THE FUTURE FOR ARTS & CULTURE IN IRELAND

Since the McCarthy Report was published, the arts & culture community have been proactive in highlighting the very positive contribution it has made to the country. Neil Jordan's comments at the Global Economic Forum that the industry 'has not failed the country' were widely reported. At the same event, it is suggested that Dermot Desmond advocated that a university of the arts should be established and that it should have a global reputation based on our heritage in music, literature, dance, film & theatre. The launch for a National Campaign for the Arts took place last week and coincided with 'Culture Night' on Friday. That day, an editorial in The Irish Times stated that 'there is now an emerging consensus that culture, and the creative process, can a have a significant role in the reinvigoration of our economy' and it urged readers to get behind the campaign. On Saturday, a new €18 million Visual Centre for Contemporary Arts & George Bernard Shaw Theatre was formally opened by the Minister in Carlow.