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The arts in Ireland: deep cuts and unseen contributions

Posted on 2009-07-21

The arts in Ireland: deep cuts and unseen contributions


Last week I spoke with Gavin Kostick of the Fishamble Theatre Company about the online campaign brewing: Making a Public Case for the Arts. I found out about the background of the campaign to mobilise artists to have their voices heard. With the recommendations for cuts only recently released the urgency of this campaign is ever more pressing.


Economist Ronan Lyons points out in his analysis An Bord Snip Nua - who is paying most? the vocal health and education departments, while contributing large monetary amounts arent being cut the deepest. If we consider the cuts in terms of the percentage of the budgets, the Departments of Arts, Sports & Tourism and Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs each contribute far more than other departments.


Visual Artists Ireland has recently published a report on the The Social, Economic and Fiscal Status of Visual Artists in Ireland. Statistics gathered show that "visual artists are at the lowest income level of society". For this reason, Gavin Kostick suggests the public gets very good value for money, yet remains unaware of the contributions the arts makes to the economy. Without a voice in politics, the arts have little opportunity to make the case that arts should not be bearing the brunt of suggested cuts in budgets.


In terms politicians and businesses can understand, arts workers are cost-effective, they present a great ROI (return on investment). Arts workers wages are low, and they make a significant contribution to local economy by bringing in visitors for performances, events and exhibitions, and working in areas such as hospitals and schools which build social capital. But this argument needs to be clearly spelled out for politicians. Kevin Spacey points out that those who argue on behalf of the arts have not used the economic impact of arts and culture as the centrepiece of our appeals as much as we should. Too often we focus solely on the social aspects of what we can achieve, or the artistic merits.


Invisible people have invisible rights is the sub-heading of http://mulley.net, the blog of Damien Mulley, a well-known online public-relations/marketing practitioner. He started a campaign a few years back called Ireland Offline ,raising awareness of the dire state of broadband in Ireland. He used the tools available online to get his message across. And arts workers who remain invisible, who do not have a voice politically can do the same for the arts by using the tools available freely online.


Making the Public Case for Arts: Jobs Jobs Jobs


Mary Cloake, Director of the Arts Council addressed the Theatre Forum Ireland Annual Conference on 11 June 09 in a panel on Making the Public Case for the Arts. Mary explained we need to position the arts at the centre of economic recovery, citing the Weimar Republic- what do we remember of that time? -the vibrant culture in the face of economic crisis. The main message we need to send to politicians is: JOBS JOBS JOBS. There are many people employed, yet there is a potential of 10,000 more jobs to be found in the arts with minimum investment. Taoiseach Brian Cowen is looking for a way to kick-start a new Ireland... to get that international reputation re-established, and we need to communicate the opportunities to the government.


Mary Cloake said we can look to the effective campaigns have been run, for example, by the GAA which linked their agenda with the national agenda. They take one message and repeat it ad nauseum... all singing from the same hymn sheet. Mary said it would be great if each week, in every local paper, we would have an article about the arts, getting the message across. The message:


"The Arts is central to the national agenda in terms of jobs, pride and the smart economy."

You can view her talk:



Facebook constituency groups:


At the end of the conference at Theatre Forum Ireland, in an open mic session, Gavin Kostick announced they were setting up a local constituency group to mobilise arts workers in his area: Dublin Central. Soon, others wanted to join the campaign and find out how they could help. Soon the idea for the Facebook Constituency Groups was developed. Each group is seeking membership from People who make their living wholly or partly in the Arts. This includes artists, arts workers, security staff, the suppliers... and so on.


As of Oct 2007 there were about 131,660 Facebook users in Ireland (via http://bit.ly/15LcOv. Now, as of 16 July 2009 there are 791,320 Facebook users in Ireland. This could be a good place for political action, and its why they have chosen to use Facebook as the venue for Making the Public Case for Arts local constituency groups.


Their aim is to be able to demonstrate, for the first time, to councillors and TDs just how many arts workers live and vote in every constituency in Ireland. Each group can then address issues at a local level, focusing on each constituency. Gavin says at this stage we have to get the facts so we can focus on a few key message and promote them.



  • What contributions have the arts made to your community?

  • How many visitors come each year to a particular local arts venue?

  • How many more people are employed in the arts?

  • How many vendors rely on the arts in the local area?


The campaign will specifically focus on addressing the politicians and interest groups at a local level: the TDs, Failte Ireland, Chambers of Commerce, Department of Foreign Affairs, etc. The arguments need to be put into terms that politicians can understand, and the bottom line is money: jobs supported by the arts and revenue generated locally due to the arts. While the Arts Council can supply valuable research and statistics, Gavin explained to me, The government cant lobby itself. Therefore, it is up to each local constituency to gather local information and make local arguments to politicians who are interested in votes.


What you can do to help the arts:


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