by Saoirse Anton

Those super-fans among you (I’m sure you exist) waiting with bated breath may have noticed that this column is a week late. I spent last week, when I would normally have been writing my column, laid up in bed coughing, wheezing and sounding like some strange hybrid between Tom Waits and an asthmatic hamster.

While I was sick I did what I always do, and turned to films, books, plays and poetry for comfort. Re-reading a favourite novel, losing yourself in a play or some poetry, or snuggling up and watching a film is a surefire way to help yourself feel better when you’re ill and down. The massive boom for streaming services, the demand for online streaming of theatre shows, and the continued rise in book sales through Covid-19 paints a clear picture of the things that we turned to when we were isolating and needed comfort in difficult times.

One of the first things on my schedule after I got back to business as usual was to go to the Bealtaine National Gathering at Project Arts Centre earlier this week. A fascinating day of talks on the theme of solidarity, I came away from it thinking about art for comfort, art for change and challenge, and what relationship there is between these two ends of the scale. And I thought about the quote attributed to Dr. César A. Cruz, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”

This is a maxim I have long agreed with. It does not always come true in practice – very often art comforts the already comfortable, and does not really reach out to those who might benefit from it most. It can also give a false sense of having participated in affecting change. It is not enough to simply watch a play about an issue and head home feeling reassured that you are informed and sitting on the right side of the fence, only to continue living exactly as you had been before.

So what do we do?

Be conscious in the art you imbibe, and in how you do so

Make an effort to seek out the voices that are not normally put on a platform, listen to the stories that don’t hit the mainstream, support artists that are just starting out on their careers or who have been on the periphery of the industry. Share this art, make sure the voices and stories are heard more widely. And when you do this, consider the ways you are accessing the art. Make sure you use platforms that pay artists fairly – if you can buy a musician’s CD directly from them or from a small shop instead of using a huge streaming service or buying from huge companies like Amazon, you can make sure that the artist gets as much of the money from that sale as possible. Support artists and organisations that have signed up to Apartheid-Free Arts or the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Council’s Cultural Boycott List. If you are using a streaming service or buying from a large distributor, consider whether that company is on the Boycott, Divest and Sanction list. If it is, then maybe choose something else to watch or listen to.

Pair art with action

You’ve just watched a gripping play about gender imbalances, what do you do now? You go and look at your workplace policies and see if there are improvements to be made in the gender balance in your office. You’ve watched a heartbreaking drama about child poverty? Go give some time to a local food co-operative or pantry. You read a beautiful poem about conflict and peace? Write to your TD and urge them to back governmental support of Palestine and Lebanon. If you find art that moves you, then let it move you to action.

Replace some art with action

I want you to go to the theatre. I want you to support the arts. However, I also want you to replace one hour of art this month with an action to make positive change. Instead of curling up on the couch to while an evening away with something on Netflix, go volunteer to help your community, write to your TD and local representatives about a cause you care about, have a caring and productive conversation with someone you know about an issue you know you don’t see eye to eye on, make a change in your household to lower your negative environmental impact, do whatever it is that you can, just do something.

I have always said that I make art to make a difference. At the heart of all that I do, I try to build connections and community, and I try to make a positive difference in whatever ways I can. But making art is only a part of that, it comes alongside and contributes to other work - working at a community food co-operative, marching on protests, canvassing on doorsteps, writing to politicians, advocating for policy change, demonstrating and implementing good working practices in positions where I have the power to do so, and yes, sharing poetry and words and art.  

Keep sharing art, keep making art, keep finding comfort in art, but keep making change as well.