REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF “THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: AN ARKLINK RETROSPECTIVE”
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF “THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: AN ARKLINK RETROSPECTIVE” THE ARK, TEMPLE BAR, DUBLIN 2
Tá an-áthas orm bheith anseo i bhur measc inniú. Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl daoibh as ucht bhur bhfáilte chaoin.
Good afternoon everybody, I am delighted to be back in the Ark and to be back with ArkLink again. I thank Annette Nugent for inviting me to this fantastic exhibition – a showcase of the great talent among the children in Fatima Mansions and of ArkLink’s ability to mobilise that talent.
Fatima Mansions is home to a remarkable community which has undergone huge changes in recent years. For a long time it was best known as a place where social deprivation and poverty had taken such a grip that the community seemed to have lost control of its own place. But as the culture of drugs and wasted lives brought heartache after heartache, the deep spirit and ambition of the people re-asserted itself. Today after years of planning, and then the disruption that building inevitably brings, Fatima Mansions has been physically recreated in a way that is respectful of its people and their wishes, and in a way that lifts their hearts. But even as the local people and the committees sat down together all those years ago, to design smart new houses and apartments, the people always knew that renewing the hearts and minds of Fatima was just as important. The big ambition was, and still is, to make a really good future for Fatima’s children, to give them confidence in themselves and their community, and to make sure they get the very best chances in life so that they can get the best from their lives.
Education is the most important thing in opening up a child to his or her own potential and, of course, art has a big role to play in encouraging children to be creative, inventive, curious about their own talent and about the world around them. That is where ArkLink entered, working with the children over these past five years, watching them discover the amazing world of art, helping them to grow in skill, in self-belief and in strength. I had a chance to see some of the brilliant work produced by the children last year when I visited 14 E Fatima Mansions. Now the whole of Dublin City, and all our visitors, can see a fascinating exhibition which presents the children’s work and tells the story of how a community grew strong again. Here are children who know and believe with a passion that the arts are for them and they are for the arts. This is the arts playing a big role in social inclusion and building a truly egalitarian society.
The Ark is Europe's first custom-built Children's Cultural Centre and it was founded in the strong belief that all children, as citizens, have the same cultural rights as adults, and that the earlier we encourage them to extend their artistic imaginations, the earlier they will extend their horizons. That view is surely vindicated today in this exhibition with its theme of the butterfly, a symbol of beauty and freedom emerging from turmoil.
Both The Ark and the Fatima Regeneration Board have worked well together on this pioneering project and, along with the sponsors whose funding made the whole thing possible, they deserve our thanks and the righteous pride they must feel today at what they have helped to achieve. But the real credit goes to Fatima’s children who took the opportunity offered by the programme and made it work so brilliantly. Congratulations to them all. I hope that as children, arts in Fatima moves into a new phase, there will be many more days of celebration like this.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.