Michael Fortune

Michael Fortune is many things to many people. Some people know him as an artist and filmmaker, more as an educator, more as a collector of folklore and more as a lover of traditional song. He grew up on coast of Wexford and completed his BA in Fine Art and MA in Film and since then has been a pioneer in the area of socially engaged work within Ireland. During this time he has widened the conversations regarding the intersection of traditional and contemporary cultures and the general appreciation and understanding of culture in all its manifestations. In the late 1990’s he picked up a video camera and began collecting stories and accounts in day care centres, halls, schools etc around the country. At the core of his practice are people and his genuine connection and engagement, plus his inquisitive mind, results in uniquely rich and personal and often unrecorded material. The intimate nature of the relationships with the people and circumstances he encounters, and the subsequent reflective treatment of the material at hand, is a key feature of his work. Growing up in an area rich in folklore and belief has awarded him a natural understanding of the crossover between traditional and contemporary beliefs and customs, and the fluid borders where fact and fiction meet. As a result he has been commissioned to undertake multiple folklore collections, oral history programmes and mapping projects throughout Ireland. His work also brings him into classrooms all over the country at Primary, Secondary and Third Level and for the past 10 years he has worked at Limerick School of Art and Design on the MA in Art and Design Teacher Education programme. Since 2016 he has used social media to share content Hand his folklore.ie page on Facebook receives between 500,000 – 2.5 million interactions every four weeks. He has contributed articles and features to various papers such as The Journal, RTÉ Culture and Irish Central, RTÉ Television and Radio and also BBC Radio.