January's Newsletter

January 12, 2025

An update from Seo

January tends to be a slower month for events, so it’s a good time to reflect on what we achieved last year and look ahead to what’s next for the co-op. 
 

Although we were founded in 2023, 2024 was our first real active year, working together on events with our partners and generally helping our members out wherever we could.
 

Some events you might have made it to that our members organized / funded include:

  • Palestine fundraiser in Abhainn
  • The Conncert
  • Culture Night in the Arts Center
  • theNCF expo a.k.a. BFF opening as well a colab for the closing event of the festival in the Arts Center
  • The made-up orchestra at BFF
  • Palestine Poetry Event and Art Show
  • Commonage Art Show
  • Punx Christmas Party
     

Other Milestones from 2024 included: 

  • We officially formed theNCF CLG, an appropriate and necessary legal structure for a non-profit group like ours.
  • We found a home on Pearse St. thanks to Mayo County Council. 
  • We successfully applied for funding from a range of sources, including the Arts Council, Mayo County Council, and Foras na Gaeilge, on behalf of our members.
  • We became the first Irish member of the ENCC (European Network for Cultural Centres). 
  • We hosted our first ever 'home' events: exhibitions, readings, live music, djs, and a coffee meetup (well technically we did that one in the Library opposite our doors).
  • Grew to 180 members. 
     

Some 2025 To-dos: 

  • Building Improvements: If you're handy and you want to help shape the space, please get in touch. We've got some practical needs but also creating the physical aesthetic is something we'd encourage our members to get involved in if they have the skills!
  • Equipment and Furniture: We've an ambition to provide a house p.a. and lights with some donations already promised viz. musical equipment. If you have anything we could use let us know.
  • Studio & Practice Spaces: We understand there's a major demand.  We plan to approach Mayo County Council for the vacant downstairs lot to accommodate this. This will also solve another issue we have at the moment regarding accessibility.
  • AGM: Annual General Meeting needs to happen this year. Agenda will be circulated well in advance.
  • Funding: We'll be asking for a voluntary contribution from members of 20 euro in February. The contribution will help towards our running costs (estimated at between 3-4k p.a.) that are currently being covered by loans and one-off donations. We will also apply for local and national grant aid, where available.
  • Events: Lots of plans and proposals including:
    • Artist residency (in collaboration with the Ballina Fringe Festival)
    • Regular live music and DJs (also in collaboration with the Punx)
    • Youth events in the space (we intend to apply for the Cruinniú na nÓg grant so if you have any experience with the grant or working with young people come forward)
    • Regular day meetups (facilitated by Carmel and Serena)
       

Participation :
 If you're new to the group and want to get involved, the first thing I would advise you to do is to understand the ethos of co-operation and our stated goals. Check out the website for more on that https://thencf.art
 

The ICA website https://ica.coop also sets out the identity, values and principles of the international co-operative movement - "self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity...honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.*"
 

As we are a member of the ENCC it's also worth understanding the shared ethos they promote amongst their members https://encc.eu/
 

There's no set format for participation, you can join or found an ad-hoc group (musicians, visual artists are already doing this), propose individual projects, apply for funding through the co-op or just show up at an event and hang-out with us. 
 

Thanks again to everyone who participated directly as performers / exhibitors / organizers and volunteers this year.  I don't have a number of active volunteers over the whole year but it was a lot - I'm going to say at least 40 people helped out directly in one way or another. We wouldn't have made it this far with out all your contributions.
 

Seo.
 

Further news. 

Book the space for your event

It is now possible to book the space for your events via our form here: https://thencf.art/space

Please note that a minimum of 20 euros is required to cover shared costs per day. All bookings are provisional until confirmed by email. Space is for members use only.

Creative in Residence

The Killala Town Team, with the support of Creative Ireland and the Town Centre First program, are excited to announce an opportunity for a Creative in Residence in Killala, with a focus on engaging young people and exploring the town through creative consultations and projects. The residency will run between February and June 2025, culminating in a vibrant showcase on Cruinniú na nÓg 2025.

Key Details:

  • Residency Fee: €6,000
  • Additional Budget: €4,000 for materials, additional creatives support, and hosting a public event.
  • Timeline: February to June 2025
  • Deadline for Proposals: January 22, 2025

We are looking for a creative individual or group, passionate about working with young people in Killala to inspire and enable their creative project/s based in and/or about their town centre. The residency includes:

  • Facilitating workshops and activities with young people.
  • Developing creative project/s based on the initial creative consultations.
  • Supporting the young people to host a public event to showcase the project/s on Cruinniú na nÓg June 7th.

We encourage proposals from creatives across disciplines, including visual arts, digital storytelling, architecture, design, performing arts, literature, media, and more.

Feel free to reach out to Anna Livia Cullinan (acullinan@MayoCoCo.ie with any questions if needed.

 

OPEN CALL from BFF

Ballina Fringe Festival is seeking submissions from west of Ireland artists in all mediums for the upcoming Ballina Affordable Art Fair opening Thursday February 27th @ 7pm in Ballina Civic Office Gallery. The Affordable Art Fair is a part fundraiser with 50% of sales going to support the 2025 Ballina Fringe Festival in October and 50% to the artist. The event will run through to Saturday February 29th. Closing date for submissions is Monday 17th February @ 5pm.

Artists can submit up to 4 works in all mediums.

Please send a high quality image of each work to info@ballinafringefestival.ie along with:

  • Name of artist
  • Title
  • Medium
  • Dimension of each work
  • Price

Punxmas @theNCF!

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