Passions – and tempers – flared at NCFA’s National Arts Hustings, in the Project Arts Centre, Dublin this morning. Representatives from Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, the Green Party, the Labour Party, the Social Democrats and Solidarity/People Before Profit debated the future course of the arts in Ireland. But there were enough dissatisfied artists in the building to turn it into a hazardous moment for the politicians – especially those from the two biggest parties, current Minister for the Arts, Josepha Madigan (Fine Gael), and Niamh Smyth (Fianna Fáil). There’ll be a full blow-by-blow account in the upcoming issue of Hot Press. In the meantime, here’s the pictorial evidence....