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Friday, July 9, 2010

Focus Groups Update July 2010

Artists of all disciplines…
• The first focus group is targeted at Artists of all disciplines to be held in RUA RED South Dublin Arts Centre in Tallaght on Friday 16th July from 10am to 2pm. Places can be booked directly through the arts centre Tel: 01-4515860 or by email: info@ruared.ie

Youth Arts Focus Groups…
Devised with Youth Arts Co-ordinator, Victoria Durrer. Open Call events include:
• Youth Arts and Music @ RuaRed, 1-2.30pm on Wednesday 28th July.
• Youth Performing Arts @ RuaRed, 3-4.30pm on Wednesday 28th July.
• Youth Arts and Film @ RuaRed, 5-7pm on Thursday 29th July.
Places can be booked directly through the arts centre Tel: 01-4515860 or by email: info@ruared.ie or with the Youth Arts Officer vdurrer@sdublincoco.ie


Dance Policy Platform…
Devised with Dancer in Residence, Louise Costello.
RuaRed 5-7pm on Thursday 9th September.
Places can be booked directly through the arts centre Tel: 01-4515860 or by email: info@ruared.ie


Arts and Health…
• A further focus group on Arts and Health will be held at Tallaght Hospital on Wednesday 25th August, from 10am-1pm. This session targets arts and health practitioners and facilitators who already work or are interested in working in the county. Places can be booked directly with Hilary Moss, Arts Officer at Tallaght Hospital Tel: 4142076 or by email on hilary.moss@amnch.ie


Additional Events…
Additional focus group events are currently being planned. As themes arise during the public consultation, extra focus group events will be scheduled. Details will be posted on this site as they are confirmed.


Finding relevant documents…
Relevant Arts Office publications are available (at no cost) on the arts website http://arts.southdublin.ie including the previous five year Arts Strategy 2006-2010.

Participation in any or all of the public consultation events is free-of-charge.


Don’t forget you are also invited to attend the Public Consultation Seminar in September…
A day-long Consultation Seminar will take place in RUA RED on Wednesday 22nd September featuring presentations on key issues highlighted during the consultation process. There will be opportunities to showcase work generated over the period of the previous arts strategy and there will be ample opportunity to share your thoughts, concerns and priorities for the future. To book a place please contact RUA RED arts centre at Tel: 01-4515860 or by email: info@ruared.ie

3 comments:

  1. Hi All,
    Coming up to the focus group on the county arts strategy on Friday these are some thoughts :

    I would like to see a Cultural Plan for the county in place, following international best practice guidelines.
    It would set out, for example, what each citizen's cultural entitlements are, would have a voluntary framework for corporate citizens to participate in the arts, would have a strategy of support for artists resident in the county, etc. Examples of cultural planning models adopted internationally by local government and by individual organisations can be seen on the website links below. I wonder if this is a possibility for South Dublin, it is what I would like to see happening
    http://www.artsyakka.com/resources/planning_and_policy/cultural_planning
    www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/files/information/CPG-final.pdf

    I am not sure if it is within the scope of the arts strategy to go for something like this?
    Sue H

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  2. In relation to Friday's consultation session, here are some thoughts from a musician/composer's perspective below:

    Bursaries/Commissions:
    As regards topics that arise from a musician/composer’s perspective in the context of this consultation, the most common and obvious ‘support’ issues come in the form of commissions and bursaries and the facilities to create work. The ‘facilities’ issue has been addressed somewhat with the establishment of Contact Studio and the music rehearsal rooms and labs in RUA RED but these type of facilities need to be spread across the county.
    Given the current focus on workforce training one suggestion to increase the amount and type of bursaries/commissions would be that proposals from artists would include benefit-in-kind professional development workshops in the area of creative careers. In other words, workshop/course proposals could become part of the application process for these bursaries and commissions.

    Partnerships:
    Other bodies such as IMRO, Filmbase, IFTN (Irish Film and Television Network), RAAP (Recording Artists and Performers), STI (Screen Training Ireland), First Music Contact, and the CMC (Contemporary Music Centre) already provide a number of opportunities for musicians/composers to develop their work. Rather than try to replicate what these bodies are doing it makes more sense for the Council to try to formalise a relationship with these bodies and bring the staging of these opportunities to the South Dublin area

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  3. In relation to the agenda for the meeting on 22nd I would like express some concerns.
    The break-out groups as currently listed have an art-form specific focus on Dance, Music, and a suggestion has been made that another should focus on Visual Arts.
    This format worries me slightly as a) my own artform, literature, is not included and b) I am not sure that an arts strategy made up of artform-specific elements is the best way to go ....
    If this does emerge out of the seminar as the structure of the strategy then, obviously, and I'm sure everyone agrees, all arts forms need to be covered. I would suggest that those which are not strong enough to put forward position papers and development plans need extra supports within the broader strategy.
    I suggest this needs to be discussed on the day.
    I would also like to say - there is no such thing as "the arts".
    It is not "the arts" as a consumer experience, an object or a commodity that enriches people's lives, but the practice, the making and participation in art. In that regard, there is no play without actors, no music without musicians, no dance without dancers, no art without artists.
    I would like the arts strategy to put the following elements at its heart :
    A broad array of supports and opportunities for local artists of every art form and at every level of practice.
    Programmes designed to bring about the development of artistic qualities among the community
    A focus on the making of art in the county, and participation in the various art forms, by people at every level.
    I would propose that all arts organisations in the county look at ways they can work for the development of arts practitioners living in the county and should adopt a policy of working in the first instance with local artists, e.g. giving local artists first chance at residencies, and putting in place developmental supports as needed.

    ReplyDelete