Campaign for Ormeau Baths Gallery

Policy Review Working Party- an invitation and proposal

2006-05-04T22:51:00.000Z

Believing that there is a pressing need for artists and arts organisations to develop a set of ideas about the value and purpose of the work they do, in order to make meaningful and informed interventions into future policy development and consultation processes, Belfast Exposed proposes setting up a Policy Review Working Party. The purpose of the working party would be to open up informed debate through critical review of arts and cultural policy, identifying and wherever possible, establishing areas of common ground within the visual arts sector.

We may not discover a consensus of opinion across this extremely diverse sector, on the other hand we may well discover points of convergence and areas of shared concern. At the very least we would learn more about each other’s thinking and ways of working as well as creating a space where information and ideas can be shared.

We suggest bringing together a group of around 6-8 people and Belfast Exposed is offering take the lead on setting the agenda for initial discussions. However group members should be prepared to take ownership of the process and put forward their own ideas for discussion and analysis, based on practical experience and individual knowledge and concerns.

Meetings would begin with a member of the group making an initial presentation around a chosen topic. Meetings would be chaired and minuted. While the discussions will benefit from being ‘off the record’ (the Chatham House rule will be applied), it is hoped that the group will finally publish a discussion paper for the scrutiny of the wider arts sector at which point some kind of shared strategy might be developed, through work-shopping the ideas in an open forum. We would like to get the group underway as soon as possible with a view to publishing a discussion paper by the end of September 06.

The first discussion is proposed for Friday 12th May at 4.00-5.30 pm at Belfast Exposed gallery, 23 Donegall Street, Belfast, focussing on the following set of questions:

Arts Council NI has acknowledged the strategic implications of its decision to shut down the Ormeau Baths Gallery in terms of the opportunity the closure presented to “ broaden the appeal of this particular gallery space to the wider public and to provide greater opportunities to artists”.

What is the validity of this statement in relation to the OBG’s programming and commissioning record? In a more general context, what does ‘broadening the appeal’ of an arts organisation actually mean, what does it involve and how is it measured? Finally, in what ways do definitions and strategies for accessibility impact on the role and function of artists and arts organisations?

I propose to offer a short opening presentation, but the main purpose is to get a discussion going around the table and to generate ideas for future debate.

If you have a background in the arts, either at a practical or policy level, and feel you could commit 3 hours a month to take part in meetings between May and September, and are prepared to take an active role in presenting and developing ideas, please give me a call or send an email no later than Monday 8 May. In the meantime if you would like to know more don’t hesitate to call:

Pauline Hadaway
Director
Belfast Exposed

T: +44 028 9023 1623
E: director@belfastexposed.org

from Miriam de Búrca to DCAL 27th April 2006

2006-05-04T22:49:00.000Z

From: Miriam de Búrca
> Date: 27 April 2006 15:12:16 IST
> To: Lowe, Catherine, DCAL
> Subject: Re: Private Office
>
> Dear Catherine Lowe,
>
> Thank you for your response. I appreciate what you are saying, but I
> fear you misunderstand the source of my concern. It is not only about
> the need to reinstate a setup that is to serve the arts community. I'm
> sure it will be of use in some shape or form. Who exactly it is to
> serve, and how effectively it will be run, remains to be seen.
>
> What my source of frustration is, firstly, how this entire affair has
> been handled by the Arts Council, since they, in the follow-up period
> to the abrupt closure of the OBG, made demands of Hugh Mulholland and
> his staff, which they did and do not of other organisations in
> similar, or even worse predicaments. That in itself is worthy of
> further investigation as it implies irregularities in their
> decision-making process, and also points to a hidden motive to which
> they are not openly admitting.
>
> Also what worries me, is the implication of a government funded body
> such as the ACNI being permitted to act in such a manner thanks to
> what appears to be a laissez faire approach of the funders' funders,
> namely yourselves. Do these aggressive and untransparent methods of
> control set the standard for the arts in Northern Ireland, and for
> things to come?
>
> Finally, the most telling display of lack of objectivity is the
> omission of direct engagement with those affected by the closure and
> loss of the OBG as it existed under Hugh's directorship.
>
> Hugh and supporters of his have been trying to organise a meeting with
> the Arts Council for well over a month, so that questions may be asked
> and answers supplied, with independent bodies to witness the
> discussion. The letter requesting a meeting has not even been
> acknowledged, let alone a date set.
>
> The only democratic response to the protest would be for DCAL to
> organise a meeting between the Minister, Hugh Mulholland and the
> former staff of OBG.
>
> That way, both cases will finally have been heard. It is simply not
> enough to take only the Arts Council's word. It is, like any
> organisation, comprised of individuals who are not infallible or
> beyond error.
>
> Yours sincerely
>
> Miriam de Búrca
>
>

reply to DCAL from Miriam De Búrca 24th April 2006

2006-05-04T22:45:00.000Z

From: Miriam de Búrca
> Date: 24 April 2006 17:25:30 IST
> To: "Hunter, Maggie"
> Subject: Re: Ormeau Baths Gallery
>

Dear Maggie Hunter,

I do not wish to shoot the messenger, but this consistent display of
one-sidedness is just so infuriating. Have you and your Minister
arrived at these conclusions of "problems in governance, management and
financial deficit" independently of the Arts Council? I wonder, because
I hear an echo in the room..

Have you read the letters written in opposition? Can you please confirm
that you have? Because I still don't see your reply as a reasonable
explanation. I still only see an Arts Council that has abused its
position of power to achieve its strategic aims while dressing it up in
elusive rhetoric.

Sincerely

Miriam de Búrca

letter Dept.Culture,Arts and Leisure to Miriam De Burca

2006-05-04T22:00:00.000Z

Department of Culture Arts and Leisure,
Interpoint, York Street, Belfast BT15 1AQ.

24th April, 2006

Dear Ms De Burca,

Thank you for your further email to the Minister's Private secretary regarding the closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery. I have been asked to reply.

As previously stated, the Arts Council did not take the decision to cease funding OBG lightly. Problems in governance, management and financial deficit proved insurmountable.

The Arts Council is working with a number of partners towards re-opening the gallery facilities in OBG. Some functions of the gallery are already up and running and the Arts Council is confident that it will re-open to the public in the summer with a full exhibition programme.

The Arts Council is currently directly managing the gallery. However, it is their intention that it should be managed by an independent entity and that in the future it will serve a broad audience as well as the diverse range of practices that make up the visual arts.

I hope you will find this information useful.

yours sincerely,
Hazel Campbell

From Belfast Exposed Photography on the closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery

2006-04-30T09:29:00.000Z

Until its sudden closure on March 1st, the Ormeau Baths Gallery (OBG) had been Northern Ireland’s principal visual arts venue and one of Ireland’s leading contemporary arts spaces. With its ambitious curatorial policy and intelligent programming, OBG, under the directorship of Hugh Mulholland, helped put Northern Irish visual arts practice on the map, presenting the work of major international artists alongside regional artists in a mix of solo and group shows across a range of art disciplines.

Hugh Mullholland’s work for Northern Irish artists in last year’s Venice Biennale was impressive, while the latest show, Masters: 25 Years On, subsequently left hanging behind the locked doors of the city centre gallery, celebrated the diversity of work produced during 25 years of the Masters of Fine Art course at the University of Ulster, many of whose graduates subsequently went on to develop international careers. Quite apart from the local impact of staff redundancies and interruption of services to artists and audiences, the sudden removal of Hugh Mullholland and surprise closure of such a high profile gallery has inevitably done great harm to Northern Ireland’s international reputation, severing carefully constructed networks and partnerships and further isolating an under funded, under acknowledged and virtually invisible arts community at home.

In the immediate aftermath of closure, ACNI defended its decision to withdraw funding from OBG, citing an “ongoing financial deficit position, alongside a lack of confidence in the governance of the company and their ability to make the gallery viable” (1). ACNI also stated their “deep regret” for the gallery’s closure, stressing that it been forced to act as a consequence of the OBG Board’s decision to elect for voluntary insolvency.

Inevitably, in the light of OBG’s 2004 decision to opt out of plans for a proposed multi media arts centre, ACNI’s expressions of regret have provoked a certain amount of cynicism, arising from a belief among many in the arts community that the Arts Council’s decision to pull funding was informed by political rather than procedural imperatives. In other words the OBG closed because the Arts Council withdrew moral and financial support, which might have been forthcoming (as it has been past and present for lots of organisations in substantially worse financial straits), had the gallery demonstrated greater enthusiasm for Arts Council strategies around accessibility and sustainability.

Whatever the individual intentions of Arts Council members, and even accepting that there is no evidence of collective ill will, it must be clear that there is a political dimension to the act of closure if only in its aftermath. For while ACNI strongly refutes allegations that it was “out to get” the OBG, it acknowledges the strategic implications of the decision to shut the gallery down, which its says, “represents an opportunity to broaden the appeal of this particular gallery space to the wider public and to provide greater opportunities to artists”. (my italics)

Whatever the procedural circumstances, personality clashes or individual failings surrounding the OBG’s closure, the fact that Belfast’s most prestigious contemporary arts space had to shut its doors in this manner raises important questions around the way cultural policy works in shaping the cultural landscape and defining the role of the gallery. Where do artists and curators fit within newly evolving political and cultural arrangements? How should galleries define their publics? How does a strategy for ‘broadening appeal’ impact on programming? Who determines the future role of the gallery? Have galleries got a future as autonomous public spaces? These questions, which drive so much contemporary cultural policy, are rarely addressed by artists and arts workers on their own terms, independent of externally orientated consultation processes or outside moments of crisis.

There is surely a pressing need for artists and arts organisations to develop a set of ideas about the value and purpose of the work they do, in order to make meaningful and informed interventions into future policy development and consultation processes. To this purpose, Belfast Exposed is proposing a Policy Review Working Party, with a view to opening up informed debate through critical review of arts and cultural policy, identifying and wherever possible, establishing areas of common ground within the visual arts sector. We may not discover a consensus of opinion across this extremely diverse sector, on the other hand we may well discover points of convergence and areas of shared concern. At the very least we would learn more about each other’s thinking and ways of working as well as creating a space where information and ideas can be shared.

In doing so, I believe we could make a significant contribution towards building confidence, improving working relationships, challenging self interest and shaping policy in ways which are constructive and of benefit to all.

Information on the Working Party is posted separately.

(1) Regarding the closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery (Feb 28 2006); http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/news/2006

Letter of Concern from Aoife Desmond, Dublin Based Artist

2006-04-19T10:32:00.000Z

I'm writing to express my shock and regret at the closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery. I support both the institution and Hugh Mulholland as a director. I see the sudden closure as un-necessary and ultimately harmful to the art scene in Northern Ireland, as it's pre-dominate space is now gone.

I hope you will review the situation and continue to fund the OBG and negotiate fair terms for the survival of this important arts space and director.

yours sincerely,

Aoife Desmond, Dublin based artist.

A Thought or Two...from Dr. Slavka Sverakova

2006-04-14T08:56:00.000Z

A thought or two...
Whatever the OBG did or did not do, it was not open to ACNI to treat this art organisation and its staff without respect and concern. The moral structure of ACNI's decision to withdraw funding with immediate effect during an exhibition, and consequent loss of jobs and of a principal venue, is deeply controversial. Even criminal punishment treats offenders as members bound and protected by the values of open society. ACNI undermined its own legitimacy at least in three ways in this case: first, by withdrawing its own responsibility for the closure of a principal venue; second, by placing the OBG staff without any protective notice not only out of jobs but without a right to appeal; third, by handling the OBG differently from other arts organisations, e.g. claiming an exemptions no 43 and 22 from the FoI Act.
The media, the public and the politicians have not yet paid proper attention to the case, despite the help offered by the civilised outrage, which decidedly is not, what ACNI earlier labelled "a small campaign".
Is ACNI sacrosanct? I doubt it. Arts Council was invented only in 1945 - visual arts ( and all arts) have a somewhat longer history.
People retort to a possible replacement by "would you want the councils to disburse the money?" On the past performances - no. However, the state subsidy could be distributed by a real enabler or two, maybe, housed partly in the British Council for the foreign agenda, and Department of Development/Economy for the home front. The two would bring significant expertise from their respective practices. The art professionals would need to establish some sort of network, like a "parliament of artists" or a "temporary assembly" for an open debate of the issues for which those two respected bodies have not full expertise. I stress the term "full", because as members of the public they have also a say in which direction the NI culture ought to travel. The internet facilitates a debate cheaply and efficiently, and, moreover makes it accessible. It could be complemented by face-to-face symposia, and other meetings.
What do you think about any of this?
Slavka Sverakova

Useful websites to find and contact local MPs or Councillors:

2006-04-13T11:35:00.000Z

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

http://www.writetothem.com/

Statement of concern from Dennis McNulty

2006-04-11T13:18:00.000Z

I strongly disagree with the withdrawal of funding from the Ormeau Baths Gallery. I feel that this decision will have a very serious negative impact, not only on the Visual Arts in Northern Ireland, but on the Arts in the Republic of Ireland too.

Yours Sincerely,

Dennis McNulty

Questions from Dr. Slavka Sverakova to Anne Loughran, proxy to D. Hanson

2006-04-11T09:06:00.000Z

Dear Anne Loughran,

I have read your response (7th April 2006) as a proxy for the Minister D Hanson. It raises immediately two questions, your answering them may contribute to the kind of public discussion needed to assist a removal of unnecessary secrecy, cost and muddled thinking.

1. What is the cost of disbursement of your funds by ACNI, please?

2. If you know how ACNI made its decision to withdraw funding with immediate effect from its client, please, share it, on this blog, with the professionals who are concerned about it.

Sincerely

Dr Slavka Sverakova

Letter of Concern to Minister Hanson and Arts Council of Northern Ireland from Concerned Artists and University Lecturers

2006-04-11T09:02:00.000Z

Dear Minister

We, a group of concerned artists, many of whom are University lecturers, are writing to register our great concern at the recent and sudden removal of funding from the Ormeau Baths Gallery, which resulted in its closure and the immediate loss of the staff jobs.

The Ormeau Baths Gallery has a national and international identity and reputation. Its dedicated staff team diligently built up this profile. Ormeau Baths Gallery was more than just bricks and mortar; it was the embodiment of the vision and dedication of its staff team, led by former director Hugh Mulholland. The demise of the Ormeau Baths Gallery under his directorship will leave a huge vacuum in the visual arts sector.

Despite the obvious ramifications of the closure of Ormeau Baths Gallery within the broader arts sector, we are concerned here with outlining the massive educational implications on art students, who are the next generation of art practitioners. As many of us are lecturers teaching Fine Art students, we are particularly concerned about the negative educational impact that the Ormeau Baths Gallery will have on students and their future prospects as practitioners based in the North of Ireland.

The Ormeau Baths Gallery was the only resource of its calibre on the student'’s doorstep. It gave students an opportunity to see first hand important art works by internationally renowned artists. The range of artwork shown in the Ormeau Baths Gallery covered a variety of disciplines and gave students the necessary overview of the key developments and debates in contemporary art practice at the highest level. As such it was a vital educational tool at all undergraduate and post graduate levels.

The invaluable opportunity that the Ormeau Baths Gallery presented to students to see such work, without any cost to themselves, was of key importance to their education. It enabled students to engage directly with the work of leaders in the field of fine and applied art. It demonstrated to students that their practice could be located in the North of Ireland without being parochial. The Ormeau Baths Gallery served to locate Irish art practice within a broader international context. This unique major resource has been lost to students.

The Ormeau Baths Gallery was open and accessible to students at all times. An example of the gallery'’s generous flexibility in its facilitation of art students education was the way in which Ormeau Baths Gallery staff would regularly open the gallery on Mondays (when it is normally closed to the public) to accommodate groups of students.

The former Director, Hugh Mulholland had an open door policy toward students. He would often set aside time to meet with students to enable them to conduct research. For example, students would frequently record interviews with Hugh Mulholland as a component of their professional practice.

The Gallery also hosted student placements and implemented a scheme for student volunteers, which afforded students invaluable experience in the professional arts sector. Ormeau Baths Gallery was one of the few organisations of its calibre that would facilitate students in various supportive ways.

The implications of the closure of Ormeau Baths Gallery extend beyond the students’ time in college. There is a healthy tradition of recent arts graduates staying and working in Belfast. Many have gone on to play important active roles in the local visual arts arena. Hugh Mulholland, as a graduate of the University of Ulster, dedicated himself to highlighting the work of local arts practitioners in an international context, both during his time at the Context Gallery, Derry and at Ormeau Baths Gallery. He is highly regarded internationally as an innovative gallery director and exhibition curator of outstanding vision.

The presence of such a high profile venue as the Ormeau Baths Gallery, which showcases the work of Irish artists on the same platform as international artists, was crucial in attracting a younger generation to stay and input into the visual arts sector here. This is not only relevant for the artists who show at the gallery, but it sends out an important message to students who may themselves eventually work in the professional sector. As it stood, the presence of Ormeau Baths Gallery in Belfast indicated that it is possible to make work locally whilst being part of an international cultural context.

The closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery sends out the message that Belfast is provincial and retrogressive in its arts provision. This directly impacts on the ability of educators to deliver a curriculum based on professional excellence in the field of fine and applied arts. It has dire implications in terms attracting and retaining students to Belfast.

With thanks

Signators

Mark Ainsworth
David Campbell
Oliver Comerford
Brian Connolly
Willie Doherty
Fergus Feehily
Sandra Johnston
Dr. Mia Lerm Hayes
Tony Hill
Fiona Larkin
Alastair MacLennan
Shirley MacWilliam
Mary McIntyre
Moira McIvor
Michael Moore
Fiona Mulholland
Darren Murray
Aisling O’ Beirn
Bill Penny
Janet Preston
Dr. Alison Rowley
Ralph Saunders
Alastair Wilson
Howard Wright

Letter of Concern from Peter Liversidge, Artist

2006-04-11T09:00:00.000Z

I am writing to register my disappointment and disbelief at the Art Councils decision to revoke funding to Ormeau Baths Gallery.
I was fortunate enough to have a solo show at Ormeau Baths last April/May. I found the staff, venue and Director to be a fantastic support throughout the build up and installation of the show. The show was touring and through the experience of showing at several other venues throughout the UK. I felt that Ormeau Baths was very well respected not only in Ireland amongst the Artists I met but also internationally. Hugh Mulholland the Director works tirelessly in the promotion of others with his encouragement and support to many artists in Northern Ireland, Ireland and further a-field.
The representation of Northern Ireland at the Venice Biennale was a strong and well respected showing, to be closing the one venue in Northern Ireland that can support and follow up interest in Northern Irish and International Art seems to be short sighted in the extreme.

I do hope that the Arts Council of Ireland will review its decision

Peter Liversidge.

Email from Anne Loughran responding to email to D. Hanson re Campaign for OBG

2006-04-10T09:38:00.000Z

Letter to Chris Bailey from Theo Simms, Canada, 28th February 2006

2006-04-10T09:35:00.000Z

28th February 2006

Dear Chris,

I was completely shocked to hear about the closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery today. The gallery played an enormous part in helping me along with many young artists to become familiar with professional presentation of contemporary visual art and helping me as an artist to gain access to major international curators and artists. I was fortunate to exhibit in groups exhibitions organised through Hugh Mulholland, which helped me to have increased visibility as an artist.

I stagger at the lack of foresight by the current Arts Council to suspend funding to the crown jewel of Northern Irelands Visual Cultural scene. This attempt to make a personal attack on such a culturally significant organisation speaks to the parochialism and undemocratic culture displayed by the council in the early nineties when a radically refreshing new vision and voice by emerging artists seemed to be hugely undermined, (until curators and artists from outside of Northern Ireland started to pay attention and promote some of these artists).

I hope that the Council and the Ormeau Baths can try to resolve some of the nproblems that both parties have already seemed to be addressing, and on behalf of the many talented and exciting Northern Irish artists (as promoted by Hugh Mulholland in the Venice Biennial last summer), plead that the funding be reinstated and allow the gallery to shine as it so importantly should.

sincerely
Theo Sims
Winnipeg, Canada

Letter of Concern from Dr. Maeve Connolly to Arts Council N.I

2006-04-10T09:26:00.000Z

To Whom it May Concern
I wish to protest at the sudden withdrawal of funding from the Ormeau Baths Gallery. The loss of the Gallery is a very significant blow to the Belfast arts community and to the wider Irish and international arts world.

It is incumbent on the Arts Council to act in a professional manner and in the best interests of the visual arts. A decision like this should not have been taken without extensive and transparent consultation with the arts community.

I look forward to a swift response, explaining the Arts Council's position on this matter.
Regards

Dr. Maeve Connolly
School of Creative Arts
Institute of Art, Design and Technology
Kill Avenue
Dun Laoghaire
Co. Dublin
Ireland

Letter of Concern to OBG from Alexa Wright, Artist, London

2006-04-10T09:22:00.000Z

Dear Rachel,

I am shocked and sad to hear of the immanent closure of Ormeau Baths
Gallery.
Having exhibited there as part of the Perspectives 2002 exhibition I
Remember the gallery as a wonderful, welcoming and well organised space. I cannot imagine what could have prompted the situation that has led to a decision to close the gallery.

I cannot be there to demonstrate, but I will be with you in spirit,

best wishes,
Alexa Wright
(London)

Letter to Arts Council from Ben Borthwick, Curator, London

2006-04-07T15:38:00.000Z

I question how the decision to close Ormeau Baths, the most important contemporary art space in Northern Ireland that has single handedly transformed the perception of the visual arts in Northern Ireland both domestically and internationally, sits with ACNI’s Visual Arts Funding Policy which states that the Council:

“wishes to see Northern Ireland develop as a centre of excellence for the production, presentation and critical analysis of contemporary visual arts. It encourages quality, innovation and experimentation to develop a culture in which visual art is respected and valued”

I hope you reconsider this decision.

Ben Borthwick
Curator
London

Questions to Arts Council from Siún Hanrahan.

2006-04-07T11:21:00.000Z

AS A MEMBER OF THE ARTS SECTOR IN NORTHERN IRELAND, I WOULD LIKE TO PUT
THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS TO THE ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND:

1. The Arts Council say they “agreed to help OBG to wind down its
affairs in an orderly, business-like manner”. Is it orderly and
business-like to give two days’ notice to the four permanent members of
staff, and not even leave time to take down the current exhibition?

2. The Arts Council say there were financial irregularities at the
Ormeau Baths Gallery. Why then did a forensic audit, called by the Arts
Council, clear it of any wrongdoing?

3. The Arts Council say they are “actively exploring options with
potential partners in the visual arts sector and are confident that the
gallery space will re-open”. Given the alienation of the arts sector as
a result of this sudden closure how can this confidence be justified?

4. Given the Arts Council’s advocacy of an “arm’s length” policy
towards their clients, why have they continuously interfered in the
day-to day running of the gallery over a two-year period?

5. The Arts Council has declared a number of reasons for the closure of
the gallery including unsustainability and loss of confidence in the
management. What evidence is there for any of these claims?

6. The Arts Council says they are “saddened by the decision of the
Chair of the Ormeau Baths Gallery to announce the closure of the
Gallery”. How can they claim to be “saddened” when their own withdrawal
of funding forced the Gallery’s closure?

Siún Hanrahan.

ACNI's statement on governance and accountability

2006-04-05T13:57:00.001Z

http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/subpages/Governance.htm

Letter to Arts Council from Betty Newman-Maguire MFA, Artist and Lecturer..

2006-04-03T14:48:00.000Z

I am outraged at the way the Arts Council of Northern have caused the closure of one of the most successful galleries in Europe by withdrawing the necessary funding for it to function. The very way in which they did it, when a show to celebrate 25 years of the Master of Fine Arts exhibition was open to the public, is in itself beyond belief. Why would an arts council do such a thing? Where is their vision? These questions I ask as a practising artist who had respect for the Arts Council before they made this unbelievable decision. How did they expect the gallery to function? The Director and staff had no alternative but to close the doors when funding was withdrawn. The Director and staff are professional people who have established this fine gallery firmly on the map in Europe and further afield. Local, National and International Artists have used this gallery to show works to the Belfast audiences who need to see the development in art, especially living through the political climate in Northern Ireland. Why, I ask again, did the Arts Council of Northern Ireland not work harder to keep this gallery open by providing the necessary funding needed to keep this wonderful gallery open?

I urge the Arts Council of Northern Ireland to re-visit their decision and to find a way this decision can be rescinded and funding restored so that Belfast can be proud of its Ormeau Baths Gallery.

Betty Newman-Maguire MFA.

Practising Artist and Lecturer.

Letter of concern-Paco Simon, Arte en Orbita,International Artists Museum Spanish Center.

2006-03-31T15:09:00.000Z

Dear Minister,

We the undersigned wish to acknowledge our support and concern for the former Ormeau Baths Gallery team in light of the consequences of the Arts Councils decision to suddenly withdraw funding from the Ormeau Baths Gallery.

We have only high praise for the exciting and invigorating programme of contemporary visual arts implemented by the team. It was an invaluable resource that brought high caliber international artwork to a local audience and pitted the work of contemporary Irish artists in an international context.

The OBG played a vital role in the cultural life of Northern Ireland and we mourn the loss of such a highly regarded organisation and worry about the long-term ramifications of this decision.

Paco Simón
ARTE EN ÓRBTA

Jussepe Martinez, 7 • 50003 Zaragoza • Tel./Fax +34 976 392556 • arteenorbita@arrakis.es • CIF G50867555 The International Artists’ Museum Spanish Center, The European Artists’ Forum

Letters of Concern from Miriam de Búrca, PhD Researcher, University of Ulster

2006-03-27T12:07:00.000Z

Dear Mr Hanson,

I trust you have been made aware of the recent and sudden closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery? As a member of the artistic community, I feel betrayed by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for causing this to happen, and extremely concerned about not only how I will be personally affected, but about what message this sends out to artists and arts bodies internationally. It smacks of a backwardness and hypocrisy that belies the intelligent and sophisticated level of the artistic scene in Northern Ireland.

Why and how can a government body be allowed to carry this out, especially under such dubious circumstances? If you look at the www.campaignforobg.blogspot.com site you will see many concerned artists, curators, events organisers, academics, etc. all of reputations of international standing, writing in to protest and express their disbelief and anger about this closure.

Not least is it scandalous how the staff at OBG have been treated, being given no notice whatsoever that from one day to the next they would be out of a job and subsequently livelihood.

As the learned Minister of State and Acting Permanent Secretary of DCAL, I urge you to look into this matter at once, if you are not already doing so, and examine carefully to both sides – not only the fellow governmental body of the ACNI, who I believe have behaved shamefully in the name of your Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.

With sincerity and concern,

Miriam de Búrca

PhD Researcher
University of Ulster

and

Dear Anne Loughran,

Forgive my persistence on this matter, but your reply is simply not adequate. You have merely reiterated the rhetoric already quoted by the Arts Council in their statement (that the decision 'was not taken lightly' and that they hope it will 'reopen again in the near future'), which to me indicates no further examination of the matter has been made whatsoever. To presume that the staff at the Arts Council have handled the situation appropriately on the basis that they receive the money to do so is a dangerous one. Does is not rouse any concern when so much opposition has been made by the public in response? Surely they exist to serve the art sector, not the other way round?

If you take the time to look at the site which has been dedicated to the campaign against not only the OBG's closure but the way in which it was carried out (see link below), you will find letters written by a large number of important members of the artistic world criticising the Arts Council in a very serious way. They are not just responses made merely out of 'passion'. Their objections are based on a fundamental sense of fairness, logic and consequence. In other words, they object to the fact that it was done in a completely unacceptable way on the grounds of a lack of transparent negotiation and communication, and that the Arts Council's justification is utterly unfounded, contradictory and illogical. Finally the consequences of such an act may be more serious and far reaching for the artistic community of Northern Ireland than they might have deemed necessary to consider.

I ask you to forward this to the Minister so that he looks at both sides. At this point it seems he has not done so.

I look forward to your reply, or better still, a direct reply form the Minister himself.

Sincerely,

Miriam de Búrca

Action by PS2 Gallery, Belfast

2006-03-24T10:54:00.000Z

Letter of Concern from Phil Collins, Artist, 16.03.06, Chicago

2006-03-21T15:38:00.000Z

Dear Sirs,

My name is Phil Collins, I am an artist currently based in Glasgow. In 1998-2000 I was on the MFA at the School of Art and Design in Belfast and a director of Catalyst Arts during the same period. I am also one of the artists who participated in the recent Ormeau Baths Gallery exhibition 'Masters - Twenty Five Years On'.

Northern Ireland is fortunate to have world-class artists who have consistently, and against the odds, formed a vibrant, elaborated network which enjoys great support internationally, and that bodies such as Ormeau Baths Gallery, alongside Catalyst Arts and Factotum, have provided an invaluable platform where artists can exercise their profession in a dynamic, intelligent manner. The programming of Hugh Mulholland at Ormeau Baths Gallery and the Venice Biennial 2005 has consistently sought to represent Northern Irish artists at a national and international level, and provide a sensitive and intelligent platform whereby they are shown alongside their peers. In light of these facts, the closure of the Ormeau
Baths Gallery and the treatment of its staff is nothing short of a disgrace.

At first I wasn't sure I wanted to participate in 'Masters - Twenty Five Years On' but I did so because of my faith and trust in Hugh Mulholland and his curatorial expertise. I was delighted to have had an opportunity to work with him on many previous occasions and to show in the Ormeau Baths Gallery which I consider to have had a consistently high-standing international
program. It goes without saying that I would work with Hugh again at any time at the drop of a hat.

On this occasion, however, I'd like to make clear that in no way do I want my name or work associated with any further exhibition of this show and ask that my work is returned to me immediately. I am surprised that I have to remind you that the standard basic procedure for any exhibition is that the artist is consulted on such matters as to the nature of the exhibition, the venue and the work's installation. I would like to make it completely apparent that not once has anybody from ACNI nor the School for Art and Design made contact, which contravenes the basic standards of working practices and relationships. More importantly, the idea that a public body might remove the curator, who has executed the show, during its exhibition period and even consider continuing it, reveals a complete and utter lack of understanding not only of the nature of exhibition-making and care about the work, but also of the ethical and moral relationships on which the production and exhibition of art survives. I can only imagine what you're teaching the students.

If, as I understand, two members of the University's cultural development team are on the board of the ACNI and were thus privy to the information about its closure; this seems to me to represent the School for Art and Design in not only the worst kind of light, unable to stand beside the institutions around it which have gone out of their way to support the
school and its students, but lacking in the most basic forms of professionalism, backbone and decency. Therefore, I would like to express my strongest disagreement with the manner in which this whole disgraceful affair has been conducted, and in particular the University's shameful involvement in the closure of a contemporary art space by a hypocritical quango.

I am writing to you from the State, where I'm working on a project at the moment, and where I have been speaking to as many people as possible about what I consider to be a glaring failure in the practice of the administration of arts and cultural production. I look only to seek to support the protests against the removal of Hugh Mulholland and the staff of
the Ormeau Baths Gallery, the closure of the space, the repeated slurs against the integrity of an intelligent and sensitive director and curator, and the lack of foresight of the ACNI. As now, so in the future I will be supporting wholeheartedly the decisions made by the artists in their protests, and wish Hugh and the staff a successful outcome.

Yours,

Phil Collins 16.03.06, Chicago

Statement of Concern from Robin Klassnik, Matts Gallery, London

2006-03-20T16:28:00.000Z

It is with great concern that I read of the closure of Ormeau Baths
Gallery in Belfast during the week, particularly the immediacy with
which the action was taken, and the apparent short notice given to
staff.

I have worked with Ormeau Baths Gallery in the past and followed the
programme with interest over the years. I absolutely support and
empathise with the Director Hugh Mulholland and his team at this time,
and am most disappointed that the Arts Council of Northern Ireland have
withdrawn their funding from such an important contemporary art venue.

Yours sincerely

Robin Klassnik

Matts Gallery
42-44 Copperfield Road
London E3 4RR
t 020 8983 1771
f 020 8983 1435
info@mattsgallery.org
www.mattsgallery.org

Letter of endorsement for the former Ormeau Baths Gallery Team

2006-03-20T09:53:00.000Z

Letter of endorsement for the former Ormeau Baths Gallery Team

Organisations wishing to sign up to this letter can email their organisations name and contact details to campaignforobg@googlemail.com

Dear Minister

We the undersigned wish to acknowledge our support and concern for the former Ormeau Baths Gallery team in light of the consequences of the Arts Council’s decision to suddenly withdraw funding from the Ormeau Baths Gallery.

We have only high praise for the exciting and invigorating programme of contemporary visual arts implemented by the team. It was an invaluable resource that brought high caliber international artwork to a local audience and pitted the work of contemporary Irish artists in an international context.

The OBG played a vital role in the cultural life of Northern Ireland and we mourn the loss of such a highly regarded organisation and worry about the long-term ramifications of this decision.

____Signature___________________________Organisation_______________________

David Crawforth
Director
Beaconsfield Contemporary Art

Flaxart Studios
44 - 46 Corporation St
Belfast
BT1 3DE

Colin Darke
Co-Manager
Void
Patrick Street
Derry
BT48 7EL

declan sheehan
context galleries,
the playhouse,
5-7 artillery st,
derry bt48 6rg

Cliodhna Shaffrey
curator
Ireland

Richard Drury
The Czech Museum of Fine Arts,
Prague

Danielle Sheehy
Art Trail
Cork

Paco Simón
ARTE EN ORBITA
Cl. Jussepe Martinez 7
50003 Zaragoza
España
http://www.arteenorbita.com

Michele Robecchi
Senior Editor
contemporary
K101, 100 Clements Road, London SE16 4DG
www.contemporary-magazine.com

Dr.Maeve Connolly
Dun Laoghaire
Co. Dublin
Ireland

Annie Fletcher
Head of Curatorial Training Programme 05/06
De Appel - Centre for Contemporary Art
Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 10
1017 DE Amsterdam
Amsterdam

Letter of Concern from Sergio Edelsztein, Director, The Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel

2006-03-20T09:50:00.000Z

To Whom It May Concern:

I am the founder and director of the Center for Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv. About two years ago, I was proposed by the British Council in Israel to curate a show on Northern Irish Art for the Herzelyia Museum of Contemporary Art. The show, in the end, was titled “Belfast Ways” and took place between March and May 2005 featuring the works of ten Belfast-based young artists. This exhibition was central to a wider strategy initiated by the BC to bring closer together Northern Ireland and Israel artistic communities, as being both living in a situation of conflict and creating out and into it.

For the show in Herzelyia I made a research trip to Belfast, and while everyone I met there was helpful and collaborating, the help I got from the Ormeau Baths Gallery and its staff was the most useful both intellectually and logistically. Hugh Mulholland was one of my main referents in Belfast, and his advice was of great importance to me. For the time I was in Belfast OBG became my “office”, where I could meet artists and view their work. It was my impression that having the backing of OBG was a guarantee of seriousness from my part towards the local artists. I was impressed from the way the artists related to OBG as their own “home” and frame of reference.

Since November this year, the CCA in Tel Aviv finally got a building from the Tel Aviv Municipality, and in the program and activities we make, we struggle to achieve that same feeling of belonging and collaboration I saw at OBG.

From the point of view of my experience with OBG and the role it played in my project, it is my feeling that any future policy of internationalizing Northern Ireland art will be greatly jeopardized. While in Belfast, I saw and met just about everyone in the art world, and there is no institution in sight that could play such an important role in this arena. The closure of OGB will bring to an ostracizing of Northern Irish Art from the international scene. I’m sure this is not the intention of the Arts Council; therefore I call upon you to reconsider this step, reopen OBG and reinstate its staff re-define its mission and increase its budget.

Failure to do so will result in immediate and long term damage for the artists living an working in Northern Ireland’s careers and will send the message of backwardness and isolation that is nowhere to be found in the artistic creation of Northern Ireland.

Sincerely,

Sergio Edelsztein
Director
The Center for Contemporary Art
Tel Aviv, Israel

Article regarding The Scottish Arts Council Bid to Save The Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow

2006-03-19T19:58:00.000Z

Statement of concern from artist Julie McGowan

2006-03-19T15:51:00.000Z

The Baths has been synonimous with quality, innovation and thought-
provoking education and outreach activities. It is irreplaceable and of
vital importance to artists and audiences alike. It needs to be reinstated as
soon as possible so damage limitation can be controlled. Julie McGowan

Ruminations on ACNI and OBG from Slavka Sverakova

2006-03-19T15:47:00.000Z

Ruminations on ACNI and OBG.

I could not be present in person in the rallies, meetings and demonstrations. This does not mean that I do not support all those actions, namely that, what ACNI labels “…a small campaign on behalf of the OBG staff.”

Well, it may be small in numbers, arts are often on margins of a society's interests, but it is not just a campaign on behalf of four persons who face unemployment. Arts do not have the power of, say, a Royal Mail, to disrupt life of a large number of others by taking a strike action.

I have written to five persons involved in the ACNI action. I think it is an unprofessional behaviour that none of them e-mailed me back.

For longer than the three years of ACNI’s encouraging OBG “...to improve their financial situation and their corporate governance” (see ACNI answer to Q 4&5 in blue on their statement published online), I observed a continuous erosion in confidence- and not just amongst artists- in the ACNI as the best model for support of arts. It was observable, but because of the lack of transparency in their decision making, elusive to an in depth analysis.

The case of the OBG sudden closure illustrates pertinently why I do not share the view that ACNI is as perfect and faultless as they assert to be.

Let me elaborate:

1. ACNI says that they have experienced a failure in getting the OBG to have a “strategic plan, a business plan and financial recovery plan” for some THREE YEARS. They still funded it for three years without those plans??? This points either to indecisiveness of ACNI or to the lack of ethical ground for being decisive. ACNI withdrew with an immediate effect both funding and responsibility for the obvious consequences. A case of symmetry – alas, so disappointing…

2. Why I do not believe the ACNI's claim that they did not mean to induce that traumatic event? Because they had collapsed the expected, i.e. an open and well managed debate with and a possible serious warning to their client, and the unexpected, i.e. the immediate cut off funds knowing that OBG had no alternatives. The OBG Board understandably surrendered to the threat involved. The question remains why ACNI chose an aggressive and oppressive mode of work? Arts Councils in the UK are meant to be enabling structures. In this case, what has been enabled by the closure of an important gallery in the middle of a significant exhibition of art whose creators all spent their formative time in Belfast?

3. My next point relates to a principle and to ACNI's role in selecting and/or approving the OBG Board's members. They now claim that they actively seek the replacement of the OBG management team. If ACNI has such a power and responsibility in initiating stages it seems to me very probable that ACNI's responsibility in a closure stage is not out of question. It would appear that ACNI consider the “arm-length” principle unreasonably elastic. Further: if ACNI has a say who becomes a member of OBG Board do their criteria include experience in running a company and taking the risks involved?

4. ACNI sees the solution for the “financial issues” in a change of OBG management team. It may or may not bring about better accountancy. ACNI’s “Dear Client” circular of 01.02.2006 absolves Hugh Mulholland from any other flaws; moreover, it credits him as a curator. While I do not dispute the financial discipline as basic to the practical running of a gallery, I do not see it as the one reason a society pays or does not pay for a venue or pays or does not pay a talented personality. The ACNI’s failure to avoid a traumatic and dramatic solution and unwillingness to select a more appropriate tool than an immediate cutting of support betrays a serious absence of reflective thinking. The ACNI’s claim “”We are committed to ensuring that Belfast City will have a flagship contemporary visual arts gallery that is properly run and has a broad appeal to a local and international audience and represents the very best local and international artists” sounds hollow. They had OBG and failed to ensure its existence. Nowhere accessible ACNI says that OBG failed in pursuing that “broad appeal”, which ACNI now want to guarantee. Moreover, it cannot be guaranteed by a change of a director and the three staff member.

I wonder : i/ if ACNI commissioned a Value for Money report on their own work;

ii/if the Forensic Audit of OBG for the reported £ 15 000 had been the "value-for-money" in the way it was
tendered and applied;

iii/ if ACNI researched the ways in which audiences in places with a long history of terrorism may turn to art,
and to visual contemporary art in particular.

What is the case in each of these instances?

In conclusion: I do not want an apology for ACNI’s lacking dignity and respect for the MFA course (the exhibition now inaccessible), with which I was associated almost as long as the three course directors. I do, instead, support the re-instatement of the OBG staff until the wider issues concerning Arts Council are properly resolved. I do not doubt that there is a better model, a less expensive and a less hierarchical distributor of the taxpayers support for arts. Not only that, I would hope to get one capable of conceptual thought and creative application.

Slavka Sverakova, 5th March 2006

Letter Sent To Prof. Ian Montgomery, Head of School of Art and Design, and Prof Robert Welch, Dean of Faculty of Arts, University of Ulster, Belfast

2006-03-15T10:39:00.000Z

Dear Sirs,

As an artist exhibiting in the prematurely closed ‘Masters - Twenty Five Years On’ exhibition at Ormeau Baths Gallery, I am writing to request information on the University of Ulster’s intentions regarding the exhibition. I would also like to seek clarification of the University’s position regarding the sudden and shocking decision of the Arts Council Of Northern Ireland to withdraw funding from the Gallery.

I am an artist and curator from Belfast and completed my MA in Fine Art at the Faculty of Art and Design in 1994. I was a founder member of Catalyst Arts in 1992 and Director there between 1994-1996. I have been based in New York for the past seven years, having previously completed a year at the PS1 International Studio Residency in 1997.

I have continued to work closely with artists and arts organizations in Northern Ireland over the past seven years, both exhibiting my own work in Belfast, as well as programming exhibitions that have included the work of Northern Irish artists (and University of Ulster alumni) including Seamus Harahan, Susan MacWilliam, and Ciara Finnegan, at Spencer Brownstone Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in New York where I am an Associate Director.

I was thrilled to be asked by Hugh Mulholland to represent my MA year in the ‘Masters - Twenty Five Years On’ exhibition. Not only was it an opportunity to participate in the celebration of the MA course, it was also a career first for me, being able to show new work at Ormeau Baths Gallery. As a Northern Irish artist living in New York, Hugh and his Directorship of the Ormeau Baths (as well as his instigation of a Northern Irish presence at the Venice Biennale) has been one of those examples that I can point to with pride in indicating the quality of the visual arts and its infrastructure in Northern Ireland. Under Hugh Mulholland, Ormeau Baths Gallery has provided a platform for local visual artists that have gone on to establish international reputations (proving a key element in the recent successes of artists such as Phil Collins and Seamus Harahan), as well as collaborating with and supporting some of the remarkable small arts organizations in Northern Ireland, including Factotum and Visonic.

The past two weeks have been somewhat confusing for me, being at a physical distance from developments in Belfast. For one thing, it has been related to me that the University of Ulster has recently come to an arrangement with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland to re-open the exhibition with temporary staff? I cannot believe that this could be true, but would ask you to confirm if this is indeed the case and, if so, what plans the University had to consult with the exhibiting artists on such a decision? Furthermore, I would like to make clear that I completely withdraw permission for my work to be exhibited in the exhibition in any reopened version that is not part of a reinstatement of Hugh Mulholland and his staff.

I admittedly find myself confused by the University’s position on these matters. The Cultural Development department is to be applauded on it’s work to bring about the ‘Masters - Twenty Five Years On’ exhibition - it was clearly a wonderful way to celebrate the MA Fine Art Course which has made a huge contribution to the visual arts in Northern Ireland and beyond. The decision to hold the exhibition at Ormeau Baths and have Hugh Mulholland act as curator of the show was obviously appropriate and one that, I assume, the University could have considered something of a coup. I am more than a little mystified, therefore, to find no reference whatsoever to the sudden closure of the gallery on the University’s website or to the University’s plans re: the exhibition in any reopened format (though I see you do find space to report on the latest exciting developments at the Belfast Print Workshop).

I would very much appreciate any clarification. Am I to assume that the University, having worked with Hugh Mulholland successfully to realize the exhibition (at, I believe, quite a last minute stage) is now supportive of the Arts Council’s decision to renege on Hugh and his achievements? It is certainly to be inferred if it is indeed true that the University endorses a reopened version of the exhibition that does not involve its curator.

Furthermore, the fact that the University’s Cultural Development department actually shares members with the Arts Council board itself certainly adds to the confusion. Even assuming the best of faith on the part of the University in this matter, it is hugely damaging to our image (as an alumnus I speak of the University as ‘ours’), to sit by mutely or, even worse, to connive in reopening the exhibition, at this pivotal moment for the visual arts in Northern Ireland.

I await your response with great concern.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Orange

Copy of a letter sent to: Rosemary Kelly, Chair ACNI, Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive ACNI, and Noirin McKinney ACNI from Mark Orange, Artist

2006-03-15T10:35:00.000Z

I am writing to register my shock and disappointment at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland's decision to withdraw funding from the Ormeau Baths Gallery.

I am an artist and curator and was a founder member of Catalyst Arts in 1992. I am from Belfast but have been based in New York for the past seven years, having previously completed a year at the PS1 International Studio Residency in 1997. I have continued to work closely with artists and arts organizations in Northern Ireland over the past seven years, both exhibiting my own work in Belfast (I had work in the MFA exhibition at OBG when it was closed), as well as programming exhibitions that have included the work of Northern Irish-based artists including Daniel Jewesbury, Seamus Harahan, Susan MacWilliam etc. at Spencer Brownstone Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in New York where I am an Associate Director.

As a Northern Irish artist living in New York, Hugh Mulholland and his Directorship of the Ormeau Baths Gallery (not to mention his instigation of a Northern Irish presence at the Venice Biennale), has been one of those examples that I can point to with confidence in indicating the quality of the visual arts and its infrastructure in Northern Ireland. Hugh and his staff have clearly managed to balance incredibly difficult and divergent sets of priorities, representing an incredibly talented and successful group of local artists, while maintaining the gallery's commitment to outreach and education. Hugh and OBG have been intimately linked to the most vital art production that has been going on in the city: from providing a platform for local visual artists that have gone on to establish international reputations (proving a key element in the remarkable recent successes of artists such as Phil Collins and Seamus Harahan), to collaborating with and supporting the best of the smaller arts organizations in the city, including Factotum and Visonic.

As an artist working in Belfast in the early 1990's, I witnessed the replacement of the former Arts Council Gallery with the 'independent' Ormeau Baths Gallery in 1995. I can remember my doubts about how the space could be truly independent while remaining wholly dependent on the Arts Council for funding. Despite my fears, I was happy to see a remarkable new venue opened and remained optimistic that the institutional fudge of independence would not be abused by the Arts Council.

Clearly, my optimism was misplaced, as has been made clear with the past weeks’ depressing developments. From this perspective, the withdrawal of funding from the Ormeau Baths Gallery looks like an example of incredible short sightedness and astonishing bad faith on the part of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. I would like to call on the Arts Council to reinstate the Ormeau Baths Gallery's funding so that the gallery can be reopened and that Hugh and his staff can continue the hugely valuable work that they have been doing there for the past almost ten years.

Sincerely and greatly concerned,

Mark Orange

Petition for Independent Inquiry re withdrawal of Funding from OBG

2006-03-13T16:41:00.000Z

If you want to sign up to this petition please email your name and address to campaignforobg@googlemail.com

A second letter of endorsement will be circulating in the near future specifically for organisations wishing to express their solidarity with the former Ormeau Baths Gallery Team.

Petition

Arts Council of Northern Ireland Closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery

*We the undersigned wish to voice our concerns regarding the Arts Council of Northern of Ireland's (ACNI) role in the closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery (OBG)
* It is our belief that the ACNI has dealt with this issue in an unfair, unprofessional and non - impartial way
* This action is one of a series of ongoing actions which has created an atmosphere of fear within the cultural sector
* We call for an independent inquiry to investigate this matter
We call for the gallery to be reopened and the staff reinstated pending the outcome of the inquiry

________________________________________________________________
_Signature______________________Address_________________________

David Crawforth
Director
Beaconsfield Contemporary Art

Angela Halliday

Mark Orange
537 E. 6th Street, #1
New York, NY 10009

Fiona Larkin
28 Laganvale St,
Belfast BT9 5FR

maria mc kinney
flax art studios
44-46 corporation st
Belfast

Dr Suzanna Chan
Research Associate-Feminist Art Theory
School of Art And Design
University of Ulster
York Street
Belfast BT15 1ED

Helen Hughes
5 Holmston Avenue
Glenageary
Dublin

Aisling O' Beirn
36 Newington St
Belfast
BT152HQ

Ronan McCrea
29 Haroldville Ave., Rialto, Dublin 8.
tel/fax: 00 353 1 454 3295
mob: 00 353 86 156 9411

Dan Shipsides
Orchid Studios
55 King St.
Belfast
BT1 6AA

Doris Rohr
40 Glendhu Manor
Belfast
BT4 2RJ

Stephen Hackett
233 Ravenhill Avenue
Belfast

nathalie perreault
408, rue Lavigueur app. 3
Québec, Québec, Canada
G1R 1B5

Alison FitzGerald
6 Queensberry PK
Rosetta
Belfast

Joanna Harvey
19 Pennington Park
Belfast
BT8 6GJ

Thomas Peutz, director
SMART Project Space
Amsterdam Centre for Contemporary Art
Arie Biemondstraat 101-111,
NL-1054 PD Amsterdam

Emma McClintock
34B Edinburgh st
Lisburn Rd
Belfast

Mike Hogg
Flaxart Studios
44 - 46 Corporation St
Belfast BT1 3DE

Saoirse Higgins
10 Meadowbank Place
Belfast

Garrett Phelan
71 St Magdalen Terrace
Stella Gardens
Irishtown
Dublin 4
Ireland

Ruth Graham
162 Cliftonville Road
Belfast
BT14 6LA

Fergus Feehily
Associate Lecturer
School of Art And Design
University of Ulster
York Street
Belfast BT15 1ED

Allan Hughes
35 Oberon Street
Belfast BT6 8NZ

Hugh O'Donnell
43 St Judes Parade
BT7 2GX

Aaron Woolard
Grace N' Groove
44 Belmont Road
Belfast

Sinead O' Donnell
43 Ava Street
BT7

Eileen Halliday
50 Riverdale Park North
Belfast

Pauline O'Donnell
Old Orchard
Old Bawn Road
Tallaght
Dublin 24

Rose Woolard
128 Woodvale Road
Belfast

Tanya Lee
11 Watergate Estate
Tallaght

Eoghan McTigue
Meyerheimstr. 6a
10439 Berlin

Susan Philipsz
Meyerheimstr. 6a
10439 Berlin

Slavka Sverakova
White Cottage,
nowy Lane,
11 Cairn Road,
Carrickfergus,
BT 38 9 AP

Jay Roche - Artist
Lis na Mara
Kilcoole
Co. Wicklow

Lorraine Burrell
17 Pakenham Street
Belfast BT7 1AB

Michael Dempsey
Curator / Director
Tulca
Unit 12, Cathedral Building
Middle Street, Galway
www.tulca.ie

Lisa Malone
Flaxart Studios
44 46 Corporation St
B elfast
BT1 3DE

Alastair MacLennan
146 Upper Rd
Greenisland
BT38 8RL

Hillary Robinson
Dean of Arts, Carnegie Mellon
Pittsburg PA
USA

Deirdre Mc kenna ,
43 Ava Street,
Belfast, BT73BS ,
N.Ireland

David Stalling
3 Radcliffe
Binn Eadair View
Dublin 13

Anthony Kelly
98 Granitefield
Dun Laoghaire
Co. Dublin
Ireland

Miriam de Búrca

Mary McIntyre
Co / University of Ulster
York St
BT15 1ED

Darren Murray
8 Lismain St.
Belfast

Moira McIvor
51 Main St
Greyabbey

Brian Connelly
Co / University of Ulster
York St
BT15 1ED

Sergio Edelsztein
Director
Center for Contemporary Art
5 Kalisher St. Tel Aviv.

Dr Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes
Lecturer in Historical and Theoretical
Studies in Visual Art
University of Ulster, York Street, Belfast

Hannes Larusson,
Skilavordustig 4b,
101 Reykjavik, Iceland

Dr Siún Hanrahan
53 Glencregagh Park
Belfast
BT6 0NS

Kate Byrne,
The Shack,
Baily,
Co. Dublin.

Robin Klassnik
Matts Gallery
42-44 Copperfield Road
London E3 4RR

Willie Doherty
Co/ University of Ulster
Belfast

Alastair Wilson
Co/ University of Ulster
Belfast

Kate Byrne,
The Shack,
Baily,
Co. Dublin

Aoife Desmond
13 Grosvenor Rd,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6

Colin Williams
Co Flaxart Studios Belfast

Sandra Johnston

Ima Pico
Ravenhill Gardens
BT6
Belfast

Vivien Burnside
59 Rashee Road,
Ballyclare
BT39 9HT

Stella d'Ailly
Mossutställningar
Birger Jarlsgatan 18
114 34 Stockholm
www.mossutstallningar.com

Nicola Greer

Sandra Greer

Niall Greer

Gael Greer

Anthony Greer

Alain McCullough

Michael Minnis
The White House
Woodcock Hill
Meelick
Co. Clare

Seamus Harahan
37 Hopefield Ave
Belfast
BT15 5AP
Marc Rome

Atelier Galerie Simple
Promenade
Postfach 78
3780
Gstaad
Switzerland

FRANC PURG
STANETOVA 16A
3000 CELJE
SLOVENIA

Common Culture
David Campbell & Mark Durban

Finola Jones
Dog and Bone Publications

David Godbold
Dog and Bone Publications

Julie McGowan
Flaxart Studios
44 - 46
Corporation St
Belfast
BT1 3DE

Clionadh Shaffery
Curator
Ireland

Russell Hart
38 Father Griffin Road
Galway.

Emer Fitzpatrick
38 Father Griffin Road
Galway.

William Artt
10A Belvoir House
Belfast
BT8 7EW

Danielle Sheehy
Art Trail
Cork

Sara Greavu
c/o Void
Derry

Mo White
c/o Loughborough University

Paddy McCann
co/ Associate Lecturer
University of Ulster

Sharon Kelly

richard thomas
www.richardthomas.com.au
po box 104
pt lonsdale 3225
australia

Stephen Snoddy
Director, The New Art Gallery,
Walsall

Phil Collins
Novar Drive,
Glasgow

Paco Simón
ARTE EN ORBITA
Cl. Jussepe Martinez 7
50003 Zaragoza
España
http://www.arteenorbita.com

Sonia Rolak
S.Polo 2525
30125 Venice
Italy

Niamh O’Malley, artist
Firestation Artists Studios
9-11 Lower Buckingham St
Dublin 1, Ireland

Michele Robecchi
Senior Editor
contemporary
K101, 100 Clements Road, London SE16 4DG

Betty Newman-Maguire MFA.
Practising Artist and Lecturer.

Paul O'Neill
12 Laburnum Close
Clifton way,
London Se15 2LJ,
Uk

Tony Hill
Lecturer in Fine Art
c/o School of Art and Design
University of Ulster at Belfast

Lindsay Hughes
Education and Access Co-ordinator
Arnolfini
16 Narrow Quay
Bristol BS1 4QA
Website: www.arnolfini.org.uk

Ronnie Hughes
Farnaharpy
Skreen
County Sligo

Dr.Maeve Connolly
Dun Laoghaire
Co. Dublin
Ireland

Ben Borthwick
London

Peter Liversidge

Cassie Howard

George Liversidge

Orlagh Woods
184B Lancaster Road
London W11 1QU

Annie Fletcher
Head of Curatorial Training Programme 05/06
De Appel - Centre for Contemporary Art
Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 10
1017 DE Amsterdam
Amsterdam
______________________________________________________________

Letter of Concern from Antony Kirby

2006-03-13T12:28:00.000Z

Dear Sir/Madam

I have been following the Ormeau Baths Gallery fiasco
with great interest and find myself as a regular
visitor to the Gallery disturbed by the outcome, which
has resulted in its closure.

At a time when Belfast and indeed Northern Ireland, is
priding itself on the diversity of the Arts and
Humanities, 2006 seems to be the year in which the
discipline of visual arts is being eradicated from the
Arts scene turning NI into a visual arts desert - I
refer to the impending closure of the Art Gallery in
the Ulster Museum, Catalyst Arts as well as the OBG.

Your logo "Inspiring the Imagination, Building the
Future" rings hollow in relation to OBG.

As a non-artist I would like to know why the Board and
Management of the Arts Council, in effect guardians,
allowed the closure of our equivalent to the Tate
Gallery close without actively undertaking actions
that would have at least allowed a transition to take
place without affecting the patrons of the gallery? I
have met over the fortnight since OBG's enforced
closure so many visitors to Northern Ireland who are
mystified at the closure of our flagship modern art
gallery. The signals send out to arts organisations
throughout Europe and indeed globally are very
damaging. Why should artists etc bother come to
Northern Ireland when the Arts Council appears
incapable of facilitating the visual arts effectively?
I say this as I have been in conversations with
friends who are artists in Poland and Italy who are
very shocked at what has happened. I myself had
discussed with two artists in Italy the possibility of
bringing their work to NI with OBG as one of the
spaces ideal for displaying their work. What incentive
is there for International artists coming here to
present there work?

Looking at your statement about the OBG closure you
state that you "agreed to help OBG to wind down its
affairs in an orderly manner".

Under the FoI Act I would like to know how you aimed
to facilitate this.

Why bring to public notice "financial irregularities
at the Ormeau Baths Gallery" retrospectively when a
forensic audit cleared OBG of any wrongdoing
especially when the money was repaid? Again under FoI
I would like full clarification.

I note that in your response to OBG's assertion that
you (ACNI) had declared that OBG was unsustainable and
that you had loss of confidence in OBG’s management
since over a period 3 years OBG had not provided a
"strategic plan, business plan or financial recovery
plan". Yet you "continued to invest in He Company in
an efforts to encourage them to improve their
financial situation and their corporate governance".
Three years is a long time, why was not positive
action taken to assist OBG in that time so that the
current situation could have been averted? It seems
contradictory to me that on the one hand asking for
OBG to provide you with details of their finances and
management while investing in them and then
facilitating the return of £25,000 as part of
"irregularities” that an audit sponsored (at what
cost?) cleared OBG. Under FoI can you give me a full
explanation?

I have noted in the statement issued by staff of the
OBG on 28 February 2006 that part of ACNI's Policy
towards Visual Arts Funding is that the Council,
"wishes to see Northern Ireland develop as a centre
for excellence for the production, presentation and
critical analysis of contemporary visual arts. It
encourages quality, innovation and experimentation to
develop a culture in which the visual art is respected
and valued".

Now, of course, there is no major flagship space where
inspiring the Imagination, Building the Future can
take place.

There is a greater alienation to Arts community than
you claim. This to me is the alienation of ACNI
towards any arts organisation in NI. I have heard in
many conversations that ACNI has precipitated a
dangerous precedent that could have significant
financial ramifications for the whole of the Arts in
NI. I hope not.

I look forward to a considered response.

Anthony Kirby

Letter of Concern from Brian Connolly, Artist and Northern Ireland Representative Visual Artists Ireland

2006-03-10T16:41:00.000Z

Dear

The sudden closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery last Wednesday comes as a complete shock to the Visual Artists across Ireland and is a great cause of concern for practitioners here in Northern Ireland and many of them have made their concerns known to me as the Northern Irish Representative of the Visual Artists Ireland.

I do not pretend to know the full detail of the machinations behind the scenes, which lead to the sudden closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery, however, that which I do know through my consultation has worried me greatly. I therefore wish to register my protest at the closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery, and the manner in which this has been achieved.

I am aware that to date the Arts Council of Northern Ireland have made several public statements and I have endeavored to update my letter as information changes. It is my understanding that the Arts Council of Northern Ireland by their withholding of funding, in effect left the Board of the OBG – (Ormeau Baths Gallery for short), with no other option but to close. It is therefore rather disingenuous of the ACNI – (Arts Council of Northern Ireland in short), to make a statement in which you state: “The ACNI is saddened by the decision of the Chair of the OBG to announce the closure of the Gallery. However, given the company’s inability to reduce it’s longstanding financial deficit or to sustain the gallery space as a viable arts venue, we agreed to help the OBG to wind-down it’s affairs in an orderly, business-like manner.”(*1)

I do not conclude from your statement, nor agree, that the sudden closure of the OBG and dismissal of its Staff, with but a few days notice, is any “help in winding-down the affairs of the OBG in an orderly, business-like manner”. In fact, I see this action as quite the opposite, it appears both brutal and callous, and as such, it sends out all the wrong signals across the Visual Arts Sector in Northern Ireland. Is this really what the ACNI wanted to achieve? Can you really afford to alienate a significant part of the Professional Art Sector in this manner?

If the ACNI were in fact really wishing to help the OBG “wind-down its affairs in an orderly and business like manner”, you would surely not have taken the course of action chosen. If you, the ACNI, were wishing to do, as you stated in the quote above, you would have continued to fund and work with the Board & Management of the gallery in the short term in order to run out the course of the following exhibition commitments. This would have enabled you, the OBG Board, and its Management to develop new plans in consultation with the Visual Artists in the Sector and enable a new cohesive body to be developed over the following months. This process would have been feasible and less damaging to all concerned i.e. the forthcoming Exhibiting Artists, Gallery Management, Gallery Board, Interested Members of the public, and the Visual Arts sector as a whole.

Within the correspondence that I have received I have been made aware that something of this nature was actually in hand, and that the Board and Management of the OBG was actively in the process of “Restructuring”, (at the request of the ACNI in September 2005). If this is indeed the case, it makes the recent ACNI actions very puzzling and even more worrying. It certainly does not appear as a supportive nor hands-off approach towards the provision for and “commitment towards the maintenance of independent public gallery provision in the city” (2), nor does it back up your statement that your “principal objective” is to “secure ongoing gallery provision.” (*3)

Many of us are aware that the rent of the OBG is/was very high, and that this fact alone has made financial “solvency and independence” very difficult if not practically impossible. It is therefore gratifying to be able to congratulate Hugh Mullholland, the Director of the Gallery, his staff, and the Board, for making the OBG such a successful venue over the years, given the financial millstone that they inherited year to year.

Ironically, many practicing artists protested to the ACNI about the wisdom of this proposed move. At that time artists already understood that the proposed venue would probably be compromised by debt and that independence would be rendered virtually impossible. It is therefore very disturbing and disappointing that the ACNI have chosen to withdraw funding now based on “non viability and “financial deficit”, a situation that the Gallery has inherited as a result of your own past actions!

The ACNI’s original statement is brief, and on one hand it could be seen as a means of sparing the ‘supposed’ guilty parties the full glare of public humiliation. However, on the other hand, those referred to in the statement, as “staff” do not appear to me to be skulking in a dark corner somewhere away from the media glare, but quite the contrary. The Management of the OBG appears to be upstanding and answerable to all allegations, and indeed are making counter-allegations and offering differing readings of the facts. This makes me wonder as to the function of the original ACNI’s statement.

On re-examination, the original ACNI statement on the closure of the OBG is speckled with innuendo, hints, and half allegations, without listing any data. It could therefore be read as a very divisive statement, designed specifically to fling mud without any means of re-dress or accountability. It appears therefore as a very underhand tactic used as ‘smoke and mirrors’ to deflect attention from the ACNI’s role in the matter! It only serves to diminish my confidence in the management of that organisation. I now wonder what you/ACNI can or will do to restore my trust, and that of the sector as a whole?

In the original Statement you/ACNI cite that you are, “actively exploring options with potential partners in the visual arts sector and are confident that the gallery space will re-open under new management as soon as possible.” (*4) Since you have clearly damaged you reputation among the majority of the Professional Visual Artist Practitioners in Belfast and across Northern Ireland, how do you propose to regain their trust and their eventual input into any new gallery and management structure? Are you now prepared to alienate the Professional Practitioners in the VAS – (Visual Art Sector for short), in favor of Part-time practitioners & hobbyists? Surely, this goes against all the ACNI’s aims and objectives over the last 10-15 years. How will the ACNI ensure the support of the contemporary professional artist practitioners in any new venture, which they, (ACNI), orchestrate, or implement and support?

Your next move is a crucial one and one that I hope you have thought through very carefully. You have already alarmed and potentially alienated the majority of the Younger Professional Artists in your jurisdiction, (not including myself!), and I am sure you do not want to make matters worse. If this is the case, I suggest that you convene an open meeting, or series of meetings, with practitioners within the sector, to discuss the future of the Gallery; it is management, its artistic role, remit, and evolution, etc. in an open and unscripted way.

In no way should you take the easy option, to hand the management reins over to some third party, as this will only serve to drive a wedge further into the Visual Arts Sector and create great bitterness for years to come.

I feel that before the ACNI acts to replace the gap left by the loss of the OBG it needs to re-establish confidence from within the arts community/VAS. The only way it can do this is to engage in open discussion with the arts sector about what has happened, and to answer the concerns of the VAS. It is also imperative that any new venture should have a diverse range of practising Artists on its Board of Management. Only then, can we move forward without bitterness and acrimony, and regain a fully functioning Contemporary Art Gallery in Belfast.

Yours sincerely
Brian Connolly
Northern Ireland Representative
Visual Artists Ireland

2 Carnlelis Rd.
Bushmills
Co Antrim
BT57 8XZ

Press Release Regarding New Arts Centre Issued by Department of Culture Arts and Leisure, 6th March 2006

2006-03-10T09:51:00.000Z

6 March 2006

OVER £9 MILLION TO ADVANCE BELFAST’S ARTS RENAISSANCE

The Old Museum Arts Centre is to benefit from over £9 million public funding investment for new purpose built premises.

The new Arts Centre will be situated in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter and will house a 350-seat theatre plus a smaller 150-seat studio as well as increased exhibition, rehearsal and workshop space.

Making the announcement Culture, Arts and Leisure Minister David Hanson said: “The development of a new Arts Centre in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter underpins the cultural renaissance that is taking place in Belfast. It also emphasises Government’s strategy to encourage arts and culture to lead the way in Belfast’s social and economic regeneration.

“This momentous announcement will build on the Old Museum Arts Centre’s wonderful track record and move them on to a new level. It is the biggest addition to the cultural heart of Belfast since the Odyssey opened in 2001.”

The Minister pointed out that funding for the new premises, which will cost over £9.2 million, had come from a number of sources. The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure has committed £4 million, the Arts Council has committed £4.25 million and Laganside the value of the site. The Old Museum Arts Centre has set itself the challenge of raising £1million through fundraising over the next four years.

“I am committed to delivering improvements to the arts and cultural infrastructure in Belfast. This is the fourth project I have announced in the past 10 months in a programme of investment in the regeneration of Belfast’s arts infrastructure.

“In May 2005 I cut the sod on the Grand Opera House development that is now nearing completion to which my department contributed £4 million. In June of last year I announced Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure support of up to £6 million towards the rebuilding of the new Lyric Theatre and on 20 September a capital investment of up to £2.5 million towards the refurbishment of the Crescent Arts Centre.”

The Minister continued: “This new facility will improve the cultural provision throughout the city and will greatly enhance the quality of life for the people of Belfast. It is a wonderful opportunity for the Old Museum Arts Centre to grow and develop and I believe it will provide confidence for the private sector to invest in the area thereby securing the long-term and economic benefits,” he said.

Paying tribute to the work and staff of the Centre the Minister said: “The Old Museum Arts Centre is widely recognised as Northern Ireland’s leading contemporary arts centre, with an ethos of celebrating and promoting local and international work not previously performed in Northern Ireland. I would like to place on record my appreciation of their contribution to the arts and cultural life of Belfast and beyond.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Media enquiries to Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure Press Office, tel: 028 9025 8901 or email press.office@dcalni.gov.uk

Letter of Concern from Stephen Snoddy, Director, The New Art Gallery, Walsall

2006-03-10T09:49:00.000Z

Dear All,

Please read statements below.

OBG says Yes, ACNI says No .

This is a situation in which the Arts Council of NI should be asking itself serious questions of its tone of leadership and of the way it has treated its key contemporary visual arts client in NI. It is clear that the ACNI has been 'gunning for' Hugh Mulholland over the last couple of years and by creating 'smoke-screens' one could even call it vindictive. Public Funders are meant to be constructive, 'hands off' and engage in a professional manner to the organisations they fund. By withdrawing the ACNI revenue funding (£300,000 was earmarked for 2006/7, c 75% of its turnover) the Board of OBG had no option but to cease trading or they would have been in breach of their responsibilities as trustees.

The ACNI have been demonstrably aggressive, interfering and taken up an active position of discrediting the OBG for reasons that appear to be one of 'pique' because the OBG Board decided not to become part of the Arts Centre planned for Talbot Street. A project that has never been properly thought through, was ill conceived therefore calls into question the Arts Council NI's judgement on the misguided notion of a 'one shoe fits all' arts centre. Belfast has a series of small independent arts venues and organisations which I suggest is its strength. While 'signature' venues have their place it is the plethora of different scales of arts organisations that bind a community together and create a solid base. The OBG was not the only organisation to make this decision.

This is the only Gallery in Northern Ireland that has an international programme for contemporary art and Hugh was also the Commissioner for the very successful NI Pavilion at the 2005 Venice Biennale. A proud event for the visual arts in NI and one in which to build upon. I for one was delighted to attend and feel honoured that perhaps I had in a tiny way through my own career outside NI helped in this process and occasion. It felt that NI had arrived to be considered as part of the international agenda of contemporary art.

As Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive, ACNI said in her introduction in the 'The Nature of Things', Venice Biennial catalogue, 'The Northern Ireland representation at the Venice Biennale reflects this flourishing arts scene as well as the new aspirations of a society ready to show the world another face - that of a culturally and artistically mature society.' The way the ACNI have treated OBG is not the actions of a culturally and artistically mature arts funder. The ACNI have acted with bad grace - as Ann Widdacombe once said of Michael Howard, 'there is something of the night about him'.

Can you imagine Manchester without Cornerhouse, Bristol without Arnolfini, Oxford without MAO, Birmingham without Ikon? This is the situation that Belfast (and NI) faces.

The Art College in Belfast has successfully finished its Phase 1 expansion - what does this ACNI decision tell the students about their future in Belfast. I remember buying Francesco Clemente a pint of Guinness in the Crown Bar after his Exhibition Preview in 1984, curating a Jack B. Yeats exhibition in 1995 and welcoming Gilbert & George to Belfast in 1999 for the Belfast Festival exhibition and an artist such as Phil Collins who is developing an international reputation and is an MA graduate from Belfast College of Art has greatly benefited from the OBG.

The ACNI has also recently spent £40,000 on 2 consultants reports in 2005, a 'Value For Money' report on OBG (£18,000) and a report on Visual Arts provision in Belfast (£22,000). These reports have not been distributed and I doubt whether the ACNI has taken on board the recommendations. On VFM, given my wide experience of working at Arnolfini, Cornerhouse, Southampton CAG, Milton Keynes Gallery, BALTIC and now New Art Gallery Walsall the OBG represents REAL VFM. A case in point is that it only has 4 staff. What it needs is more resources and support.

It is not in the interests of the artists of NI and beyond for the OBG to be closed down within 2 days. Any break in provision is damaging and to potentially replace it with anything that is not contemporary will further exacerbate the situation. To fill the OBG space with the Royal Ulster Academy annual exhibition is an easy option but philosophically the wrong one and goes against the ACNI's own policy for the contemporary visual arts. A dilution of the contemporary is to lose all credence.

If the ACNI's concerns are a question of governance and accountability then I advise you to look up the ACNI's website www.artscouncil-ni.org home page under Governance and Accountability. With some real irony the website says it is 'under development'. There are ordered processes for changes of governance and succession planning but it seems that the ACNI did not accept that the OBD's governance was currently 'under development'.

I urge you to express your support for Hugh and the staff at OMB by emailing Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive at chief@artscouncil-ni.org cc to Noirin McKinney, Director Arts Development n.mckinney@artscouncil-ni.org and Iain Davidson, Visual Arts Officer i.davidson@artscouncil-ni.org and the Chair, Rosemary Kelly a.boyd@artscouncil-ni.org .

Please send this email onto others who you may think would be interested.

many thanks

Stephen Snoddy,
Director,
The New Art Gallery,
Walsall

Letter of Concern from Peter McCaughy, Artist and Senior Lecturer, Glasgow School of Art

2006-03-08T16:58:00.000Z

It was with deep concern that I learned that the Arts Council of Northern Ireland have withdrawn funding from the Ormeau Baths Gallery. As a senior lecturer at Glasgow School of Art and an Irish artist based in Scotland, the Ormeau baths Gallery, with its ambitious curatorial policy and dynamic range of shows has been a vital lynch pin in my continued interest in and understanding of Art activity in Northern Ireland. In particular I have found Hugh Mulholland an excellent ambassador for Art in Northern Ireland and know him to be highly regarded in the wider arts community.

I cannot stress enough how this looks at a distance. It appears that individual egos and discriminatory policies are influencing a hugely contentious decision. This undermines the Northern Irish Arts Council in the eyes of the international arts community. There is a wide sense of shock here in Scotland that such a central and valued resource is to be axed. In all the available details it appears that this is a disproportionate response to matters that OBG was seeking to resolve. If this turns out to be the case this shock will quickly turn to anger at the perception that individual personalities are being allowed to drive what is an appalling decision.

I have witnessed the rise of the Scottish Arts community to international standing over the last 20 years -this cultural renaissance was achieved with the support of enlightened Arts council and City Councils who have come to understand the subtle relationship between supporting, guiding and allowing the arts sector to be independent at the same time.

It is particularly tragic that this decision comes hot on the heels of the widely acclaimed and successful show ‘The Nature of Things’ which is the sort of show which was signalling that Northern Ireland was at last going to get some of the international attention showered on Scotland for the last number of years.

You obviously do not realise how tenuous these achievements within the art world are nor how sensitive the international arts community are to the smell of bureaucratic meddling. You risk losing the respect a central figure like Hugh Mulholland has gained for the Irish arts scene at an international level. You risk throwing the Northern Irish Arts infrastructure back ten or fifteen years. Maybe this is your aspiration? Perhaps you don’t like progressive curatorial policy and would prefer everyone to be filling mediocre galleries with mediocre paintings. You really risk isolating yourselves as a backward thinking, conservative, small minded council. I urge you to rethink this decision, I warn you to be prepared to have every decision you make scrutinised by an angry international arts community that will vigorously pursue any sense of unfairness and discrimination.

Peter McCaughey

Letter to Rosemary Kelly from Michael Nixon, Commissioner for Wales at the Venice Biennale

2006-03-08T14:07:00.000Z

Dear Rosemary Kelly

I was very surprised to hear about the Arts Council's decision to withdrawn all the funding from the Ormeau Baths with immediate effect. As the Commissioner for Wales for the Venice Biennale of Art I know how important the Ormeau Baths Gallery has been for contemporary visual arts in Northern Ireland. Hugh Mulholland's contribution as Director has been outstanding. Hugh's work for the artists from Northern Ireland in Venice was a tour de force. I know how difficult it is to work in Venice but the Northern Ireland show in 2005 was recognised internationally as a major achievement. Working with very limited resources.

I know that the hand that the UK government has dealt the Arts Council is very difficult to play, but to effectively abolish the principal contemporary gallery in Northern Ireland is suicide for the visual arts in Northern Ireland. I am sure that I am not alone in writing to ask you to find some way of reconsidering your decision.

Yours sincerely

Michael Nixon

Commissioner for Wales at the Venice Biennale

Campaign for OBG logo

2006-03-08T00:09:00.000Z

Chronology Of Events To Date re OBG Closure

2006-03-07T14:15:00.000Z

Sept 05: Negotiation between OBG Board & ACNI about a way forward.

Oct 05: Jan 06 Step by step OBG addressing ACNI requests, including ongoing submission of monthly financial reports.

Feb 06: OBG draft advert for new board as requested and proposed timescale for restructuring sent to ACNI for approval.

Feb 06: ACNI not give approval and state OBG now in “non compliance” with terms of grant and Council vote unanimously to withhold final payment of grant for current yr and any future funding.

Feb 06: OBG Board appeal against decision to withhold grant in face to face meeting with Chief Exec. and senior officers of ACNI.

Feb 06: ACNI reject appeal and draft “Joint statement” to be signed by OBG chair regarding ensuing insolvency and would release final payment for use with creditors.

28th Feb 06: OBG Board announce insolvency with immediate effect including making all staff at OBG redundant. Dorr of OBG closed.

ACNI make public statement declare “company” is closed down but ACNI holding £300,000 for next financial year and in discussions with visual arts sector to reopen under new management as soon as possible.

1st March 06: Visual Arts Sector hold public silent protest outside OBG.

3rd March 06: Protest at ACNI expressing lack of confidence in ACNI.

4th March 06: Public meeting at Belfast Exposed to review events including 5 questions raised by sector and ACNI response.

Some things Individuals can do in support of OBG in March 2006

2006-03-07T11:31:00.000Z

> Write letters to the Acting Permanent Secretary at DCAL and the Minister of state David Hanson.

> Write letters to the media eg. Belfast Telegraph, Irish News etc.

> Write letters and make phone calls to all political parties asking for their views and what action they have or will take.

> Write letters and make phone calls to individual members of the Arts Council Board asking them to make the executive of Arts Council to overturn its decision.

DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE ARTS AND LEISURE http://www.dcalni.gov.uk/home/

ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/

Demands Read out at Protest at Arts Council of Northern Ireland on 6th March 2006

2006-03-05T16:06:00.000Z

These demands were read out at a protest at Arts Council of Northern Ireland on Friday 3rd March 06:

+ the reinstatement of the gallery as a going concern, as a new company operating under the same staff.

+ the Board of the gallery to be constituted with balanced representation from the visual arts community.

+ the resignation of the Board of the Arts Council, following their failure to discharge their duty of scrutiny.

Arts Council of Northern Irelands response to 6 questions posed by Campaign for OBG

2006-03-05T15:59:00.000Z

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland would like to make the following response to the questions raised by a member of staff at the Ormeau Baths Gallery (OBG). In so doing, the Council hopes to put to rest the misconceptions currently circulating among a number of visual artists and to correct misinformation supplied by former staff of OBG.

The following questions were emailed as part of a small campaign on behalf of OBG staff, and the Council’s reply follows in blue:

1. The Arts Council say they “agreed to help OBG to wind down its affairs in an orderly, business-like manner”. Is it orderly and business-like to give two days’ notice to the four permanent members of staff, and not even leave time to take down the current exhibition?

The former Board of the management company of OBG made the decision to go into liquidation with immediate effect. The Arts Council had offered an alternative to the company, which would have provided them with a longer time to wind down their affairs in an orderly fashion and honour some of their commitments to staff and current exhibitors. Questions over the notice period should therefore be directed to the former Chair of OBG to answer.

2. The Arts Council say there were financial irregularities at the Ormeau Baths Gallery. Why then did a forensic audit, called by the Arts Council, clear it of any wrongdoing?

The Arts Council undertook an independent review of lottery grants to the OBG management company and a report was produced. The findings clearly identified key and serious irregularities in the actions of the management company. As a result, the company had to repay £25,000 to the Arts Council. The Council took action to report the situation to the Comptroller General National Audit Office, in keeping with Arts Council policy on Business Ethics.

3. The Arts Council say they are “actively exploring options with potential partners in the visual arts sector and are confident that the gallery space will re-open”. Given the alienation of the arts sector as a result of this sudden closure how can this confidence be justified?

The Arts Council has received no evidence to back up the statement that the arts sector is alienated. Recent events surrounding OBG have affected some individuals within the visual arts sector, and we understand those concerns and passions. We have received a number of emails on the issue, some are complaints and others are emails of support for the Council’s action not to award further funding to the management company. However, the Council wishes to emphasise that the gallery space within the Ormeau Baths building is NOT closing permanently and we are making efforts to get the gallery open in the immediate future.

4. Given the Arts Council’s advocacy of an “arm’s length” policy towards their clients, why have they continuously interfered in the day-to day running of the gallery over a two-year period?

AND

5. The Arts Council has declared a number of reasons for the closure of the gallery including unsustainability and loss of confidence in the management. What evidence is there for any of these claims?

Questions 4 & 5:

The Arts Council at no point attempted to obstruct the artistic programme developed by the OBG management company. The Council was concerned only with operational issues, not artistic issues. The Council did continue to monitor the company monthly on the basis of their financial deficit position and management performance. The absence of a strategic plan, a business plan or a financial recovery plan over the last 3 years contributed to an eventual lack of confidence by the Council in the management company of OBG. The Arts Council continued to invest in the company in efforts to encourage them to improve their financial situation and their corporate governance – this did not happen and the Council was forced to make the decision not to award further funding.

6. The Arts Council says they are “saddened by the decision of the Chair of the Ormeau Baths Gallery to announce the closure of the Gallery”. How can they claim to be “saddened” when their own withdrawal of funding forced the Gallery’s closure?

The Arts Council remains sincere in its view that it is saddened by the failure of the OBG management company to address their outstanding management and financial problems. The Council would like to reassure the visual arts community that funding for the sector remains protected in the year ahead and we look forward to seeing the OBG space opened again in the immediate future.

Link to ACNI site http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/news/2006/new02032006b.htm

Questions to Arts Council of Northern Ireland Regarding withdrawal of funding from OBG, Released by Campaign for OBG

2006-03-05T15:53:00.000Z

PRESS RELEASE

1 MARCH 2006

ON THE DAY OF THE CLOSURE OF THE ORMEAU BATHS GALLERY,

WE, AS MEMBERS OF THE ARTS SECTOR IN NORTHERN IRELAND, WOULD LIKE TO PUT THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS TO THE ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND:

1. The Arts Council say they “agreed to help OBG to wind down its affairs in an orderly, business-like manner”. Is it orderly and business-like to give two days’ notice to the four permanent members of staff, and not even leave time to take down the current exhibition?

2. The Arts Council say there were financial irregularities at the Ormeau Baths Gallery. Why then did a forensic audit, called by the Arts Council, clear it of any wrongdoing?

3. The Arts Council say they are “actively exploring options with potential partners in the visual arts sector and are confident that the gallery space will re-open”. Given the alienation of the arts sector as a result of this sudden closure how can this confidence be justified?

4. Given the Arts Council’s advocacy of an “arm’s length” policy towards their clients, why have they continuously interfered in the day-to day running of the gallery over a two-year period?

5. The Arts Council has declared a number of reasons for the closure of the gallery including unsustainability and loss of confidence in the management. What evidence is there for any of these claims?

6. The Arts Council says they are “saddened by the decision of the Chair of the Ormeau Baths Gallery to announce the closure of the Gallery”. How can they claim to be “saddened” when their own withdrawal of funding forced the Gallery’s closure?

Statement Released by Arts Council Northern Ireland re withdrawal of funding to OBG

2006-03-05T15:49:00.000Z

Statement from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Issued February 28 2006

Regarding the closure of the Ormeau Baths Gallery

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) is saddened by the decision of the Chair of the Ormeau Baths Gallery (OBG) to announce the closure of the gallery. However, given the company's inability to reduce its longstanding financial deficit or to sustain the gallery space as a viable arts venue, we agreed to help OBG to wind-down its affairs in an orderly, business-like manner.

We regret the emotive and inaccurate statement issued today by a member of staff at OBG who is, understandably, upset on hearing of the Board's decision to enter insolvency. It was unfortunate that the staff member concerned had not consulted his Board members first, who had informed the Council fully of their decision.

The Arts Council declines to give these unfounded allegations and inaccuracies within the statement any further credence. We emphasise again that at all times, the Council has worked with OBG staff and Board members to find solutions to their self-confessed financial irregularities and management problems that they have incurred over the last few years.

However, the ongoing financial deficit position, along with a lack of confidence in the company to make the gallery space viable, has forced the ACNI not to award any future public funding to this organisation. Our role is to safeguard public money and the Arts Council remains committed to maintaining independent public gallery provision in the city.

The amount of funding going to the OBG will not be lost in the next financial year. Whilst this is a temporary difficulty, it should in no way distract us from our principal objective of securing ongoing gallery provision. Indeed this also represents an opportunity to broaden the appeal of this particular gallery space to the wider public and to provide greater opportunities to artists.

We are actively exploring options with potential partners in the visual arts sector and are confident that the gallery space will reopen under new management as soon as possible.

-ENDS-

For further information contact- Grainne McCann or Matthew Hendry,
Communications Department, Arts Council of Northern Ireland,
Tel : 028 9038 5206 or 9038 5210 or email mhendry@artscouncil - ni.org

NOTES TO EDITORS:

· The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland and the main support for artists and arts organisations throughout the region in a wide variety of artistic disciplines.

· Over the 11-year period that the Ormeau Baths Gallery has been open to the public. In this time:
(a) The Arts Council provided significant public support of £3,347,401;
(b) Average yearly audience figures have been 21,000.

Statement Released by staff of OBG re closure

2006-03-05T15:45:00.000Z

A STATEMENT FROM THE STAFF OF ORMEAU BATHS GALLERY:

The Arts Council at a hastily convened meeting on 13th February informed the Chair of Ormeau Baths Gallery that the Council would be withdrawing funding from the Gallery with immediate effect.

Ormeau Baths Gallery is the most significant venue for visual arts in Northern Ireland and is one of the largest specialising in contemporary visual arts in Ireland. In the 10 years since it was established OBG has raised the profile of Northern Irish visual art practice both at home and abroad, and has presented the work of major international artists to audiences in Northern Ireland. Its closure will have a significant effect on the arts community in Northern Ireland as well as the image of Northern Ireland internationally.

This extreme step is the culmination of a series of actions taken by the Arts Council which date back to the Board of Ormeau Baths Gallery's decision in December 2003 to withdraw from the Arts Council's proposed City Centre Arts Centre to be sited at Talbot Street. OBG's decision was made after careful consideration and taken in the best interests of the visual arts sector.

It is indicative of the way that the Arts Council conducts business that our decision prompted a senior member of the Arts Council executive, to instruct staff to "make life difficult" for Ormeau Baths Gallery. Ormeau Baths Gallery unwittingly presented the Arts Council with an opportunity when a number of administrative and procedural errors were identified in our draw down of Lottery funding, a situation which is not uncommon among comparable arts organisations but one which led the Arts Council to take prolonged and disproportionate action against Ormeau Baths Gallery.

During the last two years Ormeau Baths Gallery have put in place stringent financial control mechanisms and have been reporting monthly to the Arts Council who have been releasing grant income on a monthly basis.

Ormeau Baths Gallery has co-operated with the Arts Council throughout this process, in order to build confidence and re-establish a constructive working relation between the two organisations. The executive of the Arts Council have however continued to undermine the Board and management of Ormeau Baths Gallery and have sought to create an impression to its own Council that Ormeau Baths Gallery was a cause for ongoing concern.

The Arts Council in a letter from the Chief Executive dated 9th September 2005 sought further reassurances and requested that a "complete restructuring of the Board and staff restructuring" be carried out. The Board of Ormeau Baths Gallery accepted this proposal and was in the process of implementing this request when the decision was made to withdraw funding.

The Arts Council have cited non-compliance to this request as the reason for withdrawing funding, and make reference to a letter from the Director of Ormeau Baths Gallery detailing a timetable for implementation. Ormeau Baths Gallery, having changed its Memorandum and Articles of Association, was about to place a series of public advertisements to call for new Board members, a process which would be conducted by an external recruitment agency. The letter indicated that when in place this new Board would appraise management and staffing structures and institute necessary changes by November/December 2006.

It appears that the Arts Council could not accept the logical chronology of this approach. The Arts Council did not impress upon the Board of OBG that this would result in the withdrawing of all funding but instead were unavailable for discussion, despite repeated efforts to contact them to progress the recruitment process.

The Arts Council's emphasis on staff restructuring would now appear to have less to do with a wish to enhance staffing provision at the Gallery as was articulated to OBG, but rather a continuation of a two year long process to discredit and remove both the Board of Ormeau Baths Gallery, Hugh Mulholland its Director, and his staff.

The manner of the enforced closure of Ormeau Baths Gallery and the effect this will have on the arts infrastructure of Northern Ireland raise serious issues of confidence in the Arts Council and its executive. To register your support for Ormeau Baths Gallery or question how this decision sits with ACNI's Visual Arts Funding Policy which states that the Council:

"wishes to see Northern Ireland develop as a centre of excellence for the production, presentation and critical analysis of contemporary visual arts. It encourages quality, innovation and experimentation to develop a culture in which visual art is respected and valued"

Please e-mail:

Rosemary Kelly, Chair a.boyd@artscouncil-ni.org

Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive chief@artscouncil-ni.org

Noirin McKinney,Director Arts Development n.mckinney@artscouncil-ni.org

Chris Bailey, Chair, OBG dir@nimc.co.uk

2006-03-04T23:45:00.000Z

Protest demonstration outside Ormeau Baths Gallery, 1st March 2006

2006-03-04T23:35:00.000Z

the blog is now setup for the campaign