3948451576_578e9c5787_bAs we approach Culture Night, a time when Arts and Culture in Sligo (and nationwide) are coming together to provide free, innovative events to inspire, entertain and – it has been said- provide a chink of light in the current doom and gloom, it is particularly timely that The National Campaign for the Arts has launched today.

Naturally enough there’s been no shortage of discussion in Arts circles on the proposed cuts to Arts and Culture in the McCarthy report,  but with the national campaign there’s an opportunity to generate more discussion outside of our own parish.

Arts and Culture are often seen as the soft target when cuts are proposed. What are they for, what do they do really, why should they get funding over hospitals/education/emergency services/industry/transport etc. i.e. if the nation has no money, how can the little we have go to the Arts.  The latter being an impossible argument of course, but one that was leveled at Colm Tobin on Morning Ireland  nonetheless, which he answered with aplomb:

“We’re not talking about the Arts as a luxury in Ireland, we’re talking about it as a necessity. We noticed the money that could be given to the catholic church to bail them out with an indemnity, we noticed the money that was found to give to the head of the tax commission, to the banks. All we are saying is that we are an aspect of the health of the nation, an aspect of the education of the nation, an aspect of industrial policy. The Arts is fundamentally embedded in society and not a luxury… It is fundamental to the health and welfare of the nation.”

Indeed Kevin Spacey made a similarly passionate defence of funding the arts in times of recession in the Times earlier this summer.  He too feels strongly that the Arts are not a luxury:

“I believe that, far from being luxury items, arts and culture are a necessity in our lives, as individuals and as nations. Culture is the strongest ambassador of the human condition we exchange around the world. Countries may go to war but it is culture that unites us. The arts inspire, uplift, challenge, stimulate our conversations, drive our debates and remain in our memories.”

And goes on to point out that if the arts go without political will and public support “some will struggle to survive the chill winds of recession. We risk allowing our rich cultural life to be diminished, available only to the minority who can afford high West End prices or rarefied arts events.”

In addition to highlighting the benefit of arts and culture to the “collective soul” of a nation Spacey begins to talk about the economic rationale behind funding the arts, and other creative industries, and this is an argument that is being more and more clearly stated of late.  

The buzzword of the moment is “smart economy”; the economy of the future (when we have one restored to us) will rely on knowledge, prioritise information gathering and be run by creative workers.  Innovation and idea generation,the ability to problem solve, to approach challenges in new ways, to think and work creatively with others, to embrace new ways of working and to work assets and stretch budgets are all skills that those in the creative sectors have in abundance, and use on a daily basis.  Ireland already has “smart” workers it just needs to harness them.  If we are to position ourselves as an “Innovation Ireland” why is no one talking to the Arts? Why aren’t there any representatives from the creative industries on the  Taoiseach’s innovation taskforce? 

Culture became a central talking point at the recent Global Irish Economic Forum, with prominent businessmen Denis O’Brien and Dermot Desmond electing to attend a session on ‘Promoting brand Ireland through our global cultural profile’ where Desmond commented on how culture is one of our key strengths, it’s not replicated elsewhere, but how can we leverage that asset- how can we monitise our culture?

This is a key argument at a time with McCarthy recommends cutting the funding the Culture Ireland - our only agency responsible for promoting irish art abroad, and often the only way for the non-commercial arts to gain a profile abroad. This agency is already in receipt of ridiculously low annual funding of €4m and an argument could be made that this funding should be increased to better promote a complex and positive image of Ireland abroad at a time when we are badly in need of something to celebrate on the international stage.  How we love when our actors and directors and writers win Emmy’s and Oscars and Man Booker prizes and Nobel prizes and are nominated for countless others.  We punch WAY above our weight for a country of our size but where do you think they started out? Where did they get their love of the arts? Hardly from our education system.

It is accepted that Cultural Tourism is the largest growing tourism sector (by miles, and the one we will come to depend on to generate tourism income in the future) but how can we entice new cultural visitors if a sample of irish produced work is not available to them in their home territories?  

In particular an emphasis on the export of contemporary irish culture that seems lacking.  If we are to argue that Ireland is a modern nation capable of producing contemporary thinkers and “smart” workers, if we are to attract investment on this basis, we need to first export culture that was created in this century.

Incidentally at the same conference Minister Cullen was equally strong in his oppositions to the proposed cuts, citing a recent DKM study that finds that the cultural and creative sector is “one of the most dynamic areas of the Irish economy, with a total economic impact last year of €11.8 billion, or 7.6% of GDP.”  This from an industry where the vast majority of workers are staggeringly underpaid, where budgets are stretched so thin that the word “shoestring” barely covers it. To be clear – I am not crying poor mouth here, mearly pointing out what staggeringly good value for money the arts provides. In 2008 €185 million was invested in the arts (down from €204), and the overall impact on the economy was €11.8 billion! I know the DKM  study is broader than the arts, and covers creative industries, but given the huge multiplying factor involved it would still represent an extremely  sizable return

There is some great joined up thinking happening in the UK, and a very concise summary of key arguments to be made for funding culture in times of recession on the EU lab for culture. Indeed in today’s Irish Times Gerry Godly states the argument brilliantly in Five ways Culture can save us. But of course it appeared on the Arts pages, and so we continue to talk to ourselves…maybe no-one else wants to listen.

If you want to follow the conversation try these folks on twitter Campaign for the Arts, David McWilliams, Business to Arts
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