A Word For Our Sponsor

Sir, - I would like to place on record that the current programme at The Ark ("Flight: The Science and Sculpture of Flight") …

Sir, - I would like to place on record that the current programme at The Ark ("Flight: The Science and Sculpture of Flight") is generously supported by Aer Lingus. That fact is not mentioned in the very welcome article about "Flight" in your Arts page of June 2nd.

More generally, it would be helpful to those of us working in the arts who have to seek sponsors regularly to know that The Irish Times operates on the basis of giving "credit where credit is due" and not only in the case of "title sponsorships".

As a specialist public service arts enterprise, The Ark must steer by four compass points: artistic excellence, educational quality, social equity and financial prudence. Everyone has a view on the first three of these. Few interest themselves in the fourth. Without the support of the corporate sector, The Ark would lack resources critical of fulfilling its mission to create high-quality arts experiences for children.

In the case of the current programme, Aer Lingus has been both generous in its support and sensitive to the particular issues attached to sponsoring a project for children. - Yours, etc., Martin Drury, Director, The Ark, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.