The establishment of an arts infrastructure/legacy committee “although belated”, is “welcome” in addressing how Galway 2020 will leave a “lasting legacy for the city and county”.
This is the view of Independent Galway West TD Catherine Connolly, who was responding to the establishment of the committee which will be chaired by Arthur Lappin, the chair of Galway 2020.
However, Dep Connolly said that if the committee is to be a success, it needs to be focused and have broad representation to include artists and arts practitioners, and “it must learn from the failure to acquire previous spaces and buildings in the city”.
The TD has also called on the Galway City Council to acquire the building at the rear of the General Post Office on Eglinton Street - currently housing the Galway International Arts Festival flagship exhibition In The Flesh. “The building has not just been transformed, but the possibility for the city, for the arts, and for a lasting legacy from Galway 2020 is clear for all to see,” she said. “It is an opportunity that just cannot be lost.”
