There were complaints at the Arts Council's national consultative forum in Malahide on Friday about the day's £25 registration fee. It caused some resentment among the artists, managers and administrators whose views were being canvassed, and sent out the wrong signals. Some participants questioned the sincerity of the Council's desire for consultation, since the day's programme didn't allow sufficient time for feedback, and the timetabling of concurrent sessions hampered interdisciplinary debate on the last four years' arts development and the impact of The Arts Plan (1994-98).
In an eloquent, valedictory speech the Council's outgoing Chairman, Professor Ciaran Benson, refuted the suggestion that the consultation process was "a cosmetic exercise". The Council was seeking the active participation of the arts community in the preparation of the next arts plan, Benson said, and went on to rally the troops with a reminder of the importance of art and artists - "the arts reflect the virtue of generosity; they are about saying `yes' to life, to giving, and to change." His remarks introduced the note of intellectual inquiry and passion that had been missing throughout the day, as Johnny Hanrahan of Meridian Theatre, among many others, had noted.
While Hanrahan highlighted the danger of arts practitioners getting bogged down in discussion of structures rather than focusing on "why we make art", and suggested that the next arts plan be as fluid as possible, there was general support among the 250 participants for the existence of an arts plan, per se. The plan was commended as a mechanism for levering funds and - for the first time - making the arts credible at a political level. Where weaknesses in The Arts Plan 1994-1998 had been rectified by subsequent Arts Council action, such as the establishment of the Theatre Review, this was warmly welcomed. But it's clear from the day's discussions that much remains to be done, especially in supporting Irish artists internationally, and in fostering - and funding - North/South cultural ties.
The second forum takes place on Friday, June 19th, in the University of Limerick, and the closing date for submissions to the Arts Council for the next arts plan is August 15th.
