A prickly bone of contention: Cllr. Robbie Ireton is not a fan of the M11’s ‘Hedgehog’ sculpture.

INTERVIEWS, SURVEYS and reviews of the current provision for arts and cultural activities in Wexford is underway and seeking opinions from all interested parties, according to the head of the project.

Marie Brennan of Glasshouse Creative has undertaken the task of reviewing Wexford Co. Council’s approach to the arts in the area with a view to making the programme more ambitious and impacting.

She was speaking at the recent monthly meeting of Wexford Co. Council where she said that during the recession the arts became a peripheral target for funding but it was now time to ask if enough was being provided for the sector.

Wexford had just days earlier received €1.6 million in Arts Council funding – the highest amount for a county in the region and Ms. Brennan identified a number of key strengths in the county including: the National Opera House, the local arts colleges, the abundance of voluntary amateur groups, the number of festivals, and many others. There was, she believed, a potential for growth and further development.

A few key issues were brought up at the meeting:

Cllr. George Lawlor said he was delighted to see mention of the voluntary and amateur organisations, remarking that he was involved with such groups and that there was sometimes a snobbery towards them.

“The voluntary and amateur groups are very important because they are often a stepping stone to bigger things but they are sometimes deemed lesser in the scheme of things.”

He added that he did not want to see Wexford’s success in the arts sector being penalised by a moving of its funds to somewhere else.

Cllr. Barbara Anne Murphy reminded the council that the arts provision needed to extend beyond the district of Wexford, commenting that Enniscorthy Drama Group had revived and the All Ireland Drama Finals were this year taking place in Kilmuckridge which was a huge honour.

Cllr. Davy Hynes said he was delighted to see that the focus was turning back to the Arts which had, during the recession been seen as impractical. He drew attention to the cost of venues for arts practitioners, particularly the newly renamed Opera House:

“We are very lucky to have such a wonderful Opera House but the problem is, lots of local groups cannot afford to use it. Perhaps we could look at subsidising it more? It would be better than having it empty.”

And Cllr. Robbie Ireton offered a piece of public artwork to “anyone who wants it”:

“If anyone wants a giant hedgehog, we have one!” he added, referring to a roadside installation on the M50.