Viewpoint LOCAL INVESTMENT CAN BRING ARTS TO NEXT LEVEL Rosaleen Molloy, chairperson of the Association of Local Authority Arts Officers, reports on the first occasion the Minister for Arts has met with and addressed the association and says arts officers have revolutionised the energy, dynamism and impact of the arts on the country. cr 10 Viewpoint The Association of Local Authority Arts Officers [ALAAO] hosted its inaugural meeting with Martin Cullen, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, at the Association’s 2008 conference in November in County Waterford. This meeting marked the first occasion at which the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism met and addressed the ALAAO. Addressing delegates, Minister Cullen said: "Local authority arts officers provide opportunities to express the creativity which is distinctive to each town or town- land around the country. It is you who prepares the ground locally for the talents we wish to see flourish. You, who through vision and action, make this a country where the arts are created and appreciated by communities. "It is approaching some 25 years since the creation, under an Arts Council-led initiative, of the first arts officer post in a local authority,” he continued. “The ambition underpinning this initiative was simple: to place professional arts expertise at the heart of local governance. All 34 local authorities now have an arts officer and the evidence of your work is apparent everywhere. Venues, studios, workplaces, exhibition spaces – the very physical infrastructure where the arts in their many forms are cultivated, explored and experienced – have been developed and improved throughout the country.” Minister Cullen also said the local authority role in supporting the arts was part of a “critical partnership”. “With your important voice at local authority level, together with the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Arts Council, we can look forward to developing further the lives of artists and the arts.” ARTS PRESENCE Addresses were also given by Denis McCarthy, director of services at Waterford County Council, on behalf of the City & County Managers’ Association; Mary Cloake, director of the Arts Council and myself, Rosaleen Molloy, chairperson of the ALAAO. The speakers focused on the achievements and significant contribution of local authorities to the arts. ‘Harbouring’, a Wexford County Council commissioned project that was composed by Ian Wilson and brought together local and national musicians, is performed at White’s Hotel. cr 11 cr 12 As chairperson of the ALAAO, I commented: “The Association is delighted to have had the opportunity to host its inaugural meeting with Minister Cullen, which marks an important step in the history of arts officers in Ireland. The convening of the special committee on local authorities will undoubtedly enable progression and development to this vital sector for the arts. Local authorities are central players in leading the development of the arts in Ireland and just under 25 years since the appointment of Ireland’s first arts officer, the bourgeoning of the arts has been one of the most significant and successful measures integrated into local government in recent times.” The investment in the arts by local authorities, spearheaded by the energy and dynamism of arts officers, has proven to have been one of the most successful and effective national achievements for strategic arts development in Ireland. The presence of an arts officer, as an integral part of every local authority, has the potential to provide an arts service deeply embedded within Viewpoint The Irish Baroque Orchestra performing at the Ardee Baroque Festival at St Mary’s Church of Ireland, an event that was supported by Louth County Council. ‘The Passage of Time’ by Dan George, a piece of art that sits along the N25 was commissioned by Wexford County Council. each local area, attuned to local strengths and needs, while also part of national arts policy and development. It is now nationally recognised and accepted that local authority arts services, driven by the skill and expertise of arts officers, provide a fundamental backbone for the infrastructure to deliver the arts in Ireland. Without arts officers and the wide-ranging work that they undertake, the arts would have little or no presence at local level in Ireland. The standard of work being achieved through local authorities is, in many cases, world class and undoubtedly holds its own on the international stage, the standards of which are underpinned by compelling, engaging and inspiring artistry. VIBRANT ARTS The arts are ultimately about people – their interaction, enjoyment and enhanced quality of life through the provision of a broad range of activity. Participation in an arts event or engaging with the arts as an audience member provides people with the ‘feel good factor’ and a ‘can-do’ attitude. A vibrant arts and cultural community makes way for an enriched and positive society and arts officers are the key personnel across the country providing leadership and professional expertise to deliver in this regard. The statistics for attendance and participation in the arts, as documented in The Public and The Arts report of 2006 are compelling, with some 53 per cent of the population participating in arts events and 85 per cent attending events. The significant increase in these statistics in recent years signifies the arts as the country’s most popular pursuit and also reflects the return on the investment that has been made, in particular by the participation of children and young people who are now the adults and parents of today, whose lives include the arts. The long-term investment has undoubtedly reaped rewards. The structure of the arts at local level comprises of a huge range of activity including festivals; venues; production companies; artists’ professional development; commissioning; international exchanges; and participatory programmes across all sectors of the community including education, health, disability, the foreign national community, prisons, older people and the voluntary sector to mention but a few. This core work by arts officers, which is driven by prioritising access and participation as key policies, is without doubt bringing the arts to people in a real way. In the absence of the critical leadership of arts officers, the arts in Ireland would be void of ‘on the ground’ visibility. Viewpoint A participant of the Sligo Arts Service and Health/ Intergenerational Artist in Residence Programme working on a project at Nazareth House Nursing Home. PARTNERSHIPS Apart from being a necessary part of a healthy Irish society, the benefits of the arts for tourism, rural development, urban regeneration, national identity and international profile is significant. The very strong links between the arts and cultural tourism brings with it the added value in the generation of millions of euro for the economy of the country. The work of an arts officer is complex and broad ranging and involves working at a crossroads between arts and local government, receiving funding and policy directions from two government departments and meeting the challenge in an equitable way of balancing the artistic and social needs of all aspects of the arts in both professional and amateur contexts. Local authority arts services interact with a wide array of national, regional and local agencies, which enable and benefit the diversity of work undertaken. The role of an arts officer is wide-ranging and distinctive to each area, the strength of which is not in a standard consistent role across all local authorities, but rather through flexibility to engage in a myriad of approaches in order to best develop relevant services to local areas. Partnerships are critical and central and in achieving such, arts services interact with many local, regional, national and international individuals, artists, organisations and groups. The partnerships established enable the position of the arts to be strengthened across many contexts and deepen broader access to and participation in the arts. In just under 25 years of investment in local authority arts development, a significant amount has been achieved and a very strong foundation has been set. Local authority arts services have proved to be critical stakeholders for the future sustainability of the arts in Ireland, but now the sector must look towards the next 25- year horizon line with vision, inspiration and energy. Some of the key policy strategic issues and questions identified for the future include a co-ordinated national approach to arts and cultural planning; the need for a move towards the mainstreaming of pilot projects to move beyond the short-term experience, as called for in recent NESF and ESRI reports; and the opportunity for an effective research base to be generated so as to enable increased national policy co-ordination. The Association of Local Authority Arts Officers looks forward to working with key stakeholders in addressing these and other relevant issues. REVOLUTIONISED The appointment of arts officers in Ireland has been one the country’s greatest achievements for the arts. The proliferation of activity that has evolved since 1985 through the sector now presents the opportunity for consolidation in elevating the future vision and direction for local authorities investment in the arts to the next level in achieving a common goal – to strengthen people’s real involvement in the arts and their quality of life. Arts officers have revolutionised the energy, dynamism and impact of the arts across the country, in playing the role of cultural brokers between artists, citizens and wider creative industry stakeholders and championing what we all ultimately believe in – the relevance of the arts in the lives of the people of Ireland and Irish society. Rosaleen Molloy is county arts officer with Wexford County Council and chairperson of the Association of Local Authority Arts Officers. Viewpoint Members of the Association of Local Authority Arts Officers pictured with Minister for Arts Martin Cullen, after his address at the association’s annual conference.