Hope you are all well.

We are gearing up for an event to take place on the NCFA National Day of Action on 17th September.

We are putting together a short film to represent who we (and our friends, family & neighbours) are and what our connection to the Arts is.

If everyone could email a photograph of themselves on their own or with friends, family etc and preferably in context with their art form- in your studio, writing in front of your computer, singing, painting, acting ….. or relaxing while reading a book. Or doing nothing at all!

Can you tell us two things:

The name(s) of the people in the photo
AND
A tag line that can be straight or humorous about your art form or the art form you enjoy.

For example:
“Ann with husband John and two kids, Sarah and Peter”

AND

“Outside the … Theatre – taking a quick break from tech.”

OR

“Reading my favourite book – again!”

OR

“Working into the late hours in my studio off Thomas St.”

And that’s it. Mail it to me dublinsouthcentralartsworkers@gmail.com as soon as possible and we’ll do the rest.

Details of the event on the 17th September to follow. Keep the date free if possible.

See you and your photos on the 17th!

Kind regards

Peter Daly

As agreed at the meeting on 17th July, the Group is planning an EVENT as part of the National Campaign for the Arts – National Day of Action on 17th Sept.

If you would like to be part of the organising gang for this event please send me your email address to dublinsouthcentralartsworkers@gmail.com.

The plan is to have an email based discussion for the next week or so and then get together to agree the EVENT and start the ball rolling on organising it.

Thanks

Peter

The arts will be in the firing line again in the autumn in the run-up to the Budget.

Once again we need to make sure that our voices are heard and that the message is clearly articulated that artists and the arts need to be supported. Last year, local arts workers groups and the National Campaign for the Arts made a big difference to the outcome of the Budget.

Despite this, in 2010 many artist were affected by the cuts – we need to mobilise again.

GROUP MEETING SAT 17th JULY

There will be a Dublin South Central Arts Workers Group Meeting on Saturday 17th July (9 days from now) at 12pm (noon) in Mill Street Studios, Dublin 8 (near Blackpitts). See map below.

It is hoped that the meeting will last about an hour.

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND

Dublin South Central is one of the strongest Arts Workers Groups in the country.
The strength of the group lies in our numbers. There are 466 members at present (367 on Facebook and 99 on the gmail contact list.)

Whenever we have met with TDs and Councillors they have been impressed by the fact that we are a LARGE, ACTIVE and INFORMED group.

There was a great turnout at the meeting last August. A detailed plan of action was agreed at that meeting and a lot has been achieved since then.

Our 5 TDs and our Councillors are now well aware who the Dublin South Central Arts Workers Group is.

This is our chance to meet up again and make a fresh plan.

Included in the plan will be how our Group can take part in the National Campaign for the Arts NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION (17th September).

I hope you are well.

GROUP MEETING – SAT 17th JULY

Please put Sat July 17th (venue tbc) in your diary for a meeting of Dublin South Central Arts Workers (DSCAW).

There was a great turnout at the meeting we held last year. I think we can do even better this time.

Draft agenda to follow. Suggestions most welcome.

NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION – FRI 17 SEPTEMBER

The NCFA (www.ncfa.ie) & the Arts Workers Groups, including DSCAW, are organising a National Day of Action on 17th September.

It will involve, among other things, Arts events and meeting public representatives and it will be a high impact media event.

We can discuss how the Group can most effectively contribute to this day at the Group meeting on 17th July.

CONTINUING TO MEET TDs & COUNCILLORS

A few of us met TD Michael Mulcahy (FF) at the Dail recently. You might recall that Michael was the only DSC TD we didn’t manage to meet in the run up to last years Budget. We have now met all 5 DCS TDs.

We also had a good meeting with Cllr Rebecca Moynihan (Lab) recently.

And Mary Upton, Labour’s Arts Spokesperson accepted our invitation to see Rough Magic’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest in The Gaiety. There were at least 7 DSC constituents working on the production.

If you are opening an exhibition, putting on a play etc, do consider inviting one or more TDs/Councillors as it gives them the opportunity of better understanding/appreciating what we do. Their email addresses are widely available.

REGiSTER OF MEMBERS

Michael Mulhahy & Rebecca Moynihan were both impressed with the fact that we are building a database of members all of whom are registered to vote.

Many thanks If you have already mailed me your name and address.

If not, could you send it to me as soon as possible.

The larger the database the more clout we will have in our discussions with TDs/Councillors.

Also, could you indicate the area you work in, eg, theatre, visual arts, architecture, traditional music etc.

Do give me a shout at any time if you want to talk about any of the above or if you have any queries about the group or wish to be more involved.

Many thanks.

Regards

Peter

I have mentioned the National Day of Action in previous mails.

It is hoped that as many of us Arts Workers as possible will participate in one shape of another on this day – 17th September 2010.

The National Campaign for the Arts is organising a series of free workshops and briefing sessions on the National Day of Action (NDoA).

Each session includes:
Information, presentations, group discussions, networking with fellow arts workers & advocates

Why you need to attend:

Following the 2010 budget announcement last year the Arts Council received a €9 million reduction in funding from the Government. More than 300 organisations subsequently had their grant cut, some by up to 65%. A further 30 had their funding cut all together.

The Taoiseach has indicated that further cuts are coming and Minister Hanafin has publicly acknowledged cuts will be happening in her department. So we have to work together now to protect the arts, our jobs and our country’s future.

The National Day of Action on Friday 17 September 2010 is our chance to do exactly that.

Where & When: Wed 23 June, 5pm – 6.30pm – Dublin

The Ark, A Cultural Centre for Children, 11a Eustace Street Temple Bar, D2

Rsvp to: Marcella Corcoran – corcorankennedy@eircom.net

(There are workshops in Galway and Cork too)

If you need any further information just drop me a line.

Hope to see you there. Do RSVP as soon as possible if you intend to go.

Regards

Peter Daly

I hope you are well.

FURTHER CUTS OF €3 BILLION
You may have read during the week that Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has instructed his Ministers to come up with suggested Departmental Cuts of €3 billion for Budget 2011.

Despite the fact that the Arts have taken a 20% cut since 2008, it’s important that we keep the pressure up to ensure that our already lean sector is not cut again.

There are plans afoot to organise a Day of Action later in the year which, among other events, will include meeting all of our elected representatives. I will keep you posted in relation to this day.

FURTHER REQUEST FOR ADDRESSES

To ensure that our impact is as strong as possible, each of the Arts Workers Groups are asking our members to give their names and addresses.

This is in order to show the elected representatives that the Arts Workers Groups represent significant numbers of active registered* voters.

Many thanks to those of you who have already sent on your addresses.

Can I encourage the rest of you to send me a quick mail with your name and address. As I have said previously, these will not be used for any other purpose.

Many thanks

Peter Daly

* PS if you want any assistance in registering to vote, just drop me a line.

MARIE O’HALLORAN

TOURISM AND CULTURE: IT IS time for the Government to stop insulting the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport which provides more jobs than agriculture or financial services, Labour spokeswoman Mary Upton said.

She told delegates the department was treated as some sort of “ministry for fun”, for junkets or as a “department of demotion”.

The Dublin South Central TD said “this kind of disrespect and arrogance” was “insulting to the areas that this ministry is supposed to represent”.

Insisting that the department should be treated seriously, she said “tourism provides more jobs than agriculture or financial services, and it does so in some of the most remote areas of the country”.

Ms Upton was speaking as delegates backed a motion calling for the artists’ tax exemption to be retained for those earning a maximum annual income of €50,000. She said it should be for those who deserve it, “not those with the best accountants”.

Delegates criticised the Government’s decision to put € 30 million in direct funding towards the horse and greyhound industries “at a time when the funding for sports and arts has been severely diminished”.

Ms Upton criticised the “rebranding” of the department from Arts, Sport and Tourism to Culture, Tourism and Sport, but said she hoped the new Minister for Culture Mary Hanafin would bring “some much-needed initiative into the area”.

She said the artists’ exemption scheme was established in the 1960s to assist new and struggling artists and was “never intended to allow a former taoiseach to claim tax relief, no matter how inventive his memoirs were”.

“It was never meant to allow mega rock groups to write off their taxes whilst offering citizens and Government advice on how to save the world.”

The motion was proposed by Cllr Jane Dillon Byrne from Dublin South Central.

A Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, delegate said the restriction should be averaged out over five years because artists sometimes earned their incomes in “compact bursts”. The scheme was always intended to be restricted but the biggest beneficiaries “have already moved offshore”.