Cultural lotto a ‘win win’ for artists and supporters
By Ellen O’Regan
GALWAY event manager has launched a “Cultural Lotto” to help sustain arts and culture during Covid-19 and beyond.
Paul Murphy of the Tiny Traders Village Galway, said he noticed an opportunity to help support “cultural creators” such as artists and craftspeople who were left without an outlet for their work as lockdowns closed markets, festivals, fairs and showcases.
“We want to keep our local artists in work, we don’t want these crafts to die out. PUP payments are good, but they’re not going to preserve people’s skills. People need to be producing work and consuming it in order to keep our love for the arts going and keep our culture strong,” he said.
The Culture Lotto starts with a campaign on a featured artist. The campaign gives some information on their background and their work, letting people know who they are. People can then support the campaign like a GoFundMe, donating as much or as little as they like online.
When all the money has been raised, a small percentage goes back to the Culture Lotto organisation to promote future campaigns.
The rest of the money raised goes towards buying works by the featured artist, at full price, which are then raffled off amongst those who donated to the campaign.
“Culture is a huge part of what makes Galway great. The fear I have is that we will loose these people – people who weave baskets or carve bog oak sculptures, artisans, craftspeople, designers, theatre companies, anyone who’s creating a more cultural aspect of our lives. That’s why I call it the Culture Lotto. I’m literally trying to give a lifeblood to our cultural framework,” he added.
More information about upcoming Culture Lotto cam- paigns can be found on the Tiny Traders Village Facebook page or online at culturelotto.com.
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