Arts Council "sabotaged" Claremorris Exhibition
31 Jul 1996
By MICHAEL COMMINS THE Chairman of Claremorris Arts Committee, Mr. John Kirrane, has lashed out at the decision of the Arts Council not to grant-aid Claremorris Open Exhibition '96 (COE).
In a hard hitting statement, Mr. Kirrane said they had not been given any reason for the withdrawal of funding except that the Council had 're-allocated its resources'.
He said: "The importance of COE to Irish artists and to this community was recognised by the Arts Council when it included Claremorris on its map for the three-year Arts Plan.
"I cannot understand why the Council should stop funding and almost sabotage the whole event just a year before the Arts Plan comes into operation", said Mr. Kirrane.
"This year, we have been invited to bring the exhibition to Northumberland for the months of November and December. The decision of the Council now puts this in jeopardy", he added.
The Council had supported the Claremorris Exhibition for seventeen out of its nineteen years of existence and last year gave a grant of £14,000.
The Claremorris Open will be held from September 14 to 28, despite the fact
that the Arts Council has decided not to fund the event.
The adjudicator will be Mr. Rui Sanches, Director, Centro De Arte Moderna,
Lisbon, who will select the exhibition and award the prizemoney of £2,500.
Applications forms are now available from the assistant secretary, Mary
Dawson, Convent Road, Claremorris, Co. Mayo.
Connaught Telegraph - News - July 1996
Connaught Telegraph - Sport - July 1996
