Noel Kelly is a Life Fellow of The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Since 2007, he is Director/CEO of Visual Artists Ireland, the representative and resource organisation acting on behalf of visual artists in Ireland. His recent work has contributed to the social protection of visual artists in Ireland, and his on-going advocacy focuses on artists rights and the development of an equitable system that supports artists at all stages of their professional lives.