I am delighted to inform the House of the new Chairperson designate and members of the Arts Council, the State agency for funding and development of the Arts in Ireland. Across the range of artforms - from architecture to the visual arts - the Arts Council plays an extremely important role in supporting individual artists and arts organisations in their work. The arts sector - like every sector in Ireland - has had a challenging time in recent years. This year the Arts Council will receive almost €57M in funding from the taxpayer. The Chairperson designate and new members have a wealth of experience which will benefit the development of the arts in Ireland into the future.
Ms Sheila Pratschke was Director of the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris from 2007 to 2013, and is a former Director of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre from 2001 to 2007. She is also a former director of the Irish Film Institute. Ms Pratschke holds qualifications from UCD as well as a diploma in Applied and Fine Arts from IPAV.
Dr Éimear O’Connor previously served on the Arts Council having been appointed on September 13th 2011. Dr O'Connor HRHA received her PhD from University College, Dublin, and is an art historian specialising in Irish art, for which she has received several academic accolades. Dr O'Connor was elected an Honorary Royal Hibernian Academician in 2010 for her contribution to the arts in Ireland.
Ms Monica Spencer is an actor, director and youth drama facilitator who is involved with the new Creative Communities Limerick Network. She is a facilitator of Céim Youth Probation Services and has a strong background in dance.
Ms Miriam Dunne has extensive experience in working with arts organisations, events and local authorities in Ireland. Ms Dunne has a particular interest in street theatre and circus and is currently Chairperson of AOIFE (the Association of Irish Festival Events).
Mr Brian Maguire is a visual artist, educated at Dun Laoghaire School of Art and the National College of Art & Design. Mr Maguire was appointed professor and head of the fine art faculty at NCAD in 2000 and is a member of Aosdána. His work is held in collections including the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Hugh Lane Municipal Art Gallery in Dublin, the Alvar Aalto Museum in Finland, and the Gemeentemuseum in the Hague, Netherlands.
Ms Joan Sheehy has been acting professionally for almost 35 years. She has worked extensively with the Abbey Theatre, the Gate Theatre, and the Project Arts Centre in Dublin and Moscow, Leningrad, New York and the Almedia Theatre in London. Her film and Television productions include Escape for Virgie for Hill 16 Films, The Stranger for Thames TV, Hard Shoulder, Ann Devlin, The Field, The Playboy of the Western World for Channel 4, and Into the West, Happy Birthday to Me, and Tales from the Poorhouse.
The Arts Council is not a representative body wherein members represent their own organisations interests rather than that of the Council's statutory remit. The Arts Council is a Statutory Board and, therefore, the primary fealty of all members of the Arts Council must be to the Council.
Since the Local Authorities Arts Offices are funded in part by the Arts Council, there is of course also a potential conflict of interest.
For these reasons, I do not think it is appropriate to appoint a representative from the local authorities to the Arts Council. A corollary would be a request for Arts Council representation on each LA when its annual resources are being allocated across its areas of responsibility (roads, heritage, the arts, housing, etc).
