From Laois to Ljubljana
Pictured at the Ljubljana Summer Festival is artist Patricia Bennett
LAOIS-based artist Patricia Bennett was one of only eight artists from around the world invited to participate in this year’s International Fine Arts Colony at the Ljubljana Summer Festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia. The Festival, in its fifty-eighth year, is one of the premier arts events in Europe and The International Fine Arts Colony in its twelfth year is a firm fixture in the international Arts calendar. This year, eight visual artists were invited – four from Slovenia and four internationals from Italy, Malta, Bulgaria and Ireland. The Colony is an ongoing project, which represents a chronicle of 12 summers in Ljubljana. Each year the participating artists donate a piece of their work to the permanent exhibition which now totals more than 120 works – half from Slovenian artists, half from the international contingent.
“We were invited and encouraged to experience everything that was happening around us.”
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The Colony is organised to encourage cooperation between the artists themselves and integration within the festival as a whole. The festival is set in an urban environment – in and around the grounds of Ljubljana Castle – in the centre of Ljubljana. The Colony takes place at a time when the city breathes artistic creation, not just visual, but also musical and literary, in a bid to foster a cross-pollination of ideas. The artists were asked to produce work, which reflected this integration of the visual and other art. So, in addition, to being given all the facilities required to produce their pieces they were invited to attend per formances of ballet (Maurice Béjart), opera (Tchaikovsky) and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. They also went on boat trips on the Ljubljanica River and were invited to socialise with other festival participants. “We were invited and encouraged to experience everything that was happening around us,” said Patricia. “While we worked we were exposed
to the sounds of musicians rehearsing. I drew inspiration from this, but also from the fact that we worked outdoors, so the natural surroundings – trees, river, light – were also a source. “As a result, I believe we were able to realise the aims of the festival organisers – to express our love for painting as a sincere expression of our inner and creative search – and to express ourselves in the ‘language’ of music and literature, as well as our own – the visual arts” The week concluded with the opening of the Festival exhibition by Tomo Vran, the selector and attended by classical musician and Festival Director, Darko Brlek, local dignitaries, including the Mayor of Ljubljana and representatives from The Irish Embassy. The artists set up a group called Colony 10 which is planning to collaborate in the coming months and host a joint exhibition in 2011 or early 2012. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Darko Brlek,
Festival Organiser, Tomo Vran, Selector, the Irish Embassy and Michael Burke for his initial invitation and support. “Now that I am back at Grenan Mill I have time to truly reflect on the experience and to utilise what I learned there to enrich my own work,” said Patrica. Patricia is currently engaged in a two-year study at the Grenan Mill Craft School in Thomastown, Kilkenny, where she is upskilling in all aspects of the visual arts. M