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Can you sing for it?

Wednesday, 09 April 2008

BUSKERS and street performers bring colour and joy to busy streets in practically every city in the world.
However, depending on the quality of their act, they can be seen as either entertaining or a nuisance.
Now Dublin City Council is mulling over the idea of rewarding the best buskers with the best pitches in the city centre.
Dublin city councillor Gerry Breen (FG), who put forward the proposal, said developing a good and legal street performance dimension to the city could only add to the Dublin experience.
Cllr Breen, as chair of the Arts Strategic Policy Committee on Dublin City Council, has initiated research to determine how best to structure and promote street performances.
Speaking to Southside People, Cllr Breen said that while licensing buskers was perhaps not the way to go, there was a definite need to legalise street performance.
He said “world class” buskers in Dublin were being discouraged from performing on a regular basis because of the fact it was not entirely legal.

“We in local government want to use our powers and leadership to foster and support street performance in a way that enhances the cosmopolitan feel of the city, enhances tourist traffic, benefits the retail core of the city and nurtures creative talent and stimulates economic activity,” Cllr Breen stated.
He said there was a need to focus on promoting the right street performance for the right area of the city.
“There is the example of Vancouver in Canada where competitions are held to determine that the best street performers are awarded the best pitches in the city,” Cllr Breen said.
“I’m not sure how well something like that could be regulated here in Dublin but there is no doubt that we should be rewarding those of a high standard.
“I see the promotion of good street performance as the coming together of culture and business in the city, for the betterment of both,” Cllr Breen added.
When Sourthside People visited the city centre last week, buskers and street performers were thin on the ground, but those that were there had divided opinions on Cllr Breen’s proposals.
Mime artist ‘Mr Silver’, an Austrian man who has performed on Grafton Street for the past year, said he wouldn’t like to see it licensed or regulated.
“It is not such a good idea as most of the people who perform on the street do not have a lot of money and enjoy the freedom of being able to perform,” he stated.
“I also wouldn’t be in favour of hosting a competition to find the best performers as I feel that we are all very good in our own way and there is not much difference in the quality.
“All the people working on the street are from one big family so I don’t see the need to have us compete against each other.”
However, talented box player Máire Ní Bheaglaoigh, a Kerry woman who has performed on the streets of Dublin for the past 20 years, said she would like to be consulted by the council on ways to promote busking.
“Quality buskers who play good traditional music can be a great asset to the city but it has never been actively promoted,” Máire stated.
“There are very few of us left now which is a big shame, but nobody from the council has ever come to speak to us and I feel as if we have been neglected.”
Máire said traditional music being performed on the streets of Dublin was a vital aspect of our culture.
“But if the council are going to do something about this then we are the people who should be consulted,” she added.
Meanwhile, happy-go-lucky Mauritz, a guitar player from Poland, was just pleased to be out on the streets performing.
“I am happy just to get the attention of the people while I play,” he said.

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