Students contributing art installations to Trinity Ball have been left in the dark as to whether they will be funded by Trinity Ents, despite previously being told that their costs would be covered.
In an email statement to The University Times, second-year law student Aisling Clark, who is participating in the scheme, said that although it was “an exciting opportunity to get to work on an installation” for the ball, it is “an enormous let down on ents’ part when they told us well into the process that they were unsure if we would be reimbursed”.
Clark was informed that she could have a budget of €100 for her art before submitting her application, but she said that in a recent meeting she was told that there was no certainty that she would be reimbursed at all. “We’ve put hours of work into the installations and we want them to be the best possible, but it’s frustrating to know that even after all of this we’ll potentially have to fork out our own money or partly our own money in paying for them”, she said.
Third-year drama and theatre studies student Sophie Cassidy, another participant in the art installation project, said in an email statement to The University Times, that “we were under the impression that they were covering all costs but now they’re saying to keep receipts and we might be refunded some money, but it hasn’t been specified how much or how it will be divided among the people who are creating installations”.
In an email to participants last Friday, obtained by The University Times, Trinity Ents Art Installations Officer Rob Holton said: “Please be aware that funding from the Union will not be enough to cover the entire cost of each project. All issues regarding funding will be negotiated with the Union in the week following Trinity Ball. Therefore, I can not emphasise & reiterate enough to be frugal, keep costs to a minimum and hold on to all receipts for your own benefit. Jonah & I are working hard to secure more funding, however we can not confirm the exact amount until the week after the ball.”
Speaking to The University Times, the Ents Officer of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU), Jonah Craig, said that it came down to whether to prioritise funding for the acts – which he said cost more this year – or the art installations: “It was a decision we made when we booked the acts that that took full priority.” He said that they considered raising the price of the Trinity Ball tickets to cover the costs of the art work. To fund all of the installations at the maximum cost of €350, it would require an increase of less than €1 per ticket. Craig apologised for the miscommunication, saying: “It’s no fun to be left with a bill like that.”
In the next week, Craig said he would look into using money raised in the final of Battle of the Bands to fund the programme. He emphasised that Trinity Ents would try to cover costs and that this process was “ongoing”. Craig told The University Times that he was in negotiations with MCD for securing funding for art installations for next year’s ball: “It is a worthwhile investment that the ball should have.”
Last year, TCDSU fully funded the project. In an email to The University Times, Art Installations Officer Rob Holton confirmed that there is funding for the art installations but that “it is not enough to cover the entire costs of each team”. “It was never explicitly stated that our funds could cover the entire expenditure of each team. We continue to negotiate in a bid to secure more funding and to give back as much as possible to the parties involved”, he said.
Applications to submit a proposal for art installations opened on January 23rd and closed mid-January. Participants, it was advertised, would be given workers’ passes to Trinity Ball and so would not have to buy a ticket to the ball.
Applicants were instructed to provide information about the materials they would need to use, the estimated construction time and the estimated cost of the installation. All art installations had to comply with this year’s ball theme – space.
Art installations were introduced to Trinity Ball last year and were run by Grace O’Boyle. There were around 10 installations last year and the project was funded by TCDSU. This year, the scheme was expanded, accepting around 15 applications and initially allowing for greater budgets.
Ciara Haley, in an email statement to The University Times, said she “grasped the chance to make something great for the benefit of the ball” and proposed a piece that would cost €350 to make. After the first meeting with Trinity Ents, this budget was cut to €80 and Haley said they “managed to change our plans accordingly”. Haley questioned why they weren’t aware that this money was never guaranteed: “It’s a disappointment that we were lead to believe in a fund that simply doesn’t exist.” Ciara Haley is also Radius Editor of The University Times.
In an email statement to The University Times, Sadhbh Sheeran, who is also creating an art piece for the ball, said: “I feel that reducing the footprint of the installations and the [sic] keeping the costs to the necessary is not a bad thing and in line with the [sic] several of the SU’s campaigns.”
Trinity Ball is run by the TCDSU entertainments officer in conjunction with contracted entertainments company MCD. Trinity Ball is Europe’s largest private party and a mainstay in the Trinity social calendar. This year, George Ezra, Jax Jones, Hannah Wants and Circa Waves are headlining the ball.
