In its seventieth year, the Arts Council has commissioned Critical Voices 2022, a series of essays and accompanying discussions. Critical Voices 2022 reflects on the Arts Council’s history, the value of the arts, and the impact of 70 years of public investment in the arts. Critical Voices, in collaboration with the Clifden Arts Festival, presents a special event with unique perspectives on the role of the arts in Ireland’s past, present and future. This event features contributing essayists Rita Duffy (visual artist), Beulah Ezeugo, and Joselle Ntumba, founders of the Éireann and I Archive, a collaborative project that sources, contextualises, and chronicles the experience of Black migrants in Ireland. 

Topics included in the publication and series: 

• the relationship between various governments and the arts since the 1950s. 
• the arts and culture as common languages across the world. 
• reflections on a diverse Ireland and the role of the arts in celebrating contemporary Ireland. 
• recognising the role of creativity as a positive force in the world. 

-I ról agus tiomantas na Comhairle Ealaíon don Ghaeilge a mheasiú agus an ról is féidir leis na healaíona a imirt chun forbairt na Ghaeilge mar theanga bheo labhartha a chinntiú. 

Rita Duffy is one of Ireland’s groundbreaking artists, using her work to involve the histories and narratives of different communities in Ireland and worldwide. 

Based in Ballyconnell Courthouse on the Border, she continues her studio-based practice in ‘no man’s land’, generating socially engaged art projects that explore female identity, history and, increasingly, environmental issues. 

Joselle Ntumba is a cultural producer of Congolese heritage and was raised in Galway City. Her practice centres on memory work and event programming as tools for community resistance and learning. Alongside this, she has a background in health science from Trinity College Dublin. 

Beulah Ezeugo is an Igbo curator and researcher. Her work centres on Black postcolonial dreaming using collective memory and myth. Her practice is informed by a social science background from University College, Dublin and an MLitt in Curatorial Practice from Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow.