Over 7,000 sign petition for dedicated Arts, Culture & Heritage Department

Over 7,000 sign petition for dedicated Arts, Culture & Heritage Department

• NCFA says Arts will lose out in new ‘Frankenstein Department’
• Ireland remains bottom of European league table for Arts funding
• Government chooses Centenary year to downgrade the Arts

The National Campaign for the Arts is dismayed at the creation of what can only be described as a ‘Frankenstein Department’ covering Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht. Given the central role of the Arts in our society and the key role they have played in the 1916 Centenary, we are perplexed and angered by this decision. The National Campaign for the Arts calls on the government to rethink this ill-advised approach and commit to the establishment of a dedicated Arts, Culture and Heritage Department.

In just a few days over 7,000 people have signed a new petition calling for the creation of an Arts, Culture and Heritage Department. The petition is supported by a social media campaign with the hashtag #ArtsDeptNow. This is a signal from the Arts community and the wider public that we are tired of being side-lined.  The National Campaign for the Arts believes that at the very least, the government must reconsider the mismatch being proposed, so that Arts, Culture and Heritage are allied with more closely related sectors.

The leaders of 1916 were poets and artists. They understood the importance of the Arts in national life. It is an irony that seems completely lost on this government that they have chosen the Centenary of the Rising to push the Arts further into a corner, and ditched the Heritage portfolio altogether. The Arts need a strong voice at the cabinet table. At the moment, all the Arts gets is lip service and hollow praise when an Irish artist succeeds abroad.

A dedicated Arts, Culture and Heritage Department would offer some hope of adequate funding for a sector that has seen years of cutbacks. Ireland remains at the bottom of the European League for Government Investment in Culture and the Arts. Council of Europe data shows that in 2012 Ireland spent just 0.11% of GDP on the Arts and Culture, compared to a European average of 0.6% of GDP.

Commenting on the push for an Arts, Culture and Heritage Department, Chairperson of the National Campaign for the Arts Jo Mangan said: “This is a year when the arts have once again made Irish people proud, not only at home with the many cultural events exploring our national heritage, but also abroad with our film, theatre and music talents once again featuring in the world’s biggest award ceremonies like the Oscars, Grammys and Oliviers.  All of the sectors within the new department are important but we believe none of them – and particularly the arts – is served by being shoe-horned together in this way.”

ABOUT THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR THE ARTS

Established in 2009 as a response to the McCarthy Report, The National Campaign for the Arts is a nationwide, volunteer-led, grass roots movement that makes the case for the Arts in Ireland. It seeks to ensure that the Arts are on local and national government agendas and are recognised as a vital part of contemporary Irish life.
The NCFA’s proposition is to work with the government and the sector to recognise the centrality of the Arts to the future, as well as the history, of our nation, and to achieve an appropriate and functional level of state investment in the Arts and Culture.

For media information, contact: Sabrina Sheehan  sabrinasheehan@missionpr.ie

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