Plan for role of the arts in welfare of all

FOLLOWING PUBLIC CONSULTATION, THE COUNTY COUNCIL HAS UNVEILED A NEW FIVE-YEAR PLAN FOR THE ARTS IN COUNTY WEXFORD. MARIA PEPPER REPORTS

THE Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan officially launched a new County Wexford Arts Plan ‘Advancing the Arts 2018 - 2022’ at a reception in County Hall, Carricklawn.

The visionary five-year plan is the result of an extensive consultation process throughout the county in 2017 which was spearheaded by Arts Officer Liz Burns with independent arts consultant Mary McAuliffe and involved meetings with artists, arts organisations, community groups, elected members, senior council management and other stakeholders.

It puts the arts at the centre of the work of the Council and the Wexford Local Economic and Community Plan 2016 - 2021 with a strategy for the arts to contribute to the key areas of education, well-being, urban and rural regeneration as well as cultural tourism and economic development.

The plan recognises the value of art and the distinct role of artists in Wexford and their unique contribution to our quality of life. ‘Advancing the Arts’ will also complement the Council’s forthcoming Culture and Creativity Strategy being developed in partnership with the Creative Ireland Programme and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

This is the fifth arts plan for County Wexford since the Arts Office was established 24 years ago and has resulted in the arts being embedded in the work of Wexford County Council.

‘Wexford County Council has earned itself an enviable reputation for being innovative and forward thinking in its proactive approach to local arts development’ said CEO Tom Enright. ‘Since the establishment of the Arts Department in 1994, the local authority has committed to developing a strong arts programme and cultural infrastructure capable of meeting the artistic needs of local people and visitors alike.

In the foreword, it states that Wexford County Council looks forward to enhancing its work through this Arts Plan over the coming years and working with its key partners - the Arts Council, Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Creative Ireland Programme and the HSE as well as building exciting new partnerships with Music Generation, Wexford Waterford Education and Training Board (WWETB) and other key stakeholders.

Minister Madigan said she welcomed the launch of this exciting plan which she is confident will reinforce the importance of the arts in Wexford.

‘It illustrates how culture and creativity plays a major role in the lives of people and in communities across this county and sets out how Wexford County Council will lead, develop and work with various partners including my Department and the Creative Ireland Programme to support the arts over the next years’, she said.

Wexford’s Arts Officer Liz Burns said: ‘The Arts are here, there and everywhere, always posing a new and exciting challenge’.

In presenting the plan, she took confidence from the strength of the arts in County Wexford. ‘I am excited by the quality and power of the work made by artists and arts organisations and by the high level of artistic engagement and participation by Wexford people’, she said.

A number of issues were raised by respondents to an online survey carried out as part of the new strategy including the need for more spaces and places to make art; more opportunities for artists to live and work in Wexford; investment in young arts graduates to help them reach their potential; help for artists with business PR and marketing skills; more arts programmes and projects targeting young people including mental health and disability arts and a more even spread of arts