, Courthouse, Tinahely, Co. Wicklow, Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Wicklow, Garter Lane, Waterford, National Opera House, Wexford, Visual, Carlow and Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny, created the bursary to provide much-needed financial and network support to an artist based in the South East region whose art practice has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The award was open to artists of all disciplines living in the region who have presented or exhibited work in a professional context within the last 5 years. Beth will receive a €9,000 financial bursary and in-kind support, including access to venue facilities, technical, management and communication support as well as mentoring and promotion support from SEVN network venues.
This new bursary award has provided a vital opportunity for the venues to collaboratively support an artist such as Beth, whose practice has been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. The bursary opportunity also allowed venues to learn more about artists in the region through the application process
Beth’s bursary win will enable her to research solo viola repertoire, utilising Trinity College Dublin’s archives for historical music and the Contemporary Music Centre for Irish composers. She is particularly interested in researching historical Irish work and music by female composers. Through this research, Beth will learn new repertoire, which she will bring to venues within the SEVN in order to explore the spaces acoustically with the assistance of producer Gavin Glass.

Theatre Royal’s Creative Shoots bursary scheme was originally developed to support artists from, or creating work in, Waterford during the Covid-19 lockdowns of 2022/2021.
Dancer Bonnie Boux, musician Robert Baker and playwright, theatre practitioner and spoken word poet Hannah Carberry were selected as the bursary recipients.
Bonnie Boux (real name Sinead Gould) is a performer, producer, and creative dance teacher/mentor whose work ranges from an array of dance genres, from classic burlesque to the clowning style of comedy and character burlesque/ theatre.
Ardmore-based Robert Baker makes music under the name ‘The Crayon Set’, which he founded in 2009. He has released two albums to-date with a third album, ‘Downer Disco’, due for release this June.
Hannah Carberry has been creating and performing her work for several years, including with spoken word collective Modwords. During lockdown, she took part in Youth Theatre Ireland’s ARTiculate playwriting programme with playwrights Dylan-Coburn Gray and Veronica Coburn.
The winning artists each received a €1,000 bursary to support them and their practice, as well as being given time inside the Theatre Royal to develop and workshop their work with the support of the technical team, once restrictions eased. They also worked with the theatre team to shoot a video presentation of their work, which could be used to support their artistic practice.