Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 January 2017
407. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if she will urgently begin preparation of a global arts forum for Ireland, similar to the structure of the Global Irish Economic Forum, which would highlight indigenous talent and map a strong and healthy future for arts and culture at home and abroad. [4099/17]
View answerMy Department through Culture Ireland supports Irish artists to present their work worldwide. This serves to raise the global awareness of the strong reputation of the Irish arts sector, generate new career opportunities for Irish artists and develop new audiences abroad for Irish artists.
My Department continues to work with the Global Irish Network, which has to date made many significant achievements in relation to highlighting Ireland's creativity on the world stage. I consider that this is the most appropriate vehicle in which to highlight the achievement of Irish creativity as part of a wider cross-sectoral partnership. Most notable in terms of this collaborative approach have been Irish Design 2015, with which my Department had a significant engagement in relation to the international programme, and the Imagine Ireland programme in 2011.
This model of supporting major arts initiatives internationally continued last year with the I am Ireland programme – the international arts element of the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme, which included over 550 separate performances and exhibitions with a special focus in key territories - United States, Great Britain, Canada and Australia. This programme reflected that interest in Irish artistic excellence continues to grow internationally and recognises that this centenary year offered a unique opportunity to build on Ireland's cultural connections and share the talents of Irish artists through many special and diverse events around the world.
In addition to Culture Ireland the Creative Ireland Programme, which the Taoiseach and I launched on the 8th of December 2016, places a special emphasis on unifying our Global reputation. Pillar 5 of the Programme - Unifying our Global Reputation - is about presenting a coherent representation of Ireland to the world as a creative people. This will seek to capture the overarching narrative of Ireland’s unique creativity and cultural heritage. The Government’s intentions in this regard were welcomed when I launched the Creative Ireland Programme on the international stage in New York on 13th January.
