An Chomhairle Ealaíon An Dathadú Tuarascáil Bhliantúil maille le Cuntais don bhliain dar chrioch 31ú Nollag 1991. Tíolacadh don Rialtas agus leagadh faoi bhráid gach Tí den Oireachtas de bhun Altanna 6 (3) agus 7 (1) den Act Ealaíon, 1951. Fortieth Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st December 1991. Presented to the Government and laid before each House of the Oireachtas, pursuant to Sections 6 (3) and 7 (1) of the Arts Act, 1951. ISBN 0906627 49 4 ISSN 0790-1593 Members Colm Ó hEocha, Chairman Dermot Bolger Michael Colgan Máire de Paor Bríd Dukes Arthur Gibney Patrick Hall Charles Hennessy Ted Hickey Richard Kearney Proinsias Mac Aonghusa Larry McCluskey Paul McGuinness Micheal O'Siadhail Donald Potter Eric Sweeney Kathleen Watkins Staff (at September 1992) Director Adrian Munnelly Officers Literature, Community Arts and Festivals Laurence Cassidy Visual Arts Sarah Finlay Film Paul Freaney Drama and Personnel Phelim Donlon Opera and Development Patricia Quinn (until April 1992) Music and Traditional Arts Dermot McLaughlin Popular Music Keith Donald (until April 1992) Regions Emer McNamara (until December 1991) Education Kieran Walsh (from May 1992) European Affairs Marian Fitzgibbon (from June 1992) Finance and Administration David McConnell Executive Assistants Kevin Healy Nuala O'Byme Bernadette O'Leary Jennifer Traynor Secretarial Assistants Patricia Moore Mary Hickey Paula Harold Edward Redding Receptionist Kathryn Cahille 70 Merrion Square, Dublin 2 Telephone: (01) 611840 Fax: (01) 761302 An Chomhairle Ealaíon An Chomhairle Ealaíon/The Arts Council is an independent body set up in 1951 to promote and assist the arts. The Council operates under the Arts Acts 1951 and 1973 and provides a wide-ranging programme of financial assistance and special services. Support of the individual arts practitioner is a fundamental part of the Council's mission and and grant-aid is given to organisations and groups. Council policies are directed towards providing access to the arts widely throughout the country. The Council also acts as an adviser on artistic matters to Government and has a statutory right to make representations to planning authorities in certain instances where artistic or architectural considerations apply. The Council consists of a board of not more than seventeen members appointed by An Taoiseach. The present Council was appointed in 1988 and its term of office expires in 1993. The Council usually meets eleven times a year to set Council policies and make decisions within the terms of the Arts Acts. These policies and decisions are implemented by a staff headed by a Director, appointed by the Council. The Arts Council, as a publicly accountable body, publishes an annual report and accounts to provide the Oireachtas and the general public with an overview of the year's work. Annual grants from the Oireachtas and from the net proceeds of the National Lottery are the Council's principal sources of income. These grants are supplemented by income from local authorities and other bodies, usually designated for specific schemes or projects. The Council also administers a number of trust funds. The arts are defined in the Arts Acts and include: painting, sculpture, architecture, cinema, print-making, design, theatre, dance, music, opera, literature and 'the fine arts and applied arts generally'. Contents Page Chairman's Introduction 7 Finance 8 National Lottery, Obituary 9 Membership, Employment Policy 10 Arts Council Publications 10 Aosdána 11 Literature 13 Visual Arts 17 Film 22 Drama 24 Dance 27 Traditional Arts 28 Popular Music 31 Opera 32 Music 33 Jazz 36 Arts Centres 37 Education 38 Development 40 Arts Development in the Regions 41 Community Arts and Arts Festivals 43 Arts/Community/Education 45 Capital 46 Sundry 46 Accounts 47 Chairman's Introduction 1991 was the third year in office of the present Council and a year when many of its plans, policies and objectives began to come to fruition. The arts in Ireland have taken on a significant role in the development and health of our country and this is now beginning to be recognised by the Government and public alike. The inclusion in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress of a funding target for the Council of £13m per annum inflation-adjusted — equivalent now to approximately £15m — was encouraging for the Council and for all those working in the arts. The often difficult relationship between art and its funding is made all the more crucial at a time when the country's public finances are under severe strain. The question of how the Arts Council's spending of its budget impacts on the public, a public which includes artists and others working in the arts, is paramount. It is a matter which the Council must always keep to the fore. In addressing it, it becomes clear that it is not a simple matter of public awareness or of simply providing the public with art but rather a question of integration. It is the fostering of a dialogue between artists and the community in which they live. More specifically, the Council's policies in community arts, festivals, education and its regional support are endeavouring to create these contexts for integration. Dublin was the designated European City of Culture for 1991 and many of the Council's activities complemented those of the organisers of the resultant celebrations. The European dimension of the arts is significant as we move closer to a more integrated Europe with its diversity of cultures. There is no longer a sense of the cultural dominance of centres such as Paris, London or Amsterdam. It is perhaps an exaggerated analogy, but a characteristic hallmark of the Renaissance period was somewhat similar, in that there were regional centres which encompassed a cultural wholeness without need for outside reference. This regionalisation is to a great extent the model for a Europe of the regions. The Council acknowledges the growing importance of communities creating their own context for artistic activity, appreciation and experience. As part of this integration of art and the community, the Council identified the need for recognition and appreciation of the work done both by artists and by arts managers. The Arts Management Conference held in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, in November 1991 and the recommendations of the Council's management development committee, began a process of engendering such public recognition. 1991 saw an even further growth in arts activity and in the number of people involved in the arts in Ireland. With a growing interest from the private sector, encouraged by Cothú, and an increasing audience for art, the Council no longer needs to be the sole mechanism for support. It now works increasingly in partnership with other funding bodies and many important arts events take place without Council support. This diversification is very healthy, and one which makes the Council's role all the more vital as the State support system, in co-ordinating, in initiating and in encouraging excellence. Again this year I would like to thank my colleagues on the Council for their support, their time and expertise and their unflagging enthusiasm. I thank the Director and his staff for their professionalism and thoroughness in carrying out the work of the Council. I would also like to thank the outgoing Taoiseach, Charles J. Haughey for his support over the years and look forward very much to building a good working relationship with the Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds and the Minister for the Arts and Culture, Tom Kitt. Tá borradh agus fás ins na healaíona in Éirinn. Tá meas tuillte acu sa bhaile agus i gcéin, a bhuíochas le tacaíocht daoine agus eagraíochtaí ar fuaid na tíre sin ní fhéadfadh an Chomhairle Ealaíon seirbhís atá ríthábhachtach a chur ar fáil do mhuintir na hÉireann. The Arts Council: Three-Year Financial Summary 1991 1991 1990 1989 £ % £ £ Income State Funding 9,956,000 9,478,000 7,149,000 Other Income 710,000 277,000 274,000 10,666,000 9,755,000 7,423,000 Expenditure Literature 692,000 6.4% 587,000 450,000 European Literary and Translation Prize project 276,000 2.6% - - Visual Arts 1,093,000 10.1% 1,017,000 787,000 Film 336,000 3.1% 254,000 211/000 Drama 3,632,000 33.7% 3,362,000 2,863,000 Dance 301,000 2.8% 321,000 214,000 Traditional Music 270,000 2.5% 213,000 175,000 Opera 563,000 5.2% 513,000 393,000 Music 465,000 4.3% 384,000 320,000 Arts Centres 651,000 6.0% 542,000 422,000 Education 208,000 1.9% 263,000 234,000 Community Arts and Festivals 264,000 2.5% 232,000 197,000 Regions 267,000 2.5% 213,000 161,000 Capital 846,000 7.9% 986,000 249,000 Sundry 212,000 2.0% 125,000 117/000 Administration 695,000 6.5% 666,000 591,000 10,771,000 100.0% 9,678,000 7,384,000 Capital Account 8,000 60,000 28,000 10,779,000 9,738,000 7,412,000 Outturn for year -113,000 17,000 11,000 Opening Balance -51,000 -68,000 -79,000 Closing Balance -164,000 -51,000 -68,000 Trust Funds 140,000 128,000 119,000 Fixed Assets 297,000 289,000 229,000 Total Assets less Current Liabilities at 31st December £273,000 £366,000 £280,000 Detailed lists of grants, etc., are given at the end of each section of the report. Full financial statements will be found on pages 47 to 55. Finance The Council's state funding in 1991 came from two sources: a grant-in-aid voted by Dáil Éireann, £4.968 million and £4.988 million from the National Lottery Fund: a total of £9.956 million compared with £9.478 million in 1990.