Mayo arts centre announces new directorship framework
THE Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar has announced a ground-breaking change, as it introduces job sharing for the position of director.
Bernadette Greenan and Fiona Neary will become co-directors, delegating roles and responsibilities to ensure consistency for audiences and artists alike.
Greenan, director of the organisation since 2019, replaced Orla Henihan who held the post for almost two years. Preceding Henihan, founding director Marie Farrell was at the helm for nearly 40 years.
Fiona Neary became interim director in 2022, covering Greenan’s maternity leave and swiftly led the organisation through a post-Covid year of readjustment. Neary brought a love of theatre and community engagement, managing multiple successful projects in 2022, including ‘Inside/Outside’ (curated by Emer Mayock) and an international visual arts residency which saw Tanzanian Valerie Asiimwe Amani take up residence at the Linenhall over eight weeks.
“Returning is a dream come true. For me, there is nowhere like the Linenhall,” enthused Neary. “We have such a rich mix of art forms, artists, communities and individuals engaging with us. I love how the Linenhall is part of the furniture for the people of Mayo and Castlebar. Everyone feels welcome here and our extensive footfall demonstrates that everyone comes, and returns!”
Greenan, previously general manager with the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin, returned as director in February 2023 and resumed talks with Neary around job-sharing the role, an exciting new approach to working within the arts sector which both parties felt could benefit the organisation and its team.
“We are grateful to the Linenhall board of trustees who support flexible working and prioritise the health and wellbeing of the team,” commented Greenan. “I feel privileged to be in this position and look forward to sharing the role with Fiona, who did incredible work last year.”
Both will now work three days a week with titles of executive director (Greenan) and director of operations (Neary). Neary will be responsible for programming with Greenan managing funding and finance.
Job sharing has a surprising number of benefits including business resilience, collaborative project management and increased productivity. The Linenhall welcomes feedback from audiences and the general public over the coming months, as job-sharing becomes embedded into the organisation.
COMING UP
In other news, the Linenhall is approaching the end of its summer events season, with the finale being a surprisingly uplifting immersion into the music and poetry of grief and gratitude, led by spoken word artist and poet Kim Rosen on Thursday, July 20. A sold-out workshop, also led by Rosen, follows on July 21.
Pacifiction closes out the Linenhall Film Club today (Tuesday, July 18) - ‘a tsunami of a political thriller’.
Details are available on www.thelinenhall.com or through the friendly box office team on (094) 9023733.