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
programme provision across the county.
It is accepted that the arts have a direct impact on the health, welfare and economic well-being of society with the capacity to enrich quality of life, quality of place and quality of employment through art-in-education, art-in-the-community and arts for the disabled programmes.
As Wexford has a higher than national average rate of early school leaving, one of the high level goals in tendem with the Lo- cal Economic and Community Plan is to ‘Foster a culture of educational attainment and lifelong learning’ in which the arts have a role to play in developing students’ creativity, imagination and innovation and engaging harder-to-reach young people through education initiatives.
County Wexford is one of the most disadvantaged counties in Ireland with a high proportion of households in low paid and low skills groups. Poor job prospects especially for isolated and marginalised communities can lead to social exclusion.
There has also been an increase in the number of older people who are in danger of being isolated due to population decline and in culturally diverse new communities who face integration challenges. Wexford has the 6th highest population of Travellers in Ireland, a large Roma community working as seasonal labourers and other immigrants including Syrian refugees.
The plan recognises that the arts can promote the development of socially inclusive communities by giving people the confidence to grow and become more involved , encouraging bonds and bridging differences between people who don’t share the same interests, views or concerns.
It aims to develop and promote Wexford as a great place to live, work and visit, to increase the county’s attractiveness through the support of artists, creative activities, events and festivals and to enrich street life through public art commissions, carnivals, street exhibitions and public performances.
‘These public art initiatives will play a central role in uplifting and empowering local people, reinforcing sense of place, celebrating local identify and developing active citizenship’, it states.
A new Art in the Public Realm Ideas Fund will invite artists to come up with ideas for projects linked to Council-planned regeneration programmes and mentoring clinics will run in each district to give advice and support to the voluntary festival and events sector while the Amateur Dramatic Sector in the county will receive support and a Youth Arts Strategy will also be developed for the county
Art is also seen as good for business and with that in mind, the county will be promoted as a cultural and creative hub and a premier destination for filmaking with specific efforts to nurture talent and skills to meet the demands of the international film industry while the role of the arts in driving innovation in business will also be fostered. Ultimately, the County Council will seek to ensure that artists as valued members of the community, are supported at the different stages of their careers, to make great work that can be enjoyed by all, for the wide-ranging benefit of the whole county.
WEXFORD COUNTY COUNCIL HAS EARNED ITSELF AN ENVIABLE REPUTATION FOR BEING INNOVATIVE AND FORWARD THINKING IN ITS PROACTIVE APPROACH TO LOCAL ARTS DEVELOPMENT