Madam, - Last week the Oireachtas na Gaeilge national committee advised that they will not be organising their art exhibition in 2004 - or in the foreseeable future. This brings to an end a tradition going back as far as the Living Art Exhibition, which has also disappeared. The loss of yet another open submission exhibition is a very serious matter for Irish artists. The Oireachtas was a show of mixed fortunes over the years but it did offer an opportunity to hundreds of artists to show their work in the public arena.
The Oireachtas's decision to drop the annual art show was taken due to financial restrictions caused by a 10 per cent cut in the organisation's core funding from Foras na Gaeilge and by the refusal of the Arts Council to provide any financial assistance for the exhibition.
Now there is only the RHA left open to would-be exhibitors. Excellent as it may be, it cannot possibly do justice to the amount of artistic talent that deserves to be shown.
The now-to-be-lost Oireachtas, the long gone Living Art, Independent Artists, and Figurative Image exhibitions all fulfilled important functions in Irish art. Something is needed to replace them. - Yours, etc.,
GERALD DAVIS, Capel Street, Dublin, 1.