PLACES MATTER is one of the first in-person conferences to take place in over two years with public policy and creative sectors coming together to explore new perspectives in investing more creatively in people and places. The current humanitarian emergency in Ukraine was on everybody’s mind as many speakers reflected on the importance of places to people.
Carlow poet Clifton Redmond who was commissioned by Carlow County Council to write a poem for the conference, delivered a powerful observational reflection on Carlow as a place, and said “place is the physical space we never leave, because it never leaves us”
Speaking at the conference where she launched the Arts Council’s new spatial policy, Place, Space & People, Minister Catherine Martin said:
“The policy is about equity and ensuring that irrespective of where they live, work and enjoy downtime, people have decent opportunities to engage in the arts as audiences, makers, creators and participants, in a sustained way. This is something that the conference today looks at with, for example, the Irish Architecture Foundation and Dr Sindy Joyce leading workshops on Spatial Justice, exploring equality issues around our designed environments and how much agency people have in determining the environments in which they live.”
Maureen Kennelly Director of the Arts Council said:
“We are thrilled to be working closely with our partners in local government in delivering our third biennial conference, Places Matter. Launching our spatial policy at the conference gives us an opportunity to reflect upon and bring actionable insights to a shared vision for a country where everyone has the opportunity to create, engage with, participate in and enjoy the arts and culture, regardless of who they are or where they live”.
Welcoming delegate to the conference and speaking on behalf of the County and City Management Association, Moira Murrell, Chief Executive of Kerry County Council said:
“The partnership between local government and the Arts Council, spanning over 30 years has come a long way from imbedding the arts into towns and townlands around Ireland to working more strategically. Places Matter comes at a critical time; post pandemic and now responding to a humanitarian crisis, the importance of the places where we live and ensuring culture and the arts are part of that local fabric in a sustained way, has never been more important socially.”
Kathleen Holohan, Chief Executive Carlow County Council, said:
“We are delighted to be hosting this major conference between local government and the Arts Council in Carlow. Carlow has been at the forefront of local arts development for over 23 years, creating innovative ways in supporting and developing place-based practice with our artists and communities.”
Conference contributors posed questions such as; how has the impact of the pandemic influenced the importance of the places where we live and their creative potential? Who is part of our place based conversations and are all voices included? Does where we live matter for opportunities to engage in the arts?
Key note contributors included Valerie Mulvin (architect and author of the book, Approximate Formality, the Morphology of Irish towns) and Emmanuel Pratt from the Sweet Water Foundation in Chicago, who will join remotely.
Other contributors include Galway 2020, the Irish Architecture Foundation, Create, the Glucksman Gallery, Self Organised Architecture, UCD, TUD, Common Ground and a range of artists working in place based contexts.
With over 50 speakers taking part in 15 sessions, in person, online and live streamed there is a rich wealth of experience to learn from, be inspired by and to challenge how we might make new ways of working better together.
With the event taking place in VISUAL Carlow, there a focus on local programmes and artists such as Take A Part Carlow, Clifton Redmond, as well as Tom de Paor and Felispeaks.
For more details on the programme please see www.artscouncil.ie/placesmatter.
A digital version of the policy is available to view here.
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