Cork Opera House and UCC launch new bursary for autistic Artist in Residence

Cork Opera House and University College Cork Department of Theatre have announced a Theatre Artist in Residence Programme that will provide a bursary of €20,000 to a professional theatre artist who identifies as autistic/person with autism.

The application is open to artists working in areas including, but not confined to, creating, writing, production and direction. The Artist in Residence will be welcome to liaise directly with the CEO of Cork Opera House and the Professor of Creative Practice and Department of Theatre at UCC throughout their residency. 

Eibhlin Gleeson, CEO Cork Opera House, welcomed the new programme, saying, “We are very proud to launch this initiative in collaboration with our partners in UCC and extremely excited to welcome a new artist into the fold, while promoting the creation and development of theatrical work with an autistic artist.

“We will use this opportunity to learn how to better facilitate neurodiversity within our industry and to celebrate how wonderfully diverse the artistic community is. We look forward to what we can achieve with this programme.”

Both institutions believe that celebrating and promoting diversity in the artists that they work with is key to shaping a cultural sector that is inclusive, compelling and meaningful.

"University College Cork’s Department of Theatre is thrilled to support this initiative in collaboration with Cork Opera House,” Yvon Bonefant, Head of Department of Theatre at University College Cork. 

“This is amongst a number of initiatives at UCC that seek to better include autistic people/people with autism in our artistic and learning communities. As we look towards the future of The Granary Theatre, we are delighted to focus on Theatre on this occasion. This programme is an integral part of our vision - a vision of a brighter future, one where wider outreach, inclusion, and historically ‘outside’ voices are invited ‘in’ with passion."

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Applications for the Theatre Artist in Residence Programme close on Friday, March 11, and to find further information please email egleeson@corkoperahouse.ie