ARTSCAPE: "People are complaining about political influence or political interference in the arts. I actually want to see more ministerial influence and positive interference because at present there is a great need for someone to take a grip of the entire arts sector and give it a fair shake down."
So said Cecilia Keaveney, the TD now charged with chairing the final Committee Stage of the new arts legislation. Her view was expressed during a passionate and informed, but sometimes parochial, debate on the arts in the Dáil.
The Fianna Fáil TD's sentiments may sound ominous to those currently campaigning against elements of the new Arts Bill but it remains to be seen whether her committee is convinced by the arguments for amendments to the legislation regarding the proposed standing committees, and particularly the one that would deal with the traditional arts.
Though our legislators may not be noted for their interest in the role of culture and the arts, several excellent contributions - showing a laudable depth of knowledge of the arts scene by some TDs - were made to the Second Stage Dáil debate which took place in mid-October. If you missed the debate, catch them on the Oireachtas website: www.gov.ie/debates
Editorial Comment: page 15, main paper
Critics in the hot seats
It has been a good week for critics. Along with the announcement that a former visual arts critic with El Pais in Madrid is the new director of IMMA, comes the news that the new director of the Kilkenny Arts Festival started her career as a theatre critic. Claudia Woolgar takes up the position left vacant when Maureen Kennelly relinguished the Kilkenny job in October. Kennelly has overseen an impressive widening of focus at the festival, which was long regarded as a classical music/visual arts event.
Woolgar, who is originally from England but has been operating as an international theatre project manager with her own production companies in the Netherlands, comes with some good connections: she has worked with, among other, Declan Donnellan, whose acclaimed Moscow production of Boris Godunov, she managed. Woolgar will take up her appointment in January and it will be interesting to see what innovation she brings to a well-established event on the Irish arts calendar.
BBC Northern Ireland is on the lookout for writers keen to follow in the footsteps of Colin Bateman, Gary Mitchell, Ronan Bennet and Graham Reid, who were all given their first opportunity to write for television by the station. The Tony Doyle New Writers' Bursary - named after that wonderful and much-missed actor - is now in its third year and aims to encourage writing in a medium that is often overlooked by young writing talent. Four successful applicants will get the chance to take part in a working seminar to develop their scripts. Seminar mentors will include members of BBC Northern Ireland's drama department, as well as script writers and producers associated with such programmes as The Bill, Casualty, Between the Lines and Ballykissangel.
Last year's winner of this £2,000 award, Brian Dungan, has a short film in development with BBC Northern Ireland. The panel of judges includes actors Liam Cunningham, Tina Kellegher and Lorcan Cranitch, who all worked with Doyle.
Submissions should be sent to Tony Doyle New Writers' Bursary, BBC NI Drama Dept, Broadcasting House, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast BT2 8HQ. Further information is available at 028-90338986, for those calling from the North, with the prefix 048 to be used in the Republic.
New beginning in baroque
Christ Church Baroque is looking for a new general manager, writes Martin Adams. Joseph Denny, who replaced Liz Powell last April, quotes his wish "to pursue some personal projects" as the reason for his departure. The urgent challenge facing the new manager - and the governing board of Christ Church Baroque - is the extreme variability of performance standards from a group in receipt of substantial Arts Council funding. As has been pointed out several times in this newspaper, one of the main reasons for that variability is constant changes of personnel in the string section. The board's chairman, Michael Greene, said the intention was to identify talented young musicians and "to inculcate them in baroque music and techniques". It was, he said, difficult to create that core string group when many of those young musicians were regularly invited to work with groups of international standing. It is to be hoped that the board of Ireland's most active period-instrument orchestra can be imaginative.
A consistent line-up of good players is the main foundation of any orchestra's identity and reliability.
Meanwhile, the National Concert Hall is also hiring again, following the news that its marketing and IT executive, Aoife Carlin, is relocating to Belfast, where she is to take up the position of press and publicity officer with the Ulster Orchestra. Other musical posts to be filled shortly include two in RTÉ Music - project manager, and publicity and publications administrator.
Robbie returns
Robbie Williams will announce the venues and dates for his 2003 world tour at a media bash in Berlin on Monday. Dublin will be one of the cities, and fans can expect news of a major outdoor event sometime in mid-summer. Williams last played here in 2000. Monday also sees the release of Williams's new album, Escapology.
artscape@irish-times.ie