Children to receive art books
By Hayden Moore
CHILDREN in family hubs and a direct provision centre in South Dublin are set to receive new books as part of the Arts Council’s initiative to engage people from different backgrounds in Culture Night.
Culture Night is an all-island public event that celebrates the arts which has become an annual mainstay since 2008 – although this year is the first that is being led by the Arts Council.
Elaina Ryan (CEO Childrens Books Ireland), Melatu-Uche Okorie (Arts Council board member) and Maureen Kennelly (Arts Council Director)
This Friday, September 18, is when Culture Night will take place all across the country but the day will see children receive books from the government agency.
Respond in Tallaght and a residents group direct provision centre in Dublin 22 will be among those to benefit from the initiative that will see more than 1,000 books delivered to families.
The goal of distributing the books is to promote “the joy of opening and reading a book” for families all around the country.
Speaking about the launch of the initiative, Director of the Arts Council Maureen Kennelly said: “We believe passionately that the arts are for every single person in Ireland, and that is at the heart of the Equality, Human Rights and Diversity policy we launched last year.
“That’s why we have invested in broadening and diversifying audiences and participation in Culture Night.”
Also encouraging parents to participate in the reading with their children, the Arts Council has partnered with Children’s Books Ireland to create and publish a free guide to 100 of the best Irish books for children called The Books Make Things Better.
The guide will be distributed for free through bookshops and libraries, and can also be downloaded online at www.artscouncil.ie or www.childrensbooksireland.ie/reading-guides/
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