Arts Council visits Laois authority

The first in a series of meetings between the Arts Council and local authorities around the country was held yesterday in Laois.

The agency with responsibility for developing the arts attended Laois County Council's monthly meeting in Portlaoise to acknowledge the role played by the local authority in supporting the arts.

In 2005, local authorities spent almost €56 million on the arts and 33 out of 34 local authorities now have arts officers, with South Tipperary County Council the exception.

Mary Cloake, director of the Arts Council, said the network of arts officers reflects local authorities' recognition of the value of placing professional expertise directly within the local authority to strategically develop the arts within a given locality.

"This truly shows how far local authorities have come in recognising the arts as a part of their core services and also shows how much local authority arts programmes have grown, in scale and ambition," she said.

"The Arts Council cannot support the arts at local level alone - we have been working closely with Laois County Council and the results have been very positive."

She highlighted the significance of arts partnerships with local authorities, which have been operating for over 20 years.

Olive Braiden, chairwoman of the Arts Council, said that while it welcomes the increased trend in spending by local authorities, more needs to be done.

"We are eager to work with local authorities to fully realise our collective potential, and our responsibility, in supporting the arts. Local ownership of the arts is integral in capturing the imagination of communities."

As part of the Laois visit, the Arts Council held its own monthly meeting in the town and visited Dunamaise Arts Centre in Church Street.