Louth backs Save the Arts campaign
‘ The arts gave us hope in a time of crisis. Now we need you to help #SAVETHEARTS.’ That’s the clear message from the National Campaign for the Arts (NCFA), whose Louth committee unveiled a billboard with those words last Wednesday in Drogheda.
Among those present at the unveiling was Paul Hayes, director of An Tain Arts Centre, who with local actors Aoibheann McCann, Juliette Crosbie and Collette Farrell of the Droichead Arts Centre are the Louth representatives for the NCFA.
The arts sector has been particularly severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic will venues closed since lockdown was imposed in mid-March, meaning that thousands of actors, musicians, singers, technicians, writers, make-up artists, set designers, sound engineers, visual artists, dancers and many many more are out of work.
And while some venues such as art centres and galleries are reopening, questions remain over when large scale events such as concerts, musicals and theatrical performances with a sizeable cast can take place.
‘ The National Campaign for the Arts had been active over the last couple of years and now, in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are highlighting the fact that arts are in a precarious situation in Ireland.’
‘We have the lowest funding for the arts per capita of any country in Europe,’ he points out.
The NCFA submitted a 13 point recovery plan to help the arts sector and Paul says that while their call for funding has been addressed with the allocation of €20million to the Arts Council, bringing funding back up to the 2008 level, a lot of issues still need to be addressed.
‘We have yet to get clear information from the Arts Council as to how that funding will de delivered but we expect that there will be lots of bursaries, commissions and residencies which is great news for artists working across all platforms.’
However, he points out that the most recent survey by the NCFA showed that on average artists just earn €7,000 a year from their artistic practice with 72 per cent of artists in Ireland earning less than the minimum wage.
‘It’s already a very poorly paid sector, and with all shows, concerts, and performances that had to be cancelled, the industry is looking at a complete closure and there are lots of companies and galleries which are not re-opening.’
Here in Louth, the NCFA representatives have already had Zoom meetings with local TDS Ged Nash, Ruairi U Murchu and Peter Fitzpatrick and hope to engage with the other public representatives in the near future.
Award-winning actor Aoibheann McCann from Carlingford hopes the campaign will highlight the importance of the sector to the public.
‘Of course, the arts are important to us as it’s how we are employed, but hopefully the general public will realise it is integral to a healthy mind,’ she says. ‘ To create a more interesting workforce, we need creative thinkers, and we need to expose people from a young age to a variety of arts to be inspired.’