Are new buildings the be-all and end-all of a vibrant arts scene - or just a starting point in attracting an audience, asks Arminta Wallace
Everyone in the Irish arts community welcomes the current flurry of spending on new, purpose-built centres for the performing arts in Dublin. But everyone who works in the arts also knows that there are legitimate questions to be asked as we embark on this enormous programme of capital spending, namely - to what extent is a healthy arts scene composed of bricks and mortar? And are new buildings the be-all and end-all of an effective arts infrastructure - or just a starting point?
"There has been a huge emphasis - perhaps an over-emphasis - on buildings in the country as a whole over the past number of years," says Jack Gilligan, arts officer with Dublin City Council. "Buildings by themselves don't necessarily lead to significant arts development - certainly, it takes a lot more than a building to encourage public awareness of the arts."
Having said that, he points out that from the arts point of view, certain kinds of buildings are in critically short supply in Dublin at present.
"There's a huge shortage of space in the city for rehearsal purposes," he says. "Theatre companies are at their wits' end trying to find space in the city. We have provided four spaces in the Lab on Foley Street, but I want to see a lot more coming on stream. Artists' studio accommodation is also very difficult to find. A lot of artists have been forced out of the city altogether; others are working in conditions which would not be considered satisfactory, never mind conducive to creativity."
At the Project Theatre, artistic director Willie White is at the coal face of the city's shortage of rehearsal space. "I certainly don't feel myself the victim of any deluge of capital spending," he says. "I'm very over-subscribed, especially in terms of young companies which have been funded by the Arts Council to develop new work. Often I can't give them as much time as they need - and the general pressure means that often, they can't have the smaller space at the Project, which is where you would expect to find younger companies. If you're talking about originating new Irish work, the lack of smaller-scale venues in the city is a real problem."
Theatre venues have, in fact, been vanishing from the city centre in recent years. The Crypt, the Mint, the City Arts Centre - all gone. The two new spaces at St Michael and John's Church in Temple Bar, due to re-open shortly as Smock Alley, will undoubtedly help ease the log-jam - but the larger of those will only be available part of the time, since it is intended largely for use by the Gaiety School of Acting. And what applies to theatre, says the artistic director of the Contemporary Music Centre, Eve O'Kelly, applies to music - in spades.
"As far as new music is concerned, there's really nowhere in the centre of the city at the moment that's suitable," she says. "We've lost the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre. True, we've got the Hugh Lane Gallery's Sunday series back, and that's a great outlet for fairly informal recitals of music of different kinds, including new music. But at the end of the day it's an art gallery. It's not intrinsically developed for music."
What's really needed, she says, is a flexible black box space with the kind of technological clout to cope with the kind of multi-media work many young composers are producing. "It could be used for jazz, for contemporary, for electronic stuff - all the non-traditional forms of music-making that are going on at the moment."
AT THE OTHER end of the musical scale is opera. Does the forthcoming revamp of the Gaiety, including a major overhaul for its undersized orchestra pit, mean we can kiss goodbye to the idea of an opera house in Dublin in our lifetime?
"No," says Olive Braiden, chairwoman of the Arts Council. "The Gaiety won't do for opera. It's not big enough. The stage isn't big enough, and an opera house needs space to keep various sets and technical equipment. No - we could do with an opera house, and in our advisory capacity to Government, the Arts Council has been pointing out the requirements for every art form, including opera."
The role of physical buildings in the whole spectrum of arts activity is quite a complex one. "People say - 'What do we need an opera house for? There's no audience for opera'," says O'Kelly. "But of course there's no audience for opera because people can't see it, so they can't try it out to see if they like it. You need a physical focus for people to identify with. An enjoyable social evening in a nice auditorium with a nice bar, maybe a bite to eat - that's what encourages people to go to things.
"Think of the difference Croke Park has made to sporting events - and even big rock and pop events - in terms of people's enjoyment of those events and their willingness to go to them. You can't expect people to go to arts events for the good of their soul. Do any of us? We go because we want to have a night out and still come away with something that has made us think, artistically."
New arts buildings also provide a focus for a process of mentoring which can reach out to organisations and individuals across the board, hiking up general creativity levels and leading to all kinds of co-operation across the arts community. Thus, they pay for themselves in the long run. But as Jack Gilligan stresses, you need to build your building with one eye on building your audience.
"I think there's a long way to go in terms of audience development in Dublin," he says.
"There are a lot of people in the city who don't go to the theatre, for instance, because they feel that theatre really has nothing to do with their lives. At Dublin City Council we have to put in a lot of effort in trying to create the opportunities for people who haven't ever been to the theatre to go and see what it's like. Providing opportunities - that's really what it's about."
Willie White agrees. "Obviously you have to plan for success - and you build the buildings that you would like to have. But a building is only part of the picture. A more important question is, who's going to go and see all this stuff? It's all very well having flytowers and large auditoria and good acoustics but if there's nothing good to put on, nobody will go. You need material to enliven the building. And most importantly, you need to address the problem of access to the arts in education," he says.
ARTS ORGANISATIONS in Ireland would argue that they make heroic efforts to put outreach programmes in place, whether it be parent and toddler sessions at the National Concert Hall, theatre workshops at the Abbey or author interviews at the National Library. For the Irish Museum of Modern Art, direct contact with people who live locally has been a cornerstone of the museum's cultural policy since the beginning. But as Helen O'Donoghue, head of education and community programmes at Imma explains, the work not only has to be ongoing - it also has to change as the community changes.
"Fifteen years ago we were seen as being very far away from what some people would call the 'cultural centre' of Dublin," she says. "Our community programme initially grew out of engagements with the various communities who live and work in the area. But as time has gone on, the community here has changed hugely because of all the rebuilding around. So we have continued and expanded those programmes to invite people from all walks of life to come and get involved here. I think that if we're building new buildings we do have to take into account programming for all, which is very important - without dumbing down, which is always the fear of artistic programmers.
"Also, buildings which are planned from scratch can create a very welcoming atmosphere, so that people aren't disenfranchised before they even get to the performance or the arts experience. That's a really important aspect of a cultural building - and it isn't just about sticking a shop out front. It's about creating places that people can feel comfortable hanging out in, really."
Putting up the building is, then, just the first step in a process which has to involve outreach, and the provision of adequate revenues for staffing and upkeep in the years to come. Still, it's a start.
"Looking at it from our perspective," says Olive Braiden, "it shows a great confidence in the arts community and the contribution that the arts make to society. I'm just back from Barcelona - which I know is a bigger city in a bigger country - but when you're actually there, you're so aware of what is available. All the museums and galleries, the Gaudi buildings and so on. There's a great sense of beauty in the place. And I think Dublin will be like that. I think Dublin is definitely getting the leg up that it needs after all the dark times when there was no money going into the arts. And it's about time that we're able to stand up and be proud of our arts buildings."
