Visual Artists Ireland

Visual Artists Ireland (VAI) is an advocacy, support, publishing, and information organisation representing professional visual artists on the island of Ireland.[1][2]

Visual Artists Ireland
NicknameVAI
FormationJanuary 1, 1980 (1980-01-01)
Location
ServicesAdvocacy and information for professional artists in Ireland
Membership
Approx. 1500
Websitevisualartists.ie

History

Founded in 1980 as the Sculptors’ Society of Ireland, the name was changed in 2005 as they began to include visual artists of all disciplines.[3][4] Their current slogan describes VAI as "The Representative Body for Visual Artists in Ireland supporting artists at all stages of their careers".[5] Noel Kelly has been the CEO/Director of the non-profit since 2007.[6][7]

Organisation

The VAI is a Limited Company with Guarantee run by paid staff under a voluntary board of professional artists, and primarily receives its funding from Arts Council grant money.[8] It also maintains a paid membership base of around 1500 and raises money through side projects. Their income amounted to a little more than €500,000 in 2018.[9]

Activities

VAI publishes a free newspaper, Visual Artists' Newssheet, six times a year,[10] as well as a twice weekly 'e-bulletin' advertising opportunities and exhibitions. They published a curated journal titled Printed Project multiple times a year until its final issue, #15, was published in April 2012. They have also published reports on artists's incomes,[11] payment guidelines,[12] and the use of interns in the arts.[13] The VAI regularly holds professional development workshops and network building events throughout the island, including a 'speed-curating' programme.[14][15] They have also tried their hand at app development – Art Connect – and an artists's social network, the Common Room Social Network for the Visual Arts.[16] The VAI offers residencies such as the Valerie Earley Residency Award and the Suki Tea Art Prize;[17] has previously administered arts studios grants on behalf of the Arts Council of Ireland;[18] and started granting a 'Hardship Award' in 2011.[19]

Campaigns

In 2015 the VAI researched and surveyed artists and galleries to discover that "in almost 80 per cent of cases artists received no fee for their participation" in exhibitions. They led a campaign titled: "Ask! Has the Artist Been Paid?" which led to the Arts Council requiring artists fees to all funded organisations.[20] The organisation has been an active whistleblower on this issue, recently naming the National Gallery of Ireland as a culprit in not paying artists, even though the exhibition requires a paid ticket.[21]

Launched in 2017 as part of an Irish government pilot scheme, and now a permanent one, artists can receive jobseeker's allowance as artists, with the VAI and the Irish Writers Centre officially determining eligibility.[22] The VAI welcomed this move and reported that an important additional gain was that "it grants professional status, which in turn recognizes the special circumstances that artists encounter in their search for commissions and employment."[23]

Bibliography
  • Kelly, Noel, Niamh Looney, and Jason Oakley. The Manual: A Survival Guide for Visual Artists. Dublin: Visual Artists Ireland, 2015. ISBN 9781907683138
  • Kelly, Noel, and Sean Kissane. Creative Ireland: the visual arts, contemporary visual arts in Ireland 2000-2011. Dublin: Visual Artists Ireland / Printed Project, 2011. ISBN 9781907683114
  • Shaw, Lytle (Editor). The Conceptual North Pole, Printed Project v. 14. Dublin, Ireland: Visual Artists Ireland, 2010. ISBN 9781907683107
  • Maharaj, Sarat (Editor). Farewell to Post-Colonialism, Printed Project v. 11. Dublin, Ireland: Visual Artists Ireland, 2009.
  • Mirza, Munira (Editor). Artistic Freedom Anxiety and Aspiration, Printed Project v. 8. Dublin, Ireland: Visual Artists Ireland, 2008.
  • Vidokle, Anton and Tirdad Zolghadr (Editors). I Can't Work Like This, Printed Project v. 6. Dublin, Ireland: Visual Artists Ireland, 2007.
  • A City Guide to Sculpture in Dublin. Dublin: Sculptors Society of Ireland, 1999. ISBN 9780946549153
  • MacDonagh, Eileen. Meitheal: Sculpture Symposia Ireland. Dublin, Ireland: Sculptors Society of Ireland, 1988. ISBN 9780946549108

References
  1. "Drawing on public spaces". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  2. "£45k to play for as Windsor Park public art plan unveiled". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  3. "Where actors are all Cinderellas". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  4. "Visual Artists Ireland". www.visual-arts-cork.com. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  5. "Visual Artists Ireland — Supporting Artists and the Arts". Visual Artists Ireland. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  6. O’Doherty, Cara (2019-09-15). "Why artists are leaving Ireland's cities". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  7. "Noel Kelly VAI". Allingham Festival. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  8. webmaster, Arts Council (2019-02-14). "Who we funded". www.artscouncil.ie. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  9. "Directors Report and Financial Statements 2018" (PDF). VAI.
  10. González, Ángel Luis. "When it comes to photography, Ireland in no danger of overexposure". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  11. Siggins, Lorna. "Why Irish artists are on the breadline". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  12. Kelly, Noel. "Payment Guidelines for Visual Artists in Ireland 2013". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. "To Work with Purpose: Best Practice Guidelines for Internships" (PDF). VAI.
  14. Tipton, Gemma. "The best art shows to spend time with this week". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  15. "Visual Artists Ireland (NI) Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP Information Session". www.craftni.org. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  16. "Mayo County Council - County Mayo, Ireland -- Articles". www.mayococo.ie. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  17. Reporter, Our. "Arts Centre show explores issue of social insecurity". connachttribune.ie. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  18. "Cork artists' group suffer funding cut". www.irishexaminer.com. 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  19. "I'm an artist - can I take your order?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  20. Tipton, Gemma. "If art is such big business, why do so many artists earn so little?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  21. Burns, John (2019-04-21). "Artists find it hard to draw cash from National Gallery of Ireland". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  22. Dunne, Aidan. "Give me a crash course in: social welfare for artists". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  23. Re/shaping cultural policies : advancing creativity for development. Unesco (Second ed.). Paris, France. 2017-12-11. ISBN 978-92-3-100256-4. OCLC 1035410624.CS1 maint: others (link)
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