Open up - Village Magazine

34 April 2015

HERE has been criticism of Aosdána since its

inception. Most of it is trivia and resentment,

ill-informed and personalised. I’m very proud to

be a member. I’m entirely supportive of the idea of

Aosdána. I have absolute respect for all members and

their work and most importantly I am very grateful to

taxpayers for the money that is well spent on Aosdána

members’ activities. Without this money it would not

be possible for me and many other artists to make our

work and subsist.

So: long live Aosdána. However, there are certain

issues for members to seriously consider. The Cathal Ó

Searcaigh controversy, for example, was badly

handled and mismanaged by the ten-member

Toscaireacht which sets the agenda for Aosdána. We

cannot ignore transparency and accountability.

The title of Saoi (‘wise one’) is the highest honour

that the 250-odd members of Aosdána can bestow

upon a fellow member. No more than seven living

members can be so honoured at one time. The honour

is conferred by the President of Ireland in a ceremony

during which a gold torc is placed around the neck of

the recipient. Seóirse Bodley, Brian Friel, Camille

Souter and Anthony Cronin currently hold the title.

Edna O’Brien, William Trevor and Imogen Stuart

recently got the nod, with Stuart awaiting ratiﬁcation.

Currently, if a position is vacant for one of the Saoi,

all it needs is for certain insiders in Aosdána to get

together 15 members to put a name forward to

guarantee the elevation. A number of individuals can,

and often do, conspire to get the ﬁrst nomination in

before anybody else realises what’s actually going on.

We are not, as members, informed that there is a

vacancy or given the opportunity to present a

candidate of our choice. The danger is that a kind of

belligerence and cultural dictatorship will undermine

Aosdána. Its decline and possible downfall will be by

its own hand.

Aosdána had to consider a clear and unambiguous

motion about its electoral process presented by me to

the annual general meeting in March 2015:

“That this assembly of Aosdána agrees to change

the existing nomination procedures for election of

Saoi to the more participatory and inclusive

process whereby all members are contacted by the

registrar and asked to put forward their chosen

nomination in writing. Each nomination must be

made, in writing, by ﬁfteen members. The names

of candidates whose nominations have been made

according to the rule would be put to a ballot of the

membership and the candidate with the highest

number of votes be deemed elected”.

But again the members of Aosdána, given the

chance to be democratic, accountable and progressive,

buried their heads in the sand. The motion fell.

What is it that turns artists into fearful cowards

who abstain from right choices at the slightest whim

where there is any risk of discomﬁture? Something

strange happens to them when they sit in assembly or

become parts of institutions. They become ultra-

conservative, indiﬀerent, even snobbish.

The present members of the Toscaireacht and

indeed its Chairperson know that the process now

used for the election of Saoithe is dangerously ﬂawed

and subversive of due process and equal opportunity.

At this year’s general assembly, long-time member

Theo Dorgan argued against the motion, saying that it

was an honorary position which shouldn’t be

tarnished by being in any way competitive. The

problem is that the present guidelines in Aosdána are

silent on the method of election.

Certain members suggested that I compromise the

motion by agreeing that there would be an

announcement or a call for nominations for Saoi but I

wasn’t going to water down the principle of the

motion. If Aosdána is to be anything, it needs to be

embracing and courageous, even daring; it needs to

grow up and practise what it preaches, to realign its

vision and make itself more relevant to the Ireland of

today in all its forms and manifestations. Aosdána is

in grave danger of becoming as closed as any of our

institutions when it needs to go in the opposite

direction. It should never be slow to change any of its

processes that need to be changed. I want to see

Aosdána a conﬁdent assembly of artists at the height

of their maturity and process, sharing their vision,

work and company with fellow artists and society.

Aosdána in practice has always tried to distance

itself from the issues and politics of the day. It has

always refrained from challenging Government and

indeed the Arts Council and arts institutions. It is time

now for Presidentially-endorsed Aosdána to justify

itself. To challenge itself on its ﬁtness for purpose, on

whether it has advanced the ideas of its inspirational

founders or instead become a closed clique of status-

anxious artists. I will continue to pursue progress

rather than perfection within Aosdána. And I will

always choose criticism ﬁrst, over fake comradery and

solidarity.

I will not be voting for any nominee for Saoi until

the present undemocratic process is righted. •

Mannix Flynn is an artist and member of Aosdána in

addition to being a Dublin City Councillor

Though Aosdána

is entirely

worthy, it should

democratise its

elections for Saoi

Open up

MANNIX FLYNN

April 2015 35