Editorial

Now, that the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us we would like to express to the reader our apologies for the lack of a Newsletter Plus during the "silly season" of summer. We were not idle.

On the 15th June 1998, Minister Síle de Valera, T.D., Minister for Arts Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands announced the appointment of the new Arts Council/ An Chomhairle Ealaíon Patricia Quinn, Director of The Arts Council welcomed the announcement and said

"I wish to express my appreciation to Minister de Valera for the care and consideration she has given to assembling this new Council which represents such a broad range of arts interests and experience. The Arts Council is being appointed at a very critical juncture in arts planning, a time of growth and development, as we come to the end of one Arts Plan and begin to work on another. I look forward to working with the Chairperson and members of the Council over the coming months on the preparations of the next Art Plan which we will present to the Minister later this year".

That time is now upon us. A season of intense consultation with interested groups around the country, through seminars mainly based in Dublin, has now reached a finite stage in its development. We would like to congratulate the 17 members of the new Arts Council, Professor Brian Farrell, Chairperson, Paul McGuiness, Proinsias MacAonghusa, Mary Brady, Ciaran Carson, Maud Cotter, Noel Crowley, Brendan Flynn, Jane Gogan, TV Honan, Siobhán Ní Éanaigh, Maíre Ni Riain, Seamus Ó Cinnéide, Emer O' Kelly, Jane O' Leary, Úna Ó Mhurchú, and Patrick Sutton, on their appointments. We note that Munster-based representatives total six and look forward to further consultations at national and regional level.

Each individual and/or arts organisation was invited to put forward proposals for the New Arts Plan to both the Department and the Arts Council. The reference point was how far did the last Arts Plan succeed or not in its objectives and also it was made clear that the Department had allocated 26 million pounds of the country's budget to the Arts Council.

At the Munster Literature Centre we submitted a proposal on the basis of our being in existence to support writers actively over the last five years, of having been connected to the arts in some way for the last twenty five years and in the hope of being more proactive in the literary arts for the next millennium.

Synopsis of recommendations for the New Arts Plan from The Munster Literature Centre, Cork to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands submitted August 1998.

1. The increase of the current £26 million through more interdepartmental work so that arts and culture become an intrinsic part of the economic and social infrastructure in Ireland and that the individual artist is recognised as a valued social, cultural and economic entity.

2. With this increased funding to extend the "Cnuas" system to

include1200-1500 artists and to absorb into this system the small grants, artist-in-residence and artist-in-the-community schemes, calling on these artists/writers to give approximately 8 weeks of (their choice) work to different communities and organisations.

3. More literary prizes in Ireland for Irish writers and more international prizes with renumeration, translation and residency packages.

4. The phasing out of FÁS dependency within arts organisations by the provision of more core funding from arts agencies.

5. Supportive infrastructure for the embryonic arts centres and

regional arts festivals.

6. Clarity around the role of Local Authority involvement in the Arts sector, along with more training in understanding the role of the artist, the arts and good arts practice. Support for and clarity around the role of the Arts Officers.

7. The development of audience potential.

8. Development of centralised IT base with arts centres resourcing and training artists in IT practice.

9. Well - developed regional arts policy.

10. Full access for individual artists helped by decreasing the amount of bureaucratic demands made on them.

Specific recommendations from The Munster Literature Centre, Cork, to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands and the Arts Council of Ireland, submitted August 1998.

1. We would ask that the Department and the Arts Council recognise the major work that has been carried out by the Munster Literature Centre over the last five years. Much of the work has been carried out with the help of FÁS training and employment schemes overseen on a daily basis by board members. The work has now reached a stage where it must proceed at full professional level. This can only be realised to its full potential with the necessary financial and moral support from the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht, and the Islands in tandem with the Arts Council of Ireland and the other government departments.

2. That along with substantial core funding the Centre would also be supported in finding and maintaining a suitable permanent base in Cork city.

3. That a Residence-for-Writers is created in Cork, or in the Munster region, where writers can have writing space outside their homes over prolonged periods of creativity. This would also encourage international exchanges and communal spaces for writers to meet and exchange ideas, run joint workshops, participate in summer schools, festivals etc. This could give rise to a much more consolidated translation of literary works and promotion of writers' works internationally, as well as acknowledging the very important need for creative space for writers of the region. It might also encourage writers to choose to remain in the region or indeed in the country.

4. That in order to encourage the growth of regional policy and good arts practice an audit should be carried out of all the literary activities in the Republic and the North of Ireland.

5. That greater recognition be given to writers who dedicate their lives to the art of writing and that a serious attempt is made by the Department /Arts Council or other arts body to create a technical literary agency within Ireland that informs and meets the needs of our writers.

6. That Irish Publishers should be supported in a more generous way so that their survival is guaranteed and the standards of literature are safeguarded against populist prey. It should also be incumbent on publishers when so supported to be proactive in promoting, supporting and distributing the writers' work.

ARTS PLAN 1999-2001

Working response from the Arts Council September 1998.Likely framework for the New Arts Plan

1. Support for the creation of new artistic work of quality or importance
2. Support for the creative and interpretative artist, in formation and in career.
3. Support for the production, exhibition and dissemination of artistic work.
4. Support for the physical and human infrastructures of the arts.
5. Interpreting and responding to the needs of audiences for the arts and the wider public.
6. A critical and documentary framework for the arts.

The Values Proposed To Underpin The New Arts Plan

1. To identify, encourage and promote quality in artistic creation and expression.
2. To build the capacity among others to promote and assist the arts.
3. To respond to the burgeoning international agenda of the arts.
4. To enhance the ability of artists and arts organisations to build audiences for the arts.
5. To promote the sustainability of arts organisations.
6. To promote true equality of artistic opportunity among the entire community of the arts (meaning both the artist and the public) throughout the island.

The Munster Literature Centre also lends its support to the recommendations made by Cork Arts Development Committee, Johnny Hanrahan of Meridian Theatre, the Artists' Association of Ireland, The Irish Writers' Centre and Poetry Ireland.