The Arts Council has undergone a staff reorganization as well as announcing three new appointments to its senior management team: Aidan Burke, Stephanie O’Callaghan and Martin Drury.
The move sees the reorganisation of staff into three departments: an Arts Department, a Finance Department and an Operations Department.
The Arts Department is divided into three sections with an arts director heading up each section. Staff in the arts department will work within small teams, each team with its own head, dedicated to addressing the needs of the various art forms and practices.
Arts Department
Martin Drury will lead the Council’s work in the areas of Festivals, Events, Street Arts, and Spectacle; Venues; International Arts; Arts Participation; Young People, Children, and Education; Artists’ Supports; and Local Arts Development. Drury has worked in a wide variety of senior roles in the arts since 1979, and joins the Arts Council after a six year period as a freelance arts consultant and theatre director.
Stephanie O’Callaghan, who has worked at the Arts Council since 1998, will now oversee the areas of Literature, Visual Arts, Architecture, Traditional Arts and Film. O’Callaghan’s time at the Arts Council has seen her work across a range of art forms and practices in several roles, most recently as development Director.
John O’Kane will head up the Council’s work in Theatre, Dance, Music, Opera and Circus. He joined the Arts Council in 2003 as Arts Programme Director, having worked for many years as a professional musician before becoming involved in arts management in 1998.
Operations Department
Aidan Burke takes on the role of Operations Director, managing the administration of the Council’s business and streamlining funding and other support programmes offered by the Arts Council. Burke joins the Arts Council from Xilinx where he was part of the Irish start-up team, and brings a wealth of experience in operational project management to the Arts Council.
Finance Department
Ellen Pugh continues to head up management of the Council’s finances in the new role of Finance Director and council secretary. Pugh has been Head of Finance since 2001, and is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Management accountants.
“The arts has grown and developed and it needs to have the best managements and structures possible. The Council needs a high quality management team to ensure the sector has the best advice, operations and support possible. The team will work to quickly advance the objectives of the Arts Council in an efficient, professional and effective way,” Mary Cloake, Director of the Council, said.
