What is happening at Draíocht in Blanchardstown? Concerns about spiralling costs, the cancellation of a big-budget show, a council-appointed temporary director, resignations by the board . . . But despite the upheaval, there is an optimism about the future of Draíocht, which is the envy of other arts centres because of its structure, staff and funding.
A number of developments over the past few months have led to the current situation. Fingal County Council, which is the main funder of the Dublin 15 arts centre (last year to the tune of about €300,000, plus an additional bail-out of €100,000; this year's allocation is €400,000) has long had a supportive relationship with its impressive flagship centre. But late last year the council became concerned about cash-flow at Draíocht. Following the injection of €100,000, a high-cost production, which could have got the centre into deeper financial trouble, was cancelled. The council then decided to take what could be described as a more active role in the centre.
In the meantime, in an unrelated development, director Teerth Chungh resigned to move to the Gate theatre, taking over from Anne Clarke.
The council's intervention - which included the appointment of Fingal arts officer Rory O'Byrne as interim director, who started on Monday - led to six members of the board, including chairman Colm Deignan, Tony O'Dalaigh, Pat Moylan and Sharon Murphy, resigning. "The county manager wanted to move away from the arms-length approach, and at the back of this was an ambition that the county council be more proactive rather than just passively funding," says O'Dalaigh. "We felt there was no role for a board if the local authority was hands-on in that way," but he stressed the entire board, which had worked well together, was anxious Draíocht would flourish. "It was very civilised and everyone was thanked and good wishes were offered" for the future of Draíocht.
Fingal's line on this is in accord with its proactive stance in the arts, refuting the notion that arts policy should be articulated exclusively by "arts practitioners" and saying it is the responsibility and the right of local government to work in partnership with arts practitioners to develop cultural policy which reflects "duty of care" (stewardship of public money) and genuine commitment to "service delivery" in the cultural sector. Fingal is exploring the concept of civil arts, citizens' access to the arts and redefinitions of community art, in particular researching "arts in the suburbs". It seems there may be a move to change the local authority's approach at Draíocht and beyond.
Theatre awards time
Theatre folk are dusting down the tuxedos and posh frocks for Sunday week's Irish Times/ESB theatre awards in the Burlington, and proceedings will be aired the following night, Monday 17th, on RTÉ1's The View Special (11.40pm). The first of a series of one-off specials from the The View team, this is a departure from the Tuesday late-night night arts review programme fronted by John Kelly. The second special will be an interview with Neil Jordan later in the month. "The idea is to give the viewers something extra," says series producer David McKenna. And possibly picking up on Aosdána's criticism of RTÉ during the week, he says "nobody in RTÉ thinks arts coverage is satisfactory - we'd like to do more and will do more - and the licence fee is good news. But in the meantime we've identified the possibility of using the basic resources of The View to generate more arts coverage. So we're delighted to kick-start these specials with covering the theatre awards".
Dancers to get in step
The dance community is starting to hit back following the recent Arts Council cuts, writes Michael Seaver. A meeting organised by the Association of Professional Dancers in Ireland (APDI) will look to formalise the outcry within the dance community and devise a campaign strategy. It takes place next Wednesday at 6 p.m., in the Upstairs Meeting Room, Irish Film Centre, Temple Bar, Dublin. The APDI is awaiting a meeting with the Arts Council to discuss the cuts - 77 per cent to ballet and 23 per cent to overall dance funding - as well as a Freedom of Information Act request for all discussions and minutes around successful and unsuccessful applications. The February issue of its newsletter, Prodance News, claims "cutting funding in this manner must surely be counter-productive to the developments that have taken place within the sector over recent years". Most worrying is the possibility of a continuous downward spiral in funding, since history has shown dance to be a soft touch for cuts. To mount a successful campaign, the APDI must unite the sector, although it may be causing divisions itself by stating: "Arts Council investment in new clients within the dance sector is welcome. However, we would question a policy that might appear to cut one company in order to fund another."
New faces
It's always good to see new, relatively young members being elected to Aosdána - which does something to alleviate its image as a bunch of fierce and scary-looking bearded old men thundering on around a table, an image underlined by the panning shots of RTE news coverage of Aosdana's meeting during the week. Good to see Mannix Flynn making it, and also that two of the newcomers are composers - Stephen Gardner and Ronan Guilfoyle - given the dispute a couple of years ago about the admission of composers.
This year's meeting focused on criticism of RTÉ's coverage of the arts (maybe the fusty beard images were a revenge!), and also drew attention to the shortcomings of the Arts Bill, urging that it be amended to include practising artists on the Arts Council. Speaking of which, in light of the criticism of council funding decisions, it's interesting to see one of the mouths the council feeds well approving of its ongoing funding of itself: "The members of Aosdána recognise and value the Arts Council's continued and unswerving support of the individual artist and for Aosdána as an affiliation of individual artists, and welcomes the chairman of the Arts Council's affirmation of that today."
And furthermore . . .
The Limerick Music Association's John Ruddock has found a way to strike back at funding cuts, writes Michael Dervan. The recent LMA-promoted recital by Russian pianist Vladimir Ovchinnikov, first prizewinner of the 1987 Leeds Piano Competition, was given in honour of Leo Colgan, who retired last year as registrar of the University of Limerick. The back of the LMA's programme read: "This evening's recital is not supported by the Arts Council." In the current climate, this could become a catching thing, assuming, of course, that there are any events at which to flaunt the statement . . . MovieExtras.ie is holding open casting days this weekend in Dublin to recruit extras for film and TV productions. The online service for Irish casting directors and production companies in Ireland costs extras €35 for a year's membership (including photograph). Roll up at the IFC today between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. or tomorrow between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. www.MovieExtras.ie or e-mail derek@movieextras.ie . . . Chamber music lovers must have read with dismay the announcement of the closure until further notice of Bantry House, home of the West Cork Chamber Music Festival. The good news is that the festival, a major international tourist attraction for the area, as well as a revenue stream for the house, will go ahead as originally announced, with a packed programme . . . "If all the world's a stage - it needs a better script" is Fishamble's invitation to its next playwriting course, which begins on Wednesday, April 16th, at 7 p.m. (weekly for nine weeks; fee €250. Information: Gavin Kostick 01-670 4018 or gavin@fishamble.com . . . The three German actors in the Pan Pan and German Stage Service's For The First Time Ever, which premièred at the Pan Pan Symposium in January "came home" last week when the show was performed in the actors' hometown of Marburg. "We were obviously a bit nervous as to how a German audience would respond," said director Gavin Quinn, "but we were delighted to play to full houses every night and the German audiences loved it." The local newspaper, the Marburger Forum, reported: "This outstanding piece asks many questions about losing, getting lost, being missed and missing and gives no answers but 'our feelings are an aspect of what we are'!" . . . Enda Walsh's American production of Bedbound got a glowing review in the New York Times when it opened at New York's Irish Repertory Theare. Critic Ben Brantley called it "a whisky-shot of a play". "Acted with mesmerising energy and precison by Brian F. O'Byrne and Jenna Lamia, Bedbound emerges as a genuine and bracing original among the already well-stocked shelves of word-drunk Irish plays." He ends with: "A warning: This play's dense, pullulating texture takes over your mind so completely that you find yourself thinking in the rhythms of Bedbound long after it ends. As is the case with successful productions of Pinter and Mamet, it is advisable to avoid conversation for at least an hour. Your voice may not be your own." . . . Hundreds of young musicians were busy all week preparing for today's Annual Festival of Youth Orchestras in the National Concert Hall. The Association of Youth Orchestras, with a membership of 108 youth orchestras and 5,000 young musicians, is steadily mobilising areas far removed from existing Schools of Music. Meanwhile, Ealain McMullin of the Donegal Youth Orchestra is celebrating her scholarship to the International Chamber Music Workshop in Apple Hill, New Hampshire . . .
The Tyrone Guthrie Centre is offering a number of international bursaries for four-week residencies for practitioners in all artforms in several artists' retreats during 2003: Schwandorf, Bavaria (www.schwandorf.de); Can Serrat, Barcelona (www.canserrat.org);
Virginia Center for Contemporary Art (www.vcca.com); Blue Mountain
Center, New York State (www.bluemountaincenter.org). Applications, with short CV and project description, before March 31st to: Director, Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig, Newbliss, Co Monaghan.