Making the most of a cultural legacy

Sir , – Your editorial "The legacy of 2016 – The arts: In a much better place following centenary celebrations" (December 27th) can, I hope, be used to stimulate some debate on the meaning of culture.

As I understand it, Creative Ireland and Culture 2025, two of the most significant cultural policies and programmes that an Irish government has produced in decades, have been carefully constructed to ensure they reflect on, and provide opportunities for investment in “culture” as a whole.

And yet the majority of media reporting seems to have a default position of referring to “the arts” when in fact they mean “culture”.

The Government foreword to the Creative Ireland programme, in recognising that the best way to nurture the creative imagination is through active engagement with arts, also clearly states that in rediscovering the power of cultural creativity to bring communities together during 2016, that it became obvious that Government should build a legacy of 2016 around our cultural heritage. The programme goes on to call on all of us to play a part in placing our rich cultural heritage, and its potential, at the centre of our lives.

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Culture therefore by definition is influenced by and includes our national heritage, which enriches and inspires our arts, our artists and people in general.

Heritage is an essential and indeed equally creative, imaginative and inspirational force within our culture. Any traditional craftsperson will vouch for that, as will any designer, artist, architect, archaeologist, ecologist, museum curator, librarian or any child involved in the Heritage in Schools Programme or communities involved in local heritage forums the length and breadth of Ireland.

To emphasise the nature of culture, Ireland’s Council of National Cultural Institutions is made up of bodies that enjoy responsibilities collectively and collaboratively for both arts and heritage.

These include the National Library, the National Museum, the National Archive the Chester Beatty Library as well as the Abbey, the Irish Museum of Modern Arts, the Crawford Gallery, the National Gallery and the Concert Hall, and of course the Heritage Council and the Arts Council.

Local authorities for their part, where they haven’t done so already, are to be encouraged within the framework of Creative Ireland to establish cultural units, including their arts and heritage offices.

The opportunity now presented is to realise the potential offered by the whole of culture within communities and our job, as I see it, is to help them grasp that opportunity with both hands.

So, if we are to talk about culture, let’s talk about culture in its entirety and not just one dimension of it. – Yours, etc,

MICHAEL STARRETT,

Chief Executive,

The Heritage Council,

Church Lane,

Kilkenny City,

Co Kilkenny.