Whatever about the arts, and the poor gobdaws who try to make a living from them, it is satisfying to note that arts administration in this country is going from strength to strength.
Nowadays, no Irish arts centre, theatre, dance-hall, cultural organisation, gallery, comedy club or one-man circus is without a whole raft of personnel whose functions have, fortunately, little or nothing to do with the so-called arts, and everything to do with its all-important administration.
After years of idealistic amateur foolishness, even the tiniest backwater arts operation now aspires instantly to a president, three or four vice-presidents, a managing director, half-a-dozen associates, two or three general managers, seven personal assistants, six secretaries, a busy team of publicists, three or four marketing strategists, a bevy of freelance fund-raisers and a board of management. (These figures are approximate). It is exciting, visionary stuff.
Occasionally however, these vast armies of administrators tend to clash with each other, even within their own organisations. With so much artistic temperament involved, such clashes are no doubt inevitable from time to time.
For those of us who observe them, they might well prove entirely tedious were it not for the fact that arts administrators famously enjoy a good row, preferably with each other, and usually involving various upgradings, downgradings, departures and dismissals, i.e. nothing to do with the arts, but (once again) with its administration.
Clearly, these rows are of such global importance that news of them must instantly be communicated to the media and thence to the public.
And even though the nature and pervasiveness of Irish gossip is such that the media usually know what's going on right away, and the rest of us the next day, it is obviously important that arts organisations have at their disposal what amounts to an information dissemination empire, a vast network of communications directors, public affairs managers, advisers, gobetweens, facilitators, publicists and other word-spreader hirelings.
The media, themselves major players in the communications/ entertainment/comedy business, take a fond and indulgent view of these goings-on and report them faithfully and comprehensively. The whole thing contributes to the gaiety of the nation.
Right now, the main battles are at the IMMA and the Project Arts Centre. The IMMA row between its director, Declan McGonagle, and the board (who are at odds over McGonagle's contract) has now gone to court, so the media have regretfully had to back off: the Irish courts have yet to appreciate the street theatre nature of these things, which generally involve enough Olympic-level gossiping, insinuation and back-stabbing to amuse the rest of us for months.
Fortunately, the row at the Project continues in glorious Technicolor and full public view. Once again it involves the non-renewal of a contract (of a visual arts officer), and once again there are, as this paper reported, "ructions" at board level.
The scenario is developing in a most exciting fashion. It seems that if the visual arts officer leaves and is not replaced, then the visual arts programme may be replaced by a "critical events" programme. The whole thing is seismic.
I am not sure, however, if the Project's director of public affairs is entering fully into the spirit of things. She has denied a suspected downgrading in the Project's visual arts programme, but will not comment beyond that.
Not comment? What is going on here? It may be that her unwillingness to stir things up a bit is indicative of a rift between herself and the media. Or could lead to such a rift. What if this rift were to widen, and were to be replaced by a chasm? Developments will be closely watched and fully reported. Hang on, what am I waiting for? Jasmine! Gimme 500 words by six o'clock, right?
Our arts administrators have actually developed the administration wrangle into an art form in itself. This is their main contribution to Irish culture, and it is not to be scorned.
bglacken@irish-times.ie