Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre hosted a Traveller arts conference yesterday to reflect on exciting times for Travellers and arts and culture in Ireland. Recent years have seen a developing momentum in this area and there are many positive things happening around the country.
This event, in partnership with The Arts Council, aimed to bring people together to identify current challenges and opportunities to build on this momentum and fully realise the potential of Travellers and Traveller organisations in a number of fields; as artists, arts workers, project participants and audience members.
“Today is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the significant contribution by Travellers to the arts in Ireland and to reflect on the many barriers to greater engagement in the arts that Travellers experience. By working in partnership, the Arts Council intends to increase inclusion, visibility and participation in the arts by Traveller and other marginalised communities and to support and promote the vital cultural contribution of Travellers in Irish society.” said Maureen Kennelly, Director, Arts Council.
“We know more needs to be done to support and facilitate Travellers and Traveller organisations to engage in creative practices in a wide context – as artists, workers and audiences. We also need to ensure that mainstream art institutions are inclusive of Travellers and Traveller art ,” said Martin Collins, Co Director, Pavee Point, who opened the conference.
“By providing an opportunity to reflect on these issues and the factors that impact on them, Pavee Point seeks to engage in dialogue amongst Travellers, Traveller organisations and arts institutions about what needs to happen to bring about positive change in his area and how this can be achieved,” he said.
Inequalities and barriers based on racism and discrimination exist for Travellers and other marginalised groups in the arts and need to be challenged and addressed. This is particularly true for Traveller women and Travellers with a disability who face multiple, or intersecting forms of discrimination.
At the conference, UK Romani Artist Delaine le Bas and Dr Rosaleen McDonagh, author and playwright reflected on their experiences as artists. Delaine was a Turner Prize nominee this year and has exhibited widely in Europe. She spoke about the influence her Romani heritage has on her work and the importance for her of human rights in her work and in art in general.
Travellers and Traveller organisations have made, and continue to make, a significant contribution to the arts in Ireland – especially in storytelling, writing, music and singing. These contributions need to be validated and promoted to support community pride and self-determination.
The conference heard from Traveller poets and musicians such as Helen Hutchinson, Niamh Dunne and Mickey Dunne, as well as veteran actor Michael Collins and his son Johnny Collins. A panel discussion was chaired by Arts Council EDI Head, Leon Diop, who spoke to Traveller actor, comedian, photographer and writer, Martin Beanz Warde, and singer songwriter Trish Reilly as well as Galway Traveller Movement and Cork Traveller Women’s Network. Arts Council Director, Maureen Kennelly, closed the event.
An exhibition by artists of Traveller heritage ‘Bafushia’ opens at The Hugh Lane gallery on Wednesday 29th January and runs until April.
