Prison links on the double

ArtScape: Is there some link between prisons and opera that we've all missed? Or is it just a coincidence that both Opera Ireland (OI) and Opera Theatre Company (OTC) have prison connections with forthcoming productions?

OTC is to stage Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, in Kilmainham Gaol this month, citing the history of the prison as "inextricably linked to great and sweeping themes of freedom that are central to this work, which is justly regarded as one of the greatest in the operatic canon". It's not the first time OTC has put on a production there - its award-winning The Emperor of Atlantis was in the same stunning setting a few years ago. Intriguingly, the costumes and sets for Opera Ireland's La Bohème at the Gaiety will be made by prisoners in Mountjoy prison. The production "combines rehabilitation and art". The project began in Italy, where the prisoners at the maximum-security Maiano prison in Perugia studied Puccini's opera and, working with designer Porzia Addabbo, created sketches for the sets and costumes and then mounted a theatrical presentation, after Addabbo made a documentary about it.

The deputy governor at Maiano, Emilio Di Somma, felt theatrical activity was a useful way of giving back freedom of thought to those who were temporarily deprived of physical freedom, as well as imparting skills. When he saw the documentary, OI artistic director Dieter Kaegi was "overwhelmed by the impact that opera can have on human beings. The growing interest and enthusiasm of the prisoners was amazing and I would hope that, in a similar process, we can help more people in Ireland to discover their passion for this wonderful artform".

This led to a collaboration with Mountjoy - the first such project between two European prisons - where for the past few months some men and women prisoners in Mountjoy have been making sets and costumes for OI's full-scale professional opera production, designed and directed by Porzia Addabbo. The prison has good facilities for carpentry and cement work, and prisoners have in the past made sets for their in-house productions. Apparently, the sets are excellent and more sturdily built than is usual - the time put into making them is greater than would normally be possible with an opera here. The project is ongoing, with continued involvement from Maiano, where prisoners are weaving some of the fabrics for the costumes for the Irish production, and from where some of the sets will also be shipped.

Opera Ireland's winter season is at the Gaiety from November 18th to 26th. As well as La Bohème there's Andre Previn's opera A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Lynne Parker. OTC's Fidelio runs at Kilmainham Gaol from September 21st to 29th.

Fitzgerald's forest films

Mention "forestry" and one is likely to elicit several definitions, writes Lorna Siggins. Is it endless uniform lines of coniferous "investment" by city business types, or broadleaf woodlands nurtured by a community? Is it science, art or both? New Zealand-born artist Cathy Fitzgerald raises such questions in a film and installation commissioned by Crann, the Co Leitrim-based woodlands project, and the new Dock arts centre in Carrick-on-Shannon.

Fitzgerald, who lives in a timber house in Borris, Co Carlow, believes there is a "new type of forestry emerging in Ireland", involving local communities, broadleaf plantations and the beginnings of a return to a "sustainable Irish wood culture".

Fitzgerald has a science background, has lived in Ireland for the past 11 years and has worked with Crann on various initiatives - winning an ESB Environmental Endeavour award for her efforts. Latterly, she studied art and graduated with an MA in fine art from the National College of Art and Design. Her exhibition comprises film footage and photographs of people involved from the early 1990s in the organisation's then-pioneering work to grow a variety of hardwood species in south Co Leitrim. Founded 20 years ago by Jan Alexander, Crann also aimed to address Ireland's "almost total" dependence on imported hardwood. Unfortunately, as Alexander notes, importation of timber is still an issue - with many people not aware of the impact of their purchases of iroko, mahogany or teak products on west African communities, which don't benefit from such exploitation. The Dock arts centre exhibition runs until September 23rd, with free admission.

Buying and selling the arts

Following a successful first programme last year, a second Advanced Certificate in Management Practice for the Arts (CMPA) starts this month, offered by Business2Arts in association with Fás and Irish Times Training, and aiming to tackle deficits in key skills among arts management professionals. The CMPA, accredited by the University of Ulster, is the only course of its kind in the State for people who are already working full-time in the arts.

Twenty middle and senior managers from a wide range of arts organisations throughout the country will take part (18 days over eight months) and the full €4,000 cost of the programme is 60 per cent grant-aided by Fás, with further subsidy from Irish Times Training, reducing the cost per delegate to €995. The programme offers management and business skills - including management strategy, performance improvement, personal development, leadership and team-building, marketing, communications, and arts sponsorship - to assist arts professionals in improving the effectiveness of their organisations.

Richard O'Rawe, a University of Ulster lecturer involved with the programme in the North over the past five years, said: "We introduce people to the skills needed for good leadership and management practice. We know that well-run arts organisations are more sustainable and are therefore more able to support artistic experimentation and growth". For an outline of the programme and application form, please contact Business2Arts on 01-6725336, or e-mail karen@business2arts.ie.

A two-day seminar this weekend looks at the impact of performance both nationally and internationally, on a cross-Border, cross-community and multi-ethnic basis. The Impact of Performing Art on Society is hosted by Irish Equity and the Northern Ireland branch of UK Equity, and takes place in Liberty Hall today and tomorrow. International theatre practitioners will contribute, including Barry Cassin on John B Keane; Mojisola Adebayo, director of Arambe, Ireland's first African theatre company, on the production of Kings of the Kilburn High Road for the Fringe Festival; Donal Toolan, associate artist with Graeae; director Roland Jaquarello on Irish work in Britain during the 1970s and 1980s; George Ibrahim, artistic director of the Palestinian Al Kasaba theatre company in Ramallah; playwright Gary Mitchell; Dr Ruth Barton, O'Kane senior research fellow in the school of languages, literatures and film in UCD; and Gerard Whelan.

A small exhibition featuring some of the past winners of the RDS Taylor Prize, named after Capt A Taylor, whose original donation made the scheme possible, is running until September 24th at the National Gallery of Ireland, writes Aidan Dunne. The roll call of winners since the prize's inception is impressive. It includes some of the best-known names in Irish art, such as Sean Keating and Walter Osborne. There are a couple of drawbacks to the show, however. One is that it is crammed into too small a space. It is located in Room 20 in the Milltown Wing, one of the least appealing exhibition spaces in the gallery, which feels more like a conduit from one gallery to another than a real exhibition space in itself. As a venue for temporary exhibitions it is distinctly lacking. Fascinating as it is to see many of the winning artworks, including the sculptures, it would have been nicer still to see more, and to see them in a more auspicious context. Maybe it's something worth thinking about for the society's 300th anniversary.

Anyone aged 14-22 in the Dublin area who fancies getting involved with theatre is welcome at Dublin Youth Theatre's open day on September 16th (11am-1pm and 2-4pm, 23 Upper Gardiner Street, Dublin 1). Attendees should bring a passport photograph. Details from Maria Schweppe on 01-8743687 or e-mail dyt@iol.ie