The National Campaign for the Arts has been launched in Ireland.

This is a broad and inclusive coalition that reflects the scale, reach and diversity of the arts in Ireland today. Its membership has a national representation that includes major festivals, venues, producers and representative organisations in visual arts, theatre, film, dance, music, literature, architecture and collaborative arts.

Some of Ireland’s most recognizable and respected artists came out on Wednesday 23 September 2009 to launch the campaign in Dublin City Centre. They included composer Bill Whelan; singer, Mary Black; actress and star of In America and The Tudors, Sara Bolger; comedian Risteard Cooper; singer/songwriter Damian Dempsey; Mercury Prize nominee Lisa Hannigan; actress and novelist Amy Huberman; Oscar-winning director Neil Jordan; and other luminaries of Ireland’s music, film, theatre, literary and visual arts industries.

During a week in which the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival is kicking off its fifty-first year and an expected half-million people around the country will enjoy Culture Night, the Campaign aims to put the importance of the arts centre stage.

It calls for the retention of Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide and the Irish Film Board, both of which face closure following the recent recommendations of the McCarthy Report. It also calls for the maintenance of existing levels of arts funding for the Arts Council as well as full representation at senior cabinet level.

The NCFA is the first ever umbrella organization for the diverse arts sectors in Ireland and provides a voice for the country’s artists and arts organizations. It petitions to ensure that the arts are on local and national government agendas and welcomes an open debate on the arts as a vital part of contemporary Irish life.

Posted: 25 September 2009