Upcoming conference at IMMA: European Council of Artists

29 September 2008

I’m happy to pass along this event announcement from Visual Artists Ireland:

Artists’ Mobility — aspiration or reality: ECA Conference at IMMA

The European Council of Artists (ECA) is holding its Annual Conference in Dublin from 7 to 8 November 2008.    The ECA is an umbrella body composed of interdisciplinary artists’ councils and artists’ organisations from 25 European countries.  One of its main events each year is its Annual Conference which brings together artists and their representatives, cultural operators, politician’s and MEP’s with particular interests in culture along with representatives from national and European institutions.  This year’s conference includes papers on the following topics: artistic freedom in a globalised world, the European Arrest Warrant, borders, visa issues & cultural diversity, and the role of the European Parliament in the promotion of artists’ mobility.

The following 6 highly regarded international speakers will present and discuss on the topic of artists’ mobility:

Eva Lichtenberger, MEP, Austria

Maria Badia i Cutchet, MEP, Spain

Lolita Jablonskiene, Chief curator National Gallery of Art, Lithuania, and ambassador of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue

Pauline Hadaway, director of Belfast Exposed, Northern Ireland

Ole Reitov, Freemuse – Freedom of Musical Expression, Denmark

Helena Drnovšek Zorko, Division of International Cultural Relations, Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

A reception to launch the conference will be held in Temple Bar Gallery in Dublin city centre on Friday 7th of November at 6 pm. The conference sessions will take place on Saturday 8th at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, ending with a musical performance by Na Píobairí Uilleann.

Visual Artists Ireland is the ECA’s representative organisation in Ireland.  A conference programme and Booking Form are available to download from the VAI website (http://www.visualartists.ie/alr_status_artist.html). Booking is essential as places are limited.

For anyone requiring accommodation, a special conference rate has been arranged with the Hilton Hotel Kilmainham which is located beside the Irish Museum of Modern Art.  For further information please contact Alex Davis, Advocacy Officer:

T: 01 8722296
E: alex@visualartists.ie
W: www.visualartists.ie/alr_status_artist

European Council of Artists: www.eca.dk

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Posted by Emily MFG

Call for volunteers – Open House Dublin 2008

22 September 2008

I’m happy to pass along the following Call for Volunteers for Open House Dublin 2008… Last year’s swish website can give you a taste of the architectural delights in store… it’s a great event sponsored by the Irish Architecture Foundation for anyone who loves architecture or just likes a good nosy…

Open House Dublin 2008 needs you!

When?

17th – 19th October

Where?

Amazing places in Dublin you may not have ever seen before.

Why would I do this?

Gain valuable work experience for your CV, have fun while networking, explore your city, join one of the most exciting architecture festivals worldwide, skip the queues, meet lots of new people, and enjoy the wrap party!

How long will it take?

A minimum 4 hours of your time.

What do I need to know?

You don’t need to know loads about architecture; all you need is to be interested, over 18, and happy to get involved.

What will I be doing?

Taking care of one of the fantastic buildings on our programme -welcoming visitors, making sure people do not wander off into undesignated areas of the tour, and, if there are queues, making sure that only the allotted number of people are in the building at one time.

Make it more fun – get a friend to volunteer with you!

If you are interested or have any questions, email us at openhousevolunteers@gmail.com

3 Comments | Announcements, Architecture | Permalink
Posted by Emily MFG

Consulting with children: policy and practice

22 September 2008

Last week The Ark, a Cultural Centre for Children and Children’s Books Ireland presented a symposium on the subject of consulting with children, in the service of developing policy & programmes for arts centres. One of our recent MA graduates, Bairbre Carmody, attended the symposium and is happy to make the following report for http://www.artsmanagement.ie:

Building a Culture of Consultation with Children within Artistic Policy and Practice was a joint symposium presented by The Ark and Children’s Books Ireland which took place at The Ark last Friday 12th September with over 80 delegates from around Ireland, representing all areas of the arts, including theatre, museums, galleries, libraries and community arts. Sheila Greene, Director of the Children’s Research Centre at Trinity College chaired the event and gave some background to current children’s policy. According to Greene, children now have a voice in matters which affect them, and participation with children can influence decision- making and bring about change. Presentations were given by Liz Moran, Artistic Director of Macrobert Children’s Arts Centre in Stirling, Scotland, whose young consultancy scheme involves young people directly in the decision making of the centre. She was joined by Charlotte Kelly who has been a Young Consultant with the arts centre for the past seven years. Charlotte gave the young perspective on the importance of this type of consultancy. Karen Bertrams, Library Advisor for ProBiblio in Holland involved children in the design of the The Library of 100 Talents, in Heerhugowaard, an interactive library where the children worked alongside the architect in every aspect of designing the building. Adam Graham and young consultant Ruby Lloyd-Burman from Media Fish, Leeds Young People’s Film Festival now run a year-round consultancy with 9-18 year olds offered advice when participating with this age group. The presentations were followed by practical workshops, delivered by Playtrain, a UK based provider of hands-on training, creative children’s consultations and action research for organisations working with children. The symposium was supported by The Irish Youth Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies and The Office of the Minister for Children. The day ended with a lively discussion on the importance of involving young people in decision making about affairs that affect them and how best to plan a consultancy framework specific for each organisation.

Thanks Bairbre! A copy of the symposium schedule can be found here.

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Posted by Emily MFG

Upcoming conference: Culture and The City

17 September 2008

Event Announcement:

Culture and the City Conference- Keeping Dublin Creative!
21st October 2008, 9am-5pm
The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE REGISTRATION FORM (in PDF)

On October 21st 2008 Temple Bar Cultural Trust will host a conference on the theme of Culture and the City at the National Gallery of Ireland, in partnership with Dublin City Council.

This one-day conference will provide a platform for discussion, debate and exchange of experience from Irish and international practitioners around some of the key issues affecting cultural development in Dublin. The conference will explore ways of achieving a more integrated approach to planning and development for culture in Dublin city. It will also explore ways of enhancing the level of civic engagement and public participation in the cultural life of the city.

Among the speakers at the conference will be Jude Woodward, senior policy advisor on culture to Mayor of London; Laura Magahy, CEO MCO Projects; Franco Bianchini, academic and consultant on cultural policy; Sir Ken Robinson, internationally renowned speaker and consultant on creativity and innovation; Catherine Bunting, Head of Research with the Arts Council of England in addition to representatives from The Arts Council of Ireland.

The conference will present an insight into current thinking and planning for cultural development within the Development Plan for Dublin City. It will provide practical experience from other European cities in terms of best practice and provide conference participants with the opportunity to contribute to the discussion on the future of cultural development in the city, and in particular on the elements required to successfully drive this strategy forward.

The conference is designed to be of interest to a wide range of groups and individuals working across a range of sectors including the arts and cultural community, urban planners, architects, local representatives, the business community, academics, artists and anyone with an interest in shaping the future for culture in the city!
Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment | Arts policy, Event announcements | Permalink
Posted by Emily MFG

Culture Night 2008: this Friday!

15 September 2008

Just a reminder to all you vultures out there– the third annual Culture Night takes place this Friday, September 19th, from 5-11 pm. In Dublin more than 100 arts & cultural organisations will be staying open late, offering unique & fun programming for this evening only. Temple Bar Cultural Trust is the driving force behind the initiative, which includes special bus routes (map pdf) laid on to take vultures from spot to spot, and lots of outdoor performances and entertainment.

It’s not just Dublin getting all the action either:

Culture Night Cork: http://www.corkcity.ie/culturenight
Culture Night Limerick: http://www.limerickcity.ie
Culture Night Galway: http://www.galwaycity.ie

Last year’s event had a great buzz to it– wandering around the National Gallery at near 11 pm was a surreal highlight for me!– and it’s a great chance to check out (for free!) sites that normally require admission. I’ve got a few circled already… :)

Copies of the programme can be downloaded as a pdf here, or picked up in print copy from participating venues, the Suffolk St Dublin tourist office, or Temple Bar Cultural Information Centre at 12 East Essex Street (the latter two will be open 9am until 11pm on Culture Night).

Leave a Comment » | Cinema, Event announcements, Heritage, Literature, Museum, Music, Opera, Performing Arts, Theatre, Tourism, Visual Arts | Permalink
Posted by Emily MFG

‘It’s me, me and me’: Damien Hirst on Hirst

15 September 2008

In anticipation of Damien Hirst’s monster car boot sale at Sotheby’s (Beautiful Inside My Head Forever), a number of profiles and articles have reflected on his status as ultimate art world celebrity (and his ballsy move of cutting out his dealers the Gagosian Gallery and the White Cube). The New York Times detailed the lengths Sotheby’s has gone to in preparation of the well-heeled, who will supposedly flock like dead bees to the honey:

Sotheby’s reinforced its floors to show Mr. Hirst’s dead animals. (The calf weighs 10 tons.) And it hired the New York architect Peter Marino to transform a rabbit warren of tiny back offices into a suite of rooms for V.I.P. buyers, with polished mahogany doors and walls lined with Mr. Hirst’s butterfly paintings. The space resembles a five-star hotel; several rooms have fireplaces and all are equipped with flat-screen televisions to allow buyers to watch the sale live and secretly bid by telephone.

Robert Hughes in the Guardian, however, is nothing if not critical:

If there is anything special about this event, it lies in the extreme disproportion between Hirst’s expected prices and his actual talent. Hirst is basically a pirate, and his skill is shown by the way in which he has managed to bluff so many art-related people, from museum personnel such as Tate’s Nicholas Serota to billionaires in the New York real-estate trade, into giving credence to his originality and the importance of his “ideas”. This skill at manipulation is his real success as an artist. He has manoeuvred himself into the sweet spot where wannabe collectors, no matter how dumb (indeed, the dumber the better), feel somehow ignorable without a Hirst or two.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Emily MFG

New director of Met announced

10 September 2008

Yesterday a new director of the Metropolitan Museum was announced following months of a highly publicised search. Taking over the reins from Philippe de Montebello from next January will be current curator of tapestries & textiles at the Met, Thomas Campbell:

In selecting Mr. Campbell, the Met seems to have opted for intellectual heft as well as continuity. A graduate of the Courtauld Institute in London, he arrived at the museum in 1995 and made his reputation through much-praised scholarly catalogs and ambitious shows involving complex logistics and diplomacy. His exhibition “Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence” became the sleeper hit of 2002, attracting some 215,000 visitors, more than twice what the museum had projected, with many works that had never been seen in America.

Reached by telephone, James R. Houghton, the board chairman, said, “Clearly we wanted a scholar and art historian who is respected in his field, has a keen intellect and can be decisive.”

In capturing the post, Mr. Campbell appeared to have edged out finalists including Max Hollein, the popular director of the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, and two Met curators who currently outrank him: Ian Wardropper, 57, the head of Mr. Campbell’s department, European sculpture and decorative arts; and Gary Tinterow, 54, the curator in charge of 19th-century, modern and contemporary art.

Asked whether he expected any ruffled feathers as a result, Mr. Houghton said: “Probably. This is a hell of a job.”

(read the rest of the article in the New York Times)

1 Comment | Museum, Visual Arts | Permalink
Posted by Emily MFG

Business to Arts launch new survey on sponsorship

9 September 2008

In the next few days arts & cultural organisations will be receiving a link to an online survey conducted by Business to Arts, seeking information about levels of private giving. As anyone who works in Irish development knows, information on the arts sector & giving is very hard to come by, so this is an essential effort to share knowledge and improve resources for arts development!

Please complete, don’t delete, if you receive one of these surveys in your inbox!

For more information on the survey, see the announcement below:

Business to Arts announce new
Private Investment in the Arts Survey
Questionnaires going to arts organisation in the coming days

Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Emily MFG

Looking forward to seeing RED

8 September 2008

‘Tis the season for new capital constructions, apparently: South Dublin County Council is set to open its own spanking new cultural facility, RED. I’m hoping to pop down soon and snap a few photos, but in the meantime, a few details from their press announcement:

South Dublin County Council’s latest venture the new County Arts Centre, RED in Tallaght is the most recent addition to Tallaght’s emerging cultural quarter. The centre which represents an investment of almost €10 million in arts and cultural facilities by South Dublin County Council is nearing completion and is due to open soon.

The remit of the centre is to develop the arts in South Dublin County through supporting and providing spaces for productions, exhibitions and process-based activities and by providing workspace for arts organisations and artists.

RED is now looking for individuals and arts organisations who are interested in participating or working within the centre to request an Expression of Interest form.

The facility consists of two gallery spaces, a studio performance space, an art workshop room, five music tuition rooms, a dance and rehearsal studio, two multi media rooms, three incubation units, six artist studio spaces and several meeting rooms.

To receive a Expression of Interest form please contact kphillips@sdublincoco.ie

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Posted by Emily MFG

The great man speaks on greatness

8 September 2008

Event Announcement:

Irish Museums Association Annual Lecture

with Philippe de Montebello

National Gallery of Ireland, Lecture Theatre

20 November 2008 6.30 pm

The IMA Annual James White Lecture will be given by Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, on the theme ‘What Makes a Great Museum Great’.

Admission Free. Booking is strongly advised.

For bookings, please contact the IMA office in 01 6633579 or ima@ngi.ie

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Posted by Emily MFG

Smithsonian reins in top earners

8 September 2008

Big cuts have been announced to the salaries of the top-paid employees at the Smithsonian, in an effort to curb exponential growth in executives’ salary:

According to figures released recently after a request by The Associated Press, the chief financial officer for the Smithsonian Institution could have the biggest reduction. If the cuts planned for five years from now were made today, CFO Alice Maroni could lose as much as $120,000, or 41 percent of her base salary of $293,280. Others could have reductions ranging from $6,000 to more than $80,000 a year.

Nonprofit watchdogs and members of Congress have been questioning salaries at the Smithsonian since former Secretary Lawrence Small’s compensation grew to nearly $916,000 for 2007. Small resigned in March 2007 when it was revealed that he was also charging the Smithsonian for housekeeping and repairs to his home swimming pool, among other expenses.

[...]

Critics aren’t sure the Smithsonian has done enough. They question why [new Smithsonian secretary] Clough is paid more than the U.S. president, who earns $400,000 a year.

“One has to ask, what’s the logic of paying Clough $500,000 and then paying the others so much less?” said Pablo Eisenberg, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute who studies nonprofit leadership. “I don’t think that makes for very good morale among staff.”

(read the rest of the article)

Yikes. Somehow I think this is one financial model Irish arts institutions won’t be following…

Thanks to Kevin O’Dwyer for passing this news article along.

Leave a Comment » | Funding, Museum | Permalink
Posted by Emily MFG

Wexford Opera House launches

8 September 2008

architects' rendering of opera house

architects' rendering of opera house

It would have been tough to miss all the coverage over the weekend of the fabulous new Wexford Opera House opening! First there was Pat Kenny & the Late Late crew broadcasting live from the new venue on Friday, then a feature by Irish Times architecture critic Frank McDonald:

The new opera house, with 7,235sq m of floor space, is three times larger than the old theatre, but although its flytower rises to the equivalent of eight storeys, it is barely visible above the ridge-line of High Street. Thus, the “surprise and delight of discovery”, as McGahon puts it, is still there.

The smart-looking foyer leads up to a much larger atrium that links the three levels of the auditorium. Box-balustered staircases in dark Canadian walnut are offset against white walls, creating a great space for people-watching – a stage set for the flâneur before and after performances.

[...]

THE NEW THREE-TIERED auditorium is a revelation. With its walls, ceiling, floors and bow-shaped balconies entirely clad in dark walnut (from sustainably managed forests), it almost seems to be hewn out of a huge block of timber. It has a cave-like quality, which is slightly off-putting until you get used to it.

Keith Williams likens this extraordinary interior to a stringed instrument.

“We echoed the sensuous curves of a cello to make this room,” he says. “Even the curved steel lighting bridges are analogous to the technical bits of the cello.

The new space looks set to be a triumph for the architects and the OPW involved on the project, and will set off the Wexford Opera festival in style when it launches on 16 October with the opeara ‘Snehurochka, The Snow Maiden‘ (already fully sold out!)

Leave a Comment » | Architecture, Music, Opera, Performing Arts | Permalink
Posted by Emily MFG

Getting your Fringe on

3 September 2008

My highlight of the autumn kicks off with the Fringe Festival launching this Saturday! Over the years I’ve seen lots of productions, from brilliant to disastrous (more of the former and less of the latter), but I’m really excited this year about the staging of events in the Iveagh Gardens and the programme of street theatre (especially the opera Bastien and Bastienne). It’s Wolfgang Hoffman’s swan song after four years of running the festival, and the lineup looks like another stellar mix of theatre, dance, visual art and music.

MA programme alumnae Jenny Jennings is Programme Director for the Fringe and was interviewed in Saturday’s Irish Times about the upcoming festival and its drive to highlight new Irish talent:

Programme director Jennifer Jennings says that the strength of this year’s Irish element of the programme is more than accidental. It is a strategic part of Dublin Fringe Festival’s development over the past few years, and one that both Jennings and the festival’s outgoing artistic director, Wolfgang Hoffman, have been committed to fostering.

“We work as a platform for new artists,” Jennings explains. “I suppose you could say we are a producing partner, giving support ‘in lieu’ to emerging artists – from inviting them to use office facilities to giving them a place in the festival programme to, more recently, providing workshops for developing work.”

(yay Jenny!)

The Fringe website looks great too, with blogs and reviews (although it’d be great if they’d add an rss feed). This year tickets can be purchased from Filmbase and the Iveagh Gardens box office located on Hatch Street– the full programme pdf can be downloaded here.

Leave a Comment » | Alumni news, Event announcements, Music, Opera, Performing Arts, Theatre, Visual Arts | Permalink
Posted by Emily MFG

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