Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady has called for urgent action to ensure Ireland’s Arts sector is not undermined by financial barriers and the growing threat of artists emigrating.
His comments came following the recent launch of the preliminary results of Sinn Féin’s Arts Survey, in which over a thousand artists, arts workers and people who enjoy the arts across different art forms answered questions relating to barriers, facilities, state bodies and funding.
People across the country were invited to take part in the online survey in English or in Irish between 6th April and 30th April 2024 as part of a consultation process aimed at developing a more comprehensive policy for the arts so that the sector has the best possible policies in place to enable it to thrive.
Key findings include that money is the key barrier to creating, performing or enjoying art for 4 of every 5 participants, almost three quarters are not satisfied with the arts facilities and spaces in their area, and a substantial majority say they or artists and arts workers they know are considering emigrating.
Brady said:
“There were 1,123 people who gave their time to participate in our survey. These preliminary results make for stark reading and should be a wakeup call for everyone who wants to see Ireland’s Arts sector flourish and thrive.
The responses set out starkly what has been clear to artists and others in the Arts sector for some time now: the housing and cost of living crises, particularly in Wicklow, are significantly hampering the ability of artists and arts workers to create and perform, and the spectre of emigration is haunting Irish arts. Meanwhile, struggling to find an affordable place in which to live is compounded by a lack of affordable spaces in which to work.
It was damning that when our party questioned Arts Minister Catherine Martin recently if she had analysed the impact of the housing crisis on the arts or at least spoken with the Housing Minister about it over her four years in office, she had nothing to say. While the basic income and increased funding from the Arts Council are welcome, they will not keep a roof over artists’ heads when the vast majority of artists and arts workers receive no state funding whatsoever.
We need action on housing, we need action on the cost of living, and we need a concrete plan to deliver suitable arts spaces and cultural infrastructure to communities up and down the country.
We also need to take a serious look at how the arts are supported nationally, with one in five identifying bureaucracy and elitism as major barriers to art work, and more respondents describing their experience of the Arts Council, other state bodies funding the arts, and the basic income for the arts as “negative” than “positive”. A substantial majority would rather have the basic income distributed based on financial need or merit than the current random lottery system.
The results published represent the initial, preliminary results and we will be publishing more comprehensive findings in the coming months to discuss what needs to be done for the arts. Sinn Féin is committed to standing up for artists and the Arts sector to ensure that they get the support they need.