They are self funded, with only 2% of their money coming from the government. Smithfield was really rubbish until the people in the area started to change it. Putting up fancy lights and nice cobbles isn’t enough to entice people into an area. Over 6 years 150,000 people visited Block T, their importance to the area is massive. People aren’t attracted to offices, apartments and Starbucks, they are enticed by culture. People don’t realise the value to the city places like Block T are, they are the fabric of a dynamic urban area, and are what makes it continue to grow. It is shameful they have to move, it will be a massive blow for Smithfield. The government needs to do a lot more to support the arts, many artists work for incredibly low play making work that 90% of people could not do. It needs to be valued, it needs to be nurtured and it needs to be respected. We are losing too much of our artistic landscape, and without art we are left with a drab city that only respects business. Not somewhere I would want to live.

Artists will make art whether the government encourages them or not.

They sure will. In cities better able to cope with their skills. Like Berlin. Then we can all go and view Irish art in foreign countries.

Just please don’t say jog on. I’ve seen it in use a few times by Irish people lately and it really needs to be nipped at the bud. Please :(

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/reliefs/artists-exemption.html Why should the ‘self-employed’ get rent supplement for city-centre properties at the expense of the taxpayer? It’s an industry like many others. Culture comes in many forms and most know how property rental markets work without throwing the toys out the pram.

Why should corporations be able to avail of their very own tax rate?

The artists exemptions generally only apply to the sale of works. That’s a very limited palette so to speak and it’s only up to about 40k. The vast majority of artists (and it’s a wide net) will never earn more than a pittance. In fact, most of them already have either part-time or full-time jobs in an unrelated field and are trying to fund their own interests in the process.

It’s exceptionally rare that an artist can be self-funding. I’m one of the lucky ones in that I make a good living doing what it is I do. ‘Good’ in my case means I can pay my bills. Professional full-time musicians for example working in an orchestra or in a band for that matter, can only really avail of such breaks if they record and sell an album. Recording and selling an album generally doesn’t actually return a profit in the first place. It COSTS money to do it. Half the time it’s just a vanity project or in other cases it’s a genuine artwork but with no hope of selling to anyone apart from a few hundred people.

They still have to pay taxes on their earnings like everyone else and declare to revenue by filing accounts. This week I’m playing 4 nights at 4 different venues. All of that will be declared and taxable.

Many of the artists in Block T are designers. Designers pay tax. And designers work much harder than most because people don’t want to pay much for their work but they refuse to put out substandard work that would have their name attached, therefore meaning they work much longer hours than most. I know, I’m a designer.

@papasmurf – Artists are not self employed like any1 else – Unlike other self employed people, I think the 1st €15K is tax free in addition to normal credits. Either way they get preferential treatment – so dont try to make out they are treated the same.

@bob freeman – yeah you mught find a lot of artists down in the local as well most nights & days. A great method to get inspiration used by many Irish Artists & Play Wrights.

Corporations should not be allowed low tax rates. Google paid a paltry €26M tax on €128m Profit.

There is a bigger picture James. Artists and creative people bring a cultural capital to an area, that ensures people coming to an area. But being an artist is one of the hardest ways to make a living, even though only a small percentage of people can actually do it. Ireland is a small country so even with a relatively small tax take from corporations we still benefit from employment and services bought by corporations in this country. I’d prefer a smaller tax take to guarantee we keep these jobs in the country. That’s the price we pay for globalisation, it’s a game we’re good at playing.

@john smith. Yes John we are good at playing that game – unfortunately at the expense of decent services for people – And at the expense of artists. Corporations have a responsibility to contribute to the expense of running a country. They are all very vocal about how green they have become & expect to grow cystomer loyalty for such efforts. About time they showed humanity their contribution to making peoples lives better & contribute to the netterment of a just Society. Their Customers should judge them by that as well as their products Apple is a hum dinger of an example & not a good one either.

Neil, John Smith is right, it is notoriously hard to avail of the artists exemption and impossible if you are a designer. I qualified as a textile designer many moons ago so I know this first hand. Many of the artists and designers I know are notoriously bad at self promotion so places like Block T are essential for the promotion of the arts. Creativity should be encouraged but sadly it is not encouraged enough. The country would be a much bleaker place without our creative folk.

Completely agree Molly. People can’t be everything, some are good at art and some are good at business. Unfortunately it the creative people that suffer despite having skills that can’t really be learned, you are generally creative or not.

James, as it stands corporations have responsibility to no one. In fairness this is absolutely mental, but the only way it will change will be mass revolution. There is too much money involved leading to the highest centres of power. Until then we have to play the game. I don’t like it but I have to accept it.

Artists do not want big wealthy profit making corporations to pay tax – Who do you want to pay your rent in a ‘city central’ locatiin – the ordinary taxpayer who is being fleeced. Artist have probably much more going for them than many unemployed – Creativity can take on different forms & it is not solely owned by ‘artists’. What about self creativity – If you want to push the interpretation – what about product creativity & inventions – are they not good for the human race also. And then you gone on about Smithfield – U bring life to the area – how do you measure this – whats the benefit. Also I’m sure these artists are capable of bringing life to other areas also, where the rents are less expensive to the taxpayer.

What will the tourists, and Dublin residents, go to Smithfield Square for if they move? When they are gone there will be a cinema, a hostel, a couple of pubs and a brewery. Do you think the 150,000 people who went through the doors of Block T would have gone to Smithfield anyway? The effect of a place like Block T is that they make a place happening, the draw the crowd which fans out to other businesses opening such as restaurants, bars and shops. It is not solely funding Block T, it is funding all of Smithfield. In turn that funds our city, for both tourists and ourselves.

70 studios is not small, if they do get lucky enough to get a space to house all of them then that area will become more popular with people, until the value of the land goes up because of this and they get pushed out again. If they are broken up the collaboration between artists ceases, and stems the creative flow and output.

I cannot disagree with a word you said there. I think the arts will always be underfunded so perhaps the answer is a better budget allocation or grant system. I also know there are lots of people homeless and people really ill on trolleys. Maybe the local businesses and Dublin Chamber should be doing more for this particular project.

The homeless/hospitals is a red herring. The funding pumped into something like Block T would more than pay for itself. It has a high value. If you take Berlin, it is now seen as the arts capital of Europe, with millions flocking to it because of its vibrancy. Berlin in itself is far from the prettiest city in Europe, but it is definitely the most exciting, and that’s why people go. Over half of the places like Block T have been lost in the last two years, eventually we will be left with nothing. While we get richer this will leave us so much poorer. Dublin has a strong history in the arts, Joyce, Wilde, and all the other names known throughout the world. We need to maintain that, ventures like Block T are the breeding grounds for new talent.

So why have the businesses or chamber if commerce, or the locals not got off their ass if it means so much? You seem like a pretty good lobbyist.

The Generator Hostel, Jameson Distillery, Lighthouse Cinema and The Cobblestone have all worked with Block T to get Smithfield moving. But they can’t pay the rent for Block T. At one stage the Lighthouse was closing due to rents, but somehow it managed to stay open. Now it’s probably the best cinema in Dublin, with huge footfall. Recently The Generator Hostel held a Boiler Room night, which is the worlds biggest provider of electronic music live sets online. It played host to some of Dublin’s finest electronic music, including David Kitt, who now trades under the moniker New Jackson. Boiler Room has had a quarter of a billion views on youtube, and is incredibly important in how many people view a city. All this was because of the people in the Smithfield area. What it needs now is government aid to keep it as it is, and grow and expand the area to become a bona fide quarter of the city. As it stands Dublin is centred from Temple Bar to Camden Street. There is huge potential for the Docklands and Smithfield, but if the government will is not there they will remain business and residential areas. The key factor is supporting the arts in these areas. The government already do this in places like Rua Red in Tallaght, a building that has huge numbers passing through it on a daily basis, doing all manor of things.

@john. Is the festival ‘sponsored’ by the hotels, pubs etc. Perhaps the ‘price’ of sponsorship should be increased.

I know, jobsbridge simply adds an extra 9 months of free labour to a degree that could easily be included within the degree. It becomes the norm. People say it was harder years ago, but that’s nonsense. Years ago a qualification meant paid work, nowadays it means work for free for “experience” even though you spent 4 years busting a gut and spending thousands.

@john smith. With many degrees 6mths work experience is already built in. I reckon most Companies use the degree graduate conveyor belt to fill a or several full time positions. Does our Government check I wonder. I know for a fact they don’t because semi state companies use the conveyor belt system. This should be outlawed immediately.