Lots of gloomy news this week– but some bright spots for the arts:

• Opera Ireland went out on a high note (excuse the pun!) with its production of Tosca– also the first opening night of opera to be streamed live online in Ireland.
• Our own college council meeting has been postponed pending budget announcements; devastating budget cuts for UK colleges of the arts (and the Open University) makes for glum reading.
• Further on the subject of UK arts cuts– the Guardian’s helpfully collating articles that deal with the impact and extent of cuts to the arts– from the slash and burn of Somerset’s county council that eliminated 100% of arts funding, to the better news of Scotland’s relatively light cuts to its arts budget.
• The Department of Tourism, Sport and Culture announced the recipients of its cultural technology grants. Lots and lots of iPhone applications funded, with the largest grant (€180,000) to the Foynes Flying Boat Museum to develop a 3-D hologram ‘tracing the history and development of Irish coffee for flying boat passengers at Foynes’: seriously?!
• The Irish Museums Association is sponsoring a one-day seminar at University of Ulster (‘Practice Meets Theory‘) for students and professionals interested in museum studies. Attendance is free!
• Bucking the trend of the unpaid internship– the Jerwood Charitable Foundation in the UK is offering a series of creative bursaries in association with selected arts and cultural organisations – the selection of opportunities is quite juicy!