My timeline is full of anger, despair, frustration at #COVIDartscrisis announcements yest. It’s clear @josephamadigan @artscouncil_ie @creativeirl got this badly wrong. What perplexes me is how this response’s concept of the arts sector is completely divorced from reality.

This ‘support’ reinforces so many damaging assumptions about the arts: its value must always be linked to something else; its creators can survive on the thinnest of margins; and its professionals are not equivalent and valued workers deserving protection #COVIDartscrisis

That yesterday’s announcements came from the central agencies responsible for the arts’ health & well-being is probably what hurts most. It fundamentally erodes confidence in those tasked to care for the sector, at a time of severe crisis. #COVIDartscrisis

I hope our creative voices will be listened to, their anguish and fears taken seriously, and an immediate reconsideration of these wrong-headed proposals will be made. #COVIDartscrisis