Artscape: Artists concerned about the possibility of changes to the tax exemption scheme should get in touch with the Government to air their views - and soon. This advice came this week from none other than the Minister for Arts himself, John O'Donoghue, writes Belinda McKeon.
Speaking at a reception in IMMA to mark Ireland's participation in this year's Venice Biennale, he said that while he was aware of the view that the Department of Finance may cap the amount which artists can earn from artistic work without paying income tax, he was not privy to the exact details of any changes that may be coming.
He said he was unimpressed with the level of engagement, thus far, of those most closely affected by it, saying that there has been "no real coherent response from the arts community". Acknowledging that the "disparate" and "individual" nature of their work often kept artists at a distance from one another, the Minister emphasised the need for a communal statement or reaction on the tax exemption issue in the very near future. "They're articulate people, more than capable of articulating the generally held view," he said of the arts community, "and I'd certainly be interested in hearing from them. I think I know where I stand, but I need to hear from you."
The Minister's comments came a week after Aosdána called, at its annual meeting, on the Department of Social and Family Affairs to review how it treats artists. The majority of members present agreed that a definition of the artist as a working person is required to be communicated by Government to the Department, so that artists going through long periods of unemployment will not find themselves obliged by Department officials to work in jobs unrelated to their profession during that time rather than receive social welfare assistance. Nor, is it to be hoped, will they find themselves in the position of the poet Brian Lynch, who, on trying to explain the nature of the cnuas, or annual stipend of just over €12,000 granted by the Arts Council to Aosdána members under certain conditions, found himself faced with the baffled query of a social welfare officer: "Now, about this grant you get for canoeing." Clearer communication, it seems, is needed by all.
Handy work
Niall Tóibín was in jovial form last Wednesday as he readied his hands to be cast so that they could join the parade of handprints on the pavement outside the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Parade of prints may be an overstatement; the very select group of fingers on the footpath include those of Maureen Potter, John B Keane (a trip to Kerry was necessary to have his hands cast) and Anna Manahan. But Gaiety MD John Costigan has plans for three other luminaries to join Tóibín et al before the end of the summer.
Tóibín and the Gaiety took the opportunity to announce the lineup for the Bulmers International Comedy Festival, which takes place in September and includes An Evening with Niall Tóibín at the Gaiety. It's less a festival in the usual sense than a month (Sept 5th-25th), which includes a mixum-gatherum of MCD-promoted comic performances of many hues grouped together. So there are one-off gigs by Denis Leary (in the decidedly non-intimate setting of the Point), Ross Noble, Tóibín, Lee Evans, paper costume chameleon Ennio Marchetto, Jimeoin and Dirty Sanchez. Rosaleen Linehan and Des Keogh are at the Gaiety for most of the month, ventriloquist David Strassman is at the Olympia for a week, and the Umbilical Brothers at Andrews Lane for a week.
Though none of these gigs are at the Laughter Lounge on Eden Quay, which is being refurbished, that venue is likely to host other comic evenings. The hoarding is down and the interior is being fitted out as a 350-seater cabaret-style performance space at basement level, box office and bar on the ground floor, and a restaurant on the first floor. Peter O'Mahony has incorporated the former Astor cinema next door to create a bigger venue which is expected to reopen in September.
Meanwhile, a banner outside Vicar Street congratulates Tommy Tiernan on his 100th show at the venue - the most for any one artist at the Dublin venue. The 100th show is on tonight, then he's back for May 19th and 20th, with further dates on May 21st and 26th before he heads to Kilkenny for the Smithwick's Cat Laughs Comedy Festival (along with about 60 other comics) l on the June bank holiday weekend.
Praise for Opera Ireland
German audiences and theatre critics lavished praise on Opera Ireland's Orfeo ed Euridice after a one-night-only engagement last week at the prestigious May Theatre festival in Wiesbaden, reports David Scally from Wiesbaden.
Audiences gave the production a standing ovation and a local critic praised David Bolger's choreographic staging as a "furious fitness programme".
The quality of the work was a pleasant surprise to the locals, many of whom were well aware of how far the Irish opera reality is from Germany's subsidised opera world. "The production . . . shows that, even under the no doubt less-than-easy Irish conditions, how fine, clever and gripping theatre can be created," wrote the Wiesbadener Tagblatt newspaper.
"I invited Opera Ireland as an act of solidarity, to react to the quality of what's being done there," said Manfred Beilharz, head of Hesse State Theatre in Wiesbaden. "A country like Ireland that has reached a level of prosperity and has such a tradition of exciting theatre that it needs a national opera with national financing and it would be nice for it to have its own house. This company has earned it."
The Irish Ambassador to Germany, Seán Ó hUiginn, said that, in bringing such an innovative opera production to Germany, the Irish company had managed to avoid the "coals to Newcastle" syndrome. "This is a point where the Irish are in awe of German politics and its support for culture," he said. "They are not as generous at home. But the opera this evening is a tremendous example of what you can still do."
Opera Ireland's artistic director, Dieter Kaegi, expressed hope that the long-awaited opera house may soon become reality. "In no other country would it be possible to put on productions in a theatre like the Gaiety for health and safety reasons," he said. "Everyone who performs there is risking their lives."
Earlier this week Damien Matthews Fine Art Graphics and artist Robert Ballagh unveiled a new print by Ballagh at the Four Seasons Hotel, Ballsbridge, writes Aidan Dunne. It was "officially launched" by no less than Dermot Desmond. Though Ballagh is one of our most esteemed artists and Damien Matthews Graphics works with some of the top names in the international art world, such razzmatazz over one print seems just a tad excessive. As it happens, Ballagh has put a lot into the work, which takes the form of a look back at My Studio 1969. Pride of place in the composition goes to another Ballagh work, his Lichtenstein-like reworking of Delacroix's iconic painting of the bare-breasted Liberty Leading the People. On the studio worktable, a corner of an Irish Independent with a headline about a civil rights march in Derry connects the French Revolution with the spirit of '68 and the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, the beginning of a decisive historical period. The print is published in an edition of just 75.
The deadline for the Arts Council's Minor Capital grants, towards buying equipment or essential maintenance and repairs, is Friday, May 27th. €750,000 is available for grants of up to €10,000, towards itmes such as computers or other office equipment. Applicants will hear about their applications in July and the Arts Council may have a second phase of capital funding in the autumn. Forms and guidelines can be downloaded from www.artscouncil.ie or contact Billy Rooney 01-6180254 or minorcapital@artscouncil.ie
Dublin City Public Libraries' One World Film Festival: Films about Race is up and running. By May 25th there will be 10 free screenings at Pearse Street, Central Library, Ilac Centre and Cabra libraries. Director Damien O'Donnell was at the opening screening of East is East at Dublin City Library and Archive, Pearse Street, and a highlight to come is Dirty Pretty Things on Monday, with a public discussion afterwards with a panel of film and racism experts. Entry is free, booking/info 01-6744806/4873.