Remarks on the 60th Anniversary of the Arts Council, Ireland
Dublin, 2nd February 2012
Tá an-áthas orm bheith i bhur láthair ar an ocáid speisialta seo. Tá mé thar a bheith buíoch daoibh as an cuireadh agus an fáilte forchaoin a chur sibh romham.
Ladies and Gentlemen I am delighted to be with you all here this morning to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Arts Council and would like to thank Pat Moylan for her kind invitation to join you. The setting up of the Arts Council, in an Ireland struggling with tough economic conditions, was an action that required an admirable breath of vision, a lot of courage and some very practical decision making from the Taoiseach at the time, John A Costello. Set up following The Bodkin Report, which was commissioned to investigate the state of the Arts in Ireland during that bleak and fiscally challenging period, the Arts Council was, born out of a determination that Ireland would not, even at a time of political stress and economic difficulty, neglect the arts but would assign them a clear and defined place in what was then our very young State.
Since those days the Arts Council has gone from strength to strength. From your establishment under the 1951 Arts Act when you were charged with stimulating public interest; promoting knowledge, appreciation and practice; and assisting in the improving of standards of the arts, twenty two years later, your role was further developed under the 1973 Act which recognised the need to increase public access to, and engagement with, the arts. Subsequently, the 2003 Arts Act made an important re-adjustment to the relationship between the Arts Council and Government - underlining your autonomy as the expert body in the area of arts and culture.
Today, with our economy once again in recession, the role of the Arts Council continues to be a significant one; its work a crucial element in ensuring that we retain a cultural space, a space that does not become marginal, tangential or even abandoned. As we are forced to take account of fiscal realities and economic possibilities, it is important that we continue to harness all that is best about our past and sustain our imaginative possibilities by nourishing our cultural richness in its identities and diversities.
When I was inaugurated as President of Ireland I stressed the value of championing creative communities. I believe that encouraging the development of creativity in our communities and ensuring opportunities for creative expression lay the groundwork for sustainable employment in creative industries and enrich our social, cultural and economic development. Creativity, community, citizenship and cultural industries are inextricably linked.
The arts and culture is a unique sector, not just in its employment-creation potential but in the sustainability of such employment, its capacity for regional dispersal and the economically attested high multiplier it generates for local economies. As an organisation that supports three thousand jobs across five hundred organisations contributing 192 million euro to the economy, the members and staff of the Arts Council need no persuasion about the economic potential of arts, culture and creative expression.
Cé go bhfuil sé rí-thábhachtach go mbeadh díospóireacht ann ar an ngaolmhaireacht idir chruthaitheacht, chultúr agus an geilleagar, níor cheart go ndíreofaí go hiomlán ar luach eacnamaíochta an fhiontair chruthaithigh amháin. Níor cheart gur iarmhar áit an mhargaidh a bheadh sa spás cultúrtha ach foinse físe – agus nuáil á tairiscint aige ar an mbealach a fheicimid an domhan agus a gcónaímid ann, agus cé go mbeadh raon na heacnamaíochta cuimsithe ann ní hé amháin a bheadh i gceist. Is bunghné den sochaí an cultúr nár cheart a imeallú ach ar cheart go dtabharfadh sé chun cinn tuiscint nua ar an dlúthpháirtíocht. Ba cheart gur inspioráid thábhachtach agus deis chumasaithe a bheadh ann agus muid ag tabhairt faoin dúshlán a bhaineann leis an ngeilleagar a thógáil ó bhun arís agus muinín idirnáisúnta á chothú an athuair sa gheilleagar athmhúnlaithe sin – geilleagar nach bhfuil scoite amach ón bpobal ná bunaithe ar riachtanais agus éilimh an gheilleagair beag beann ar gach ní eile.
We have seen, in recent years, the dangers of valuing and utilising our assets based on purely material considerations. We have learnt, from harsh experience, that many of the most valuable things in life cannot be measured in purely economic terms. That is, of course, an older wisdom and one we are now thankfully returning to as we connect our recovery with societal needs.
There is a rich, perhaps insufficiently used, store of research commissioned over the years by the Arts Council. I am always happy to recall my own indebtedness as Minister to the inspirational work of the Benson Report of 1979. One of my priorities as Minister for Arts and Culture was the establishment of a rich network of local arts and cultural venues which brought a crucial access to citizens across Ireland to these facilities. A truly effective cultural space is a public space accessible to all citizens. If we delimit that space and define it as the preserve of an elite we set the arts and creativity as something apart from the lives of our citizens. Creativity is developed socially and it is in interaction with others that it emerges and blossoms. The work that went into Community Arts and their development by CAFE – Creative Arts For Everyone – assisted by the Arts Council was a practical exercise in citizenship.
It was, therefore, an inspired move over twenty five years ago to introduce the appointment of County Arts Officers. This was a truly strategic and inventive initiative that has been fundamental in transforming the cultural landscape of Ireland and developing a strong relationship between the Council and the local authorities.
Culture must occupy a central space in the national psyche, one that will allow us to better understand ourselves through our cultural past and to build a better future through the free exercise of our imagination.
Today, as we look back over the six decades of the Arts Council’s existence we can see how much has been achieved in ensuring access to culture for the public at large and allowing the arts to make a real contribution to our evolving society. Its management of the state's investment in the arts is responsible for the development of an aspect of Irish life in which there is widespread and justifiable pride. Culture is based on what we share and is a process that is continually being reworked. From local arts centres, through national cultural institutions, to stages, screens and bookshops in cities worldwide, Irish art and artists bring a shared meaning and celebration of the human spirit. They also bring a distinctive renown to Ireland, as a country where innovation and creativity are strongly supported. It is in the work of Irish artists and cultural workers that Ireland’s reputation has been safest and enhanced.
Due to the hard work of the Arts Council, Ireland now has a developed arts infrastructure of ensembles, organisations, festivals and dedicated buildings as well as a cohort of exceptional artists, arts workers and arts managers. Artists give form to ideals and ideas. But they can do so only when given the space and time. Creating space to breathe, and work; giving artists time to think, and act - this is an essential precondition to the creation of all art. And this is what the Arts Council, through its various bursary and grant programmes, allows. It allows the individual artist the chance to make what he or she feels called to make.
It is important too to recognise that arts administration is a relatively new and challenging area distinct from other models of management and requiring its own special skills including recognition of the process of creativity and the relationship to the public that is ever changing and demanding.
There is no doubt that we have achieved much, but of course there is always more to be done, new challenges to rise to. I am confident that the Arts Council will continue to achieve excellence through the expenditure of enormous effort, commitment and courage, ensuring the arts continue to be relevant and central in our ever changing and evolving society.
I congratulate the Council on all they have achieved to date and I wish them every success as they continue their work in building a strong cultural space, fostering creativity among our citizens and ensuring that people of all ages and social backgrounds have effective access to the life-enhancing elixir of art and culture.
Finally, I would like to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to come and talk to you here this morning on this important and auspicious occasion.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.