Creative arts in the County are being supported and encouraged through a new Awards scheme in memory of Joan Trimble, the musician and composer who was Chairman of William Trimble Limited, publisher of The Impartial Reporter.
The scheme has been established to support creative arts projects in Fermanagh and in the first year, it is specifically inviting schools in the County to apply for a grant to work in a creative project of the schoolıs choice in the 2003/04 academic year.
Joan Trimble died two years ago at the age of 85. Well known in Fermanagh as a newspaper proprietor, she was known and highly respected both here and farther afield for her musical ability.
She was a vastly respected composer, working in London for a period of 30 years. She and her sister Valerie also performed a two-piano duet.
In the year before she died, a compact disc of the music composed by Joan Trimble was launched in Dublin, marking something of a renaissance of her work as a composer. The music of her youth was coming to life again, she had remarked.
Her 75th birthday had also been marked with the composing of a Wind Quintet for the Belfast Wind Quintet. It toured throughout Ireland, including the Ardhowen Theatre in Enniskillen.
Born in Enniskillen, her links with the town remained very important to her, even when living in London. After the death of her proprietor-editor father Egbert in 1967, she travelled back and forth from London to Enniskillen on a regular basis to run The Impartial Reporter. She and her husband, Dr. John Gant moved back to live in Enniskillen in 1978. Her daughter, Mrs. Joanna McVey, is the newspaperıs Managing Director. She has two other children, Nicholas and Caroline.
Her daughter Caroline has been involved in the creation of this Awards scheme. She explained the background to the establishment of the awards programme. "We - her family - agreed we wanted to create an Awards scheme in Joanıs memory which would reflect her deep commitment to her home county alongside her love of the creative arts from drama and poetry to crafts, music, painting and beyond," she said.
"For the first year, we also wanted the Awards to highlight her interest in young people, from whom she drew much joy and inspiration. Hence the school focus in the first year of the scheme," she added.
"We are delighted to be able to develop this awards scheme and look forward to supporting a wide range of creative arts projects throughout County Fermanagh in the coming years," she said.
The projects could involve a group, a class or the entire school. It is envisaged that the cross-curricular nature of teaching will allow projects to incorporate the educational themes and creative and expressive subjects with ease, as well as perhaps one of the core subjects.
An Advisory Group of six will be considering the applications for the Awards early in 2003. The group includes three members of the Fermanagh community, Toni Johnson, Barbara Johnston and Helen Lanigan Wood, whose specialist skills and experience in the fields of education and arts management will ensure that the Awards are targeted as effectively as possible. The Advisory group will also include two family members Caroline Gant and Joanna McVey. Lauri McCusker of the Fermanagh Trust, which is administering the scheme, is also taking a place on the Advisory group.
