Cinema closure a blow to communal culture

I WAS saddened at the news that the Kino cinema in Cork is about to shut its doors.

Four years after the city was European Capital of Culture, it is now losing another important cultural institution.

It was through the work of such institutions that Cork was able to secure that designation in the first place.

A few years ago, the Capitol Cinema closed to make way for a proposed shopping centre that never materialised. Now the building stands empty instead of lending the Grand Parade the buzz it used to get from the crowds gathering outside the cinema doors.

The Kino is even more important because it offers something outside of the mainstream. As the only arthouse cinema in Ireland outside of Dublin, it was an important venue not only for Cork but for its position within the national cultural infrastructure. Cork 2005 promised a legacy of cultural development in the city. It is not through shopping malls and office boardrooms that cities become vibrant, but through cinemas, theatres, galleries, and concert venues that allow its inhabitants a communal experience.

Even, and perhaps especially, in times of recession, it is important not to lose sight of the importance of venues like the Kino and what they offer the city.

As the Government is poised to unload billions of taxpayers’ money into the toxic bank NAMA, it is sad to contemplate the comparably paltry sum that is about to sink the Kino.

If Cork is serious about its urban ambitions we need to fight to keep institutions like the Kino alive. Without places like this, all the new shopping centres and apartment blocks will amount to nothing more than a flimsy shell.

Cian O’Callaghan

Ashgrove Drive

Ballyvolane

Cork