Aosdána is an autonomous affiliation of artists, established by the Irish government in 1981 to honor artists whose work had made an outstanding contribution to the creative arts in Ireland, and to assist members, where necessary, to devote their energies full-time to the practice of their art.
The organization was developed on the initiative of writer Anthony Cronin, then cultural advisor to the Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey, and in collaboration with Colm Ó Briain, then Director of the Arts Council. Although it built on a series of prior Arts Council initiatives to improve state supports for individual artists, the establishment of Aosdána – membership of which is by peer nomination and for life – marked a radical departure from previous policy initiatives. Aosdána is independent and self-governing. Its membership meets annually at a general assembly where issues related to the arts are discussed, motions are debated and voted upon and, crucially, elections are held to admit new members. Informed by requests from members, the agenda for each general assembly is set by a ten-person supervisory committee, the Toscaireacht, whose responsibilities include the routine administration of Aosdána, liaison with external bodies and oversight of occasional votes to confer the status of ‘Saoi’ upon those considered to have made a sustained and significant contribution to a given art form. The number of Saoitheanna is limited to seven at any one time and recipients are presented with a gold torc – the symbol of the Saoi – by the President of Ireland.
