ARTSCAPE:'I AM AN Irish citizen, a creature of this place," said Sebastian Barry. "I live locally in Ireland, because there is no other way to live in Ireland . . . We have had numbers of great artists in Ireland, and I also think there has been a greatness in Irish governance towards artists." He was speaking at this week's Joint Oireachtas Committee, where an overwhelming array of artistic talent articulated the importance of culture in a recession. A starry delegation from the Arts Council and Theatre Forum eloquently and strongly put the case for continued State support.
In drawing from his own life, and declaring his love of Ireland, Barry said: "It's not just the calf who returns to where it got its milk, it's also that as a person who has been writing in Ireland for 31 years, and as the father of three children, there have been structures quietly and very brilliantly put in place in Ireland that come up to meet you as the various parts of your career unfold. In 1982 I got an Arts Council grant, which was like being cheered wildly from the sidelines." The Abbey staging Boss Grady's Boysin 1988 meant that "for a while my wife Eily did not need to conceal herself under the bed when the rent lady came around".
Later, The Steward of Christendommade some money "and because we were tax-free it was an opportunity after all those years and with two children to buy a house. Because the thing about art in Ireland, we have the glory in my generation of bringing up our families from the contents of our minds. And the Government has put in place certain things that have made that possible."
He was hurt by McCarthy’s aside that art would happen anyway, without support, “a ferocious little libel on the life of the artist”, and thought of Patrick Kavanagh “wandering out onto Pembroke Road to borrow sixpence to put in the meter, or to buy a glass of whiskey, he was never quite sure. He did not have the support of the State in those days. I don’t think it would be a tragedy if it came to pass. I think it would be the end of our country and we would have to call it something else, McCarthyland or something, because it would no longer be the Ireland of which I am a citizen.”
Chairman Tom Kitt and the committee members were universally supportive and said the speakers were “pushing an open door” with the committee, which would press its case in the Budget. Michael D Higgins dropped in to the hearing at one stage urging “ widespread opposition to philistinism”.
Just as the notion of moving the Abbey to the GPO was lobbed into the equation, Brendan Gleeson quoted Pearse and said this country was founded by dreamers and poets. “We have forged a distinct place among the nations of the earth” and our artistic excellence and the uniqueness of our cultural expression is key particularly in times of recession and flagging spirits. “Funding is critical in maintaining the capacity of intelligent, creative people to produce work here that has an intrinsic value to us and promotes our wellbeing and our reputation and standing abroad, not to mention the revenue it generates.”
Just as he was being shortlisted for a US National Book Award, Colum McCann was addressing Oireachtas members: “I think you understand what it is to be an author or to be an artist, or someone who creates something. You know the difficulty behind it, even if it is creating legislation, the years of work, to create even what seems on the surface to be the simplest of documents. “What the Arts Council has done for us has been fantastic. It’s our voice, and we want to keep it. I don’t want that voice to be come part of the global elevator music that is out there.”
Arts Council chairwoman Pat Moylan warned that there was a danger the inspirational role of the arts would be lost. “There is no point crying over spilt milk; let’s hold on tightly to what we have. I believe the arts provide a vital uplifting of the soul of the nation. Until theatres go dark, until festivals are cancelled, until artists and actors join the interview queue for Dunnes Stores.” As a business woman, she said, “it simply makes bad business sense”. The council is funded to the tune of €73 million from the taxpayer, and €65m of it goes back in direct and indirect taxes.
Fiach Mac Conghail talked about the broad countrywide platform of the new National Campaign for the Arts, “on behalf of the 20,000 citizens who work in the cultural area”. He acknowledged the “tough times we are in . . . Our artists are well used to hardship and struggle.”
Garry Hynes talked about touring with Druid Theatre to over 100 communities in Ireland over 30 years and how the arts “play their role as an agent of social provision in their communities”. It would be a terrible tragedy if there was “less theatre and art exhibitions and music for the many theatres and arts centres built over the past decade, if they went dark”.
