Anorexic artists

Okay, let's admit we thought it was a joke. "Are you an artist who feels your creative potential is unfulfilled?" goes the press release. "Have you experienced the anorexia of avoiding your art?" (That sounds like a nasty dose.)

Well, it's anything but a joke, and help is at hand. If you are one of those arts anorexics, you can join A.R.T.S Anonymous and seek recovery through the 12-step programme. Founded in the US in 1984, the group meets weekly in Dublin at the Sisters of Charity, St Mary's, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, on Fridays at 6.30 p.m. (the meeting room is at the rear of the Shell Service Station, the first building on the left inside the front gate). The programme, imported by the Irish woman who set up the British division, involves getting together with an "action group" of three or four other artists to work on those hard-to-shift creative stoppages. Apparently "hundreds" of arts anorexics have been helped by the system and there are now three weekly meetings in London. In the US, "thousands" are involved, say the Irish organisers, and in France, Germany and elsewhere arts anorexics are being coaxed back to artistic meat and potatoes. Any nibbles? Phone 012864430.