The ISACS Network would like to thank everyone who took the time to attend our Annual General Meeting which took place on April 29th via Zoom. It was a great opportunity to come together to recap a strange but an overall positive year for the network, and to discuss and learn more about the plans for the future. Some key take away points from the meeting were:
- Membership growth – Our membership grew by a whopping 23% over 2020.
- Training and Mentoring – We held a wide variety of successful training and workshops for our members covering topics such as accountancy and finance, making street art, Arts Council funding clinics and how to make art online.
- International Reach – We continued our international reach via participation in networks such as Circostrada, NASA UK, PITCH with Culture Ireland, Street Talk, Fira Tarrega as well as others.
- Moving forward in 2021 – We secured increased funding from the Arts Council for 2021 which will allow us to growth our staff capacity, increase our programming, and carry out a strategic review of the network.
The above is just a snippet of what was discussed. To learn more about our how our 2020 went, you can download our Annual Report here:
Election Results
This year, we had 1 open position for a member to join the Board of ISACS and two candidates up for election; Jonah McGreey of Loosysmokes and William Frode de la Foret of Cork Community Art Link. In keeping with all things virtual, an online ballot was held to collect the votes. As a result, are now able to officially announce that Jonah McGreevy has been elected to the Board – Congratulations Jonah!
About Jonah
Jonah started his life and career in circus arts in Dublin a little over a decade ago. Initially focusing on partner acrobatics and doubles aerial, he quickly became interested in producing shows and figuring out all the logistical, technical, administrative, interpersonal and artistic work that goes into making successful productions. He is one of the founders and co-artistic director of the multi-award winning Loosysmokes.
I’m interested in being on the board of ISACS to support the continued development of the organization. I think our art forms are really important culturally because they have the ability to draw in audiences that are not typical theatre goers or patrons of the arts. Outside of making amazing shows that are a great nights out for people, we can play a vital role in bridging gaps and barriers in society by creating shared cultural experiences and moments. I spent my younger years in the United States working as a union organizer, political consultant and agitator and have experience building large membership organizations, organizing and pressuring politicians for change.
Thank you
Finally, we would like to extend a huge thank you to our outgoing Directors, Nick Kavanagh (Curious State), Catherine Bourne and Elisa Gallo Rosso for all their support, hard work and contributions to the network over the past 3 years.