The National Campaign For the Arts
Tuesday September 29, 2009
The Frank Grace Gallery is delighted with (and fully supportive of) the recent launch of the National Campaign for the Arts, a new cultural coalition set up to raise awareness amongst the public psyche of just how important a role the arts play in our lives. It aims to connect people of all ages, and from all walks of life, with our proud cultural heritage.
And what a proud cultural heritage we have! Jack Yates, Walter Osborne, Louis Le Brocquy, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Samuel Beckett, Seamus Heaney, WB Yates, Frank McGuinness, Thin Lizzy, The Pogues, U2, Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson, Dermot Morgan, Riverdance... so much talent for a small island. Over the years we have wowed the world with artistic ingenuity time and time again. Our great writers, painters, actors and musicians helped our little country find a place on the global stage, our national identity irrefutably linked to our cultural achievements. That is until the era of the Celtic Tiger threatened to overshadow our artistic accomplishments by shifting the focus onto capitalist triumphs, industrial expansion, and an overwhelming rise in consumerism, house prices and all things superficial. Somehow we lost our way, blinded by an insatiable hunger for more of everything that didn’t matter. Forgetting who we were and what made us really great.
Now, with the recession, and all the apparent ugliness of our years of excess painfully clear to us all, we have began to question our national purpose and importance once more, and we realise that maybe we should be looking to what made us great in the first place. Bad banking practices, over-zealous property development and exorbitant prices have only been a recent occurrence, and although these most recent fiascos have made a deep impression on our country over the past 10-15 years they are not, and should not be, what defines us. Our country is so much more than a brief history of capitalist greed and gross materialism. So we need to now focus on what positive qualities we have to offer, the very things that set us apart and made us unique to begin with. What are our strengths? How can we gain back our distinctive identity that once made us so beloved and respected throughout the world? The answer lies in our natural, abundant resources – beautiful landscapes, friendly natives, a rich history, great food and our vibrant culture. These are solid, positive assets - the very elements that we have always been known and admired for. The Arts are a huge part of our national identity, something positive, that grows and develops, inspiring creativity, ingenuity and resourcefulness. Art is something that can motivate and move us all, not to mention that it provides us with a vital, productive economy that will continue to grow and prosper if only we continue to nurture and support it. The National Campaign for the Arts knows all this and is striving to spread the word throughout the country. We need to respect and encourage the Arts at home, invest money in cultural projects and provide adequate funding and support for our artists. The Arts here in Ireland are vital to our international reputation and our economy, they provide employment and entertainment for people both at home and abroad, as well as helping to promote tourism here in Ireland. It would be devastating not only to the artistic community but to the nation as a whole if artistic funding became the latest victim of devastating budget cutbacks. RTE, The Irish Times, the Irish Film Institute and the Abbey Theatre are just a few of the big media and cultural players wholeheartedly supporting the campaign, while our Minister for Arts Martin Cullen has also lent his voice to the worthwhile cause. To learn more about the National Campaign For the Arts you can visit them online at www.NCFA.ie or simply search for the ‘National Campaign for the Arts’ on Facebook.
