Sir, - Your Arts Editor, Victoria White, has given a somewhat simplistic view (August 7th) of the decision to expand the Guinness museum onto another floor of the Guinness Hopstore. No doubt your readers will be pleased to note that this will not affect the current exhibition, "Reminder - Famine Sites of Ireland". This is located on the top floor gallery, which is unaffected by the move.
To suggest that on top of the "thousands of pounds the company shells out in corporate sponsorship" we should establish structures to fill the space with exciting art is somewhat disingenuous. First of all, we spend millions rather than thousands on sponsorship - much of which is directed to various arts events. Secondly, we develop the hopstore space and have made it available for many exhibitions over the years. These have ranged from major international exhibitions such as ROSC to smaller exhibitions held as part of our "Community Outreach programme". And this will continue to be the case. But, we do not and never have run the facility as a commercial gallery. There are many such now operating in Dublin.
Approximately 50,000 visitors came to the Hopstore during 1986 - its first year of operation. So far, this year 252,000 visitors have passed through its doors. The "Guinness visit" has always been a feature of Dublin life, but today it is one of the major visitor attractions in Dublin. Of course it has a promotional value for the company, but that does not detract in any way from the enjoyment of the visitors. To suggest that the Guinness exhibition is a means of "just processing tourists who will buy a few key-rings and sweatshirts" shows a gross misunderstanding of what it stands for. I'm sure the Artists Association of Ireland, which gave Ms White her "tip-off" on this matter, are delighted that so many visitors have the opportunity to view exhibitions (some by their own members) and will continue to do so.
Indeed, it is the visitors' enjoyment which has encouraged us to expand the Guinness exhibition (at no small cost). By doing so, they will ensure a greater degree of comfort, particularly in the busy summer months. This will help us to ensure that they return home with a positive impression of their visit to Dublin (and to Guinness, of course). - Yours, etc., Pat Barry, Director of Corporate Affairs, Guinness Ireland Group,
Dublin 8.