an open letter to political representatives of Ireland

I have recently sent the following to my representatives at local, national and European level. I will post the replies I will get. (if this is in the wrong section please move)

Hello,

I am contacting all of my representatives at local, national and European level in the coming days about an issue that has been in the press for negative reasons over the last few weeks.

The issue I refer to is the arts, negatively it was to do with the placing of a FG senate candidate on the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and the announcement of this years budget. As a practicing artist, both these developments have affected me along with all in our sector.

Firstly let me express my anger at what occurred with the IMMA board appointment. Some of you have gotten an e-mail in relation to this matter from me already but I will restate that it was not an artist issue or an issue with the running of IMMA (that has dealt with budget shortfalls for several years and has done the best with what they have had as the main institute of contemporary art in Ireland) it was a government policy to try and shoehorn in their candidate and as such has to be addressed from government and changed at the source and only people who are qualified and invested in the arts should be appointed to such positions. Throughout the arts this appointment was met with condemnation and a feeling of belittlement for our profession.

The announcement of this years budget at first seemed like a welcome sight but on breakdown it is found wanting. The focus on the commemorations of Easter 1916, while these should be rightly commemorated, there is a sense that the arts are being wheeled out when the eyes of the world are on the country and will be forgotten about come October 2016. Indeed the increase in the budget accounts for only this, 4 million is to be allotted to these commemorations and the rest stays the same, (with inflation).

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/no-budget-change-in-arts-funding-says-department-1.1964341

The arts are at breaking point, initially it was hoped that this budget would lead to an easing of institutional burden but once again we have been left in the cold.

As I have stated I am a practicing artist and a constituent of yours, as such let me state this. I am an artist now, I will still be an artist come October 2016 and I do not want to be forgotten as soon as the nation has had its moment in its spotlight and everyone has patted themselves on their back. Irelands artists need and will still need support, opportunities and funding or we will continue to struggle as we have done over the last 7 years, institutions need continual funding as do art organisations.

On this note I address local councillors directly, yes I am keenly aware that there is a housing crisis, my practice directly comments on the hardship that the Irish people have had to deal with over the last 7 years and indeed one budget does not make all these issues go away but asking ‘why do we need an arts office?’ is beyond reproach, many of us had thought we had put this argument to bed in the 90’s when the arts were finally recognised as a career and the arts ministry was imbedded as a legitimate ministry (something that was fought hard for) organisations such as Visual Artists Ireland and the National Campaign for the Arts continue to fight for our cause as professional artists. Arts offices around the country do wonderful jobs with little or no funding and as such should be supported not ridiculed and belittled to fight for their budgets on arguments of ‘What good are the arts?’ on this issue I direct you to John Carey’s book ‘What Good Are The Arts?’ it is a very good analysis of the UK arts and its affect on society.

While many of you were elected on single issues (water charges, housing crisis, etc.) as a councillor you have to be aware of all the issues to be a good representative, you have to represent all the people of your constituency. I am one of your constituents and this is the issue that is important to me, this is my life, my career, my future.

“Artists are the bedrock of our culture and they continue to represent us at home and abroad with great distinction.”

That was Minister Humphreys talking in response to her budget allocation, I know many of you oppose her party and that is your prerogative, as it is any voters right in this country but she makes a valid point. We as a nation often promote the arts when state officials come to this country or when we export our ‘Irish brand’ as such we the artists need the support network to be the faces of a nation through our work.

Often this is through the Arts Council and arts offices in local government, through financial support, studio support or expertise support, etc. Without this support we will flounder, many of us in the past would have supported our careers through lecturing, teaching or if lucky selling our work. All of these avenues are currently very difficult to explore, we need this support network to produce our work.

To the TDs the arts need your support, as I have said we are floundering, many artists can not afford to heat our studios (this is often the first topic of conversation when studios are mentioned; the heating situation) let alone purchase materials to produce work. It was hoped that this budget would see the end of austerity for some, it may have in some small way but for artists we once again will have to struggle. We as artists have seen an unfair wedge of our budget removed over the last number of years and it has been brought to your attention in the past, we need you to represent us and to say enough!

Lastly to our MEPs I ask that you continue to support us in Europe, issues such as cadmium bans directly affect art production (it is a pigment used in paint) and European budgets directly fund many projects in Ireland. Look to how arts budgets are allocated, how it is funded in other countries and how it is supported.

There are many great artists, arts organisations and institutions contributing immensely to Irish society, it has been well documented the positive affect the arts can have in society. I have seen this, working with marginalised aspects of society who found a voice in the arts and started to come out of their shell and again engage positively with society. Art may not have any tangible monetary value at times but it has a value that is priceless in the soul of society.

Regards