Masked debaters tired of hiding their faces

THE HIGH point of a masked debate in Dublin’s Temple Bar last night came not from anonymous speech-making, but the rebellious unmasking of some of the participants.

An audience of almost 200 wore white masks over their faces for the discussion on the city's culture entitled Is This City Fit for Purpose?which was organised by Temple Bar Cultural Trust and Exchange Dublin.

The organisers said the idea of anonymity was to encourage people to speak their minds and to free them of barriers “in a city where everyone knows everyone”. The damage that could be done to Dublin city if some €37 million of arts and culture cuts suggested in the McCarthy report were implemented was raised by one of the main speakers. “Arts and culture are under attack unless we get angry at cuts,” she said.

Other speakers criticised the city’s lack of public spaces and the prevalence of drug and drink cultures. One speaker even said the city itself lacked a clear purpose.

However, the discussion’s focus quickly shifted from the topic itself and centred on the debate’s unusual format.

One woman from Rome stood up and took off her mask, saying it was important to see each other.

“These masks are symptoms of the sickness in the society we are living in,” she said. She described the city as “pretentiously boring with pride”.

Speaker, Dominic Campbell, artistic director of the Bealtaine festival, also took off his mask when he stood up.

Despite masks covering faces, people’s accents, colour and limbs made them different, he said.

Why do we need to be hidden to speak freely in a free state? he asked, drawing a great round of applause as roughly half of the audience spontaneously unmasked. Is this debate process fit for purpose? he then asked in what was an inconclusive debate.