The Mall Arts Centre Public Consultation Meeting
What is the future of the Mall Arts Centre?
A public consultation meeting was held in The Mall Arts Centre, Youghal, on Wednesday, 27th February from 6pm - 9pm, to facilitate the input of all interested parties into the proposed new business plan for the Mall Arts Centre, aimed at utilising the Centre to its maximum potential which will form part of the overall Arts Plan for Youghal.
The turnout was excellent with representation from all corners of community activities in and around Youghal with dance schools, painters, artists, musical societies, art lovers, recording studios, radio, internet, Chamber of Commerce, theatre groups, the list goes on. The interaction and debate was thrilling and stimulating.
The meeting was chaired by, Tony Sheehan, Arts Director of the Cork Triskel Arts Centre, with Ger O’Riordan, Arts & Culture Officer for Youghal, Lorraine Hogan of RAPID, Amanda Hogan of the Youghal Arts Network and Ian McDonagh, Arts Officer for Cork County Council.
The meeting was held to discuss the future of the Mall Arts Centre as an Arts Centre, as the building is currently being used for the Youghal Town Council offices and a courtroom. The Centre as an arts centre is inadequate to run shows, with no back drops, problems with sound, stage too small, no catering facilities, no green room, seating problems and often unavailable for use. There is currently no management staff for the centre.
The main topics of discussion were:
- The Development of the Mall Arts Centre
- Festival Development in Youghal
- Supporting artists in the town
- Arts as a development tool and social integration in Youghal
The assembly were split into 3 groups and asked to discuss and debate each of these topics. The groups were alive with suggestions and ideas to make this centre what it deserves to be, on a site with landscapes you wouldn’t find in any other town in Ireland. In 2002, three quarters of a million Irish punts were put into making the Mall Arts Centre a state of the arts centre and today it is still not accessible to the public. The groups and committee that turned up to the meeting were very dissatisfied with the current use of the centre as predominantly a courtroom. The Youghal Court house is currently under renovation and will not be available until mid 2009.
Ger O’Riordan, the Arts Officer for Youghal would take all these ideas and incorporate them into his business plan, for the Mall Arts Centre and also the Arts Plan for the town of Youghal. Ger had a meeting scheduled for the following morning with the Town Clerk, Liam Ryan.
At the end of the evening, the Chairman Tony Sheehan said, “I was very impressed with the commitment and energy of the 40plus people who gave up their time to debate the future of the Arts in Youghal. It is true that they have been done an injustice by virtue of the fact that the arts centre is functioning as a courtroom, and so it is mine and their hope, that the Arts Plan will improve the opportunities for making and participating in Arts in Youghal”.
Members of The Youghal Art Group who took part in the forum with Ger O’Riordan, Youghal Arts and Culture Officer
Tony Sheehan, Art Director Triskel, Oona Colin and Donacha O’Cearuill from The Youghal Arts Network
Ian McDonagh, Arts Officer Cork County Council, Ruth Hayes from Chatterbox and Ger O’Riordan, Arts and Culture Officer
Tommy Collins and Mervyn Scott from CRY with Lorraine Hogan, RAPID
Ger O’Riordan, Arts and Culture Officer with Patricia Whyte from The Choral Society
Lynda Ramsey, Michael Dempsey and Breeda Phillips
Related Stories
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Today, March 3, is first time I heard about the web site. Good to know that I can “see” (great pictures Mike H. excellent photographer) and read about, what’s happening back home. Kudos to all.