Joe Cleere Amongst Artlinks Bursary Recipients
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008ArtLinks, a five-county Arts partnership initiative between Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow County Councils and the Arts Council, is pleased to announce details of the successful recipients of the 2008 ArtLinks Bursary Awards – Annual Awards that are open to all creative practitioners who are resident in these counties and who are registered with ArtLinks.ie.
Of the Five ArtLinks Bursary Awards of €8,000 awarded for 2008, two have been awarded to two young talented musicians; Joe Cleere, a contemporary singer/songwriter, from Co. Carlow and Alison Comerford, a violinist Co. Kilkenny.
The County Carlow ArtLinks Bursary recipient, Joe Cleere, is a young full time music artist living in Tinryland and has proven to be innovative, ambitious and self-motivated. In 2006, Joe won the Perri 2fm Song Contest and used the prize money to build his own studio, Fretless Records. Currently he works as a Sound Engineer for Fretless and is on the verge of releasing his debut album East/West, which will be launched in February 2009. The first single will be released in Radio City Dublin on September 13th and in a venue in Carlow. On receiving the ArtLinks Bursary, presented by Carlow Cllr Michael Doran, Cleere says “this award is of huge benefit to me and the album. For example just this week I’ve booked the CD mastering in New York with the same engineer as The Strokes, Sonic Youth, and Bob Dylan, what an opportunity! I’m so glad my two year project can be finished and launched with the attention it deserves”.
