Update on Waterford Arts Workers meeting

Summary of the meeting from Jenny Clooney in Red Kettle:

There were over 35 in attendance and from that a committee of 7 people volunteered to bring forward the ideas agreed upon. They are Ben Hennessey, Paul Browne, Nick Kavanagh, Kate McCarthy, Clair Walsh, Joan Dalton and Jenny Clooney.

It was agreed that public support is essential to make the campaign successful. We are now in the process of organising a local media endeavor that will allow the public and politicians to see what work was done in the last year from every local arts worker or group. This is presently being collated.

To coincide with this we will be asking all of the members of this group to share a notable memory or current story from their body of work, which will then be communicated around the city. The aim will be to generate a positive image for the campaign by reminding the public of the richness and diversity of the arts in Waterford and of the contribution it makes to people’s lives in terms of both entertainment and jobs. Nick Kavanagh will be in contact about this very soon.

It will be important to work with the arts forum and city council and have the information presented in hard copy to bring this positive message to the politicians.

The push needs to be quick and heavy, so we will be working hard over the coming weeks and will be needing all the support we can get. If everyone who is connected to group invited their friends to be part of this and/or the National Campaign for the Arts page that would be a great start! We would urge all memebers to sign the petition for the National Campaign by clicking on the following link http://www.facebook.com/l/e1793;www.PetitionOnline.com/ncfa/

Productivity and positivity is the way forward. If the Arts in Waterford and around the country are destroyed by these cuts, the fabric of our National identity will be very much at risk…

If you need to Jenny her office number is 051- 879688.