Visual Artists' News Sheet - 2013 May June

Swords, Co. Dublin. T: +353 1 840 9099

Unit J10, Swords Business Park,

E: movingart@mauriceward.com

www.mauriceward-arthandling.com

Art Box is safe, affordable and insured.

Art service.

without the need to avail of a dedicated Fine

gallery or office to any destination worldwide

flat, inexpensive artworks from your home,

is designed for sending relatively small,

We are now offering an Art Box service that

issue 3 May – June 2013 Published byVisual Artists ireland Ealaíontóirí Radharcacha Éire

NEW SERVICE ART BOX

Art Technicians

Collection and Delivery throughout Ireland

Temperature Controlled Trucks

Crate Making (Commercial / Museum Standard)

Ocean Freight

Air Freight

Installation

Hanging

FOR ALL THE TRANSPORT AND ART HANDLING SERVICES YOU’VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR:

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL ART HANDLING

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

Phone: 353 1 478 4088 Email: hello@fire.ie www.fire.ie

FIND OUT MORE:

Complimentary preservation mounting and framing consultancy and advice.

Museum quality 99.7% UV light blocking, shatterproof acrylic glazing.

Precision framing to the Conservation and Museum Level Standards of the Fine Art Trade Guild.

FRAMING AT FIRE

Ffrench / Harte, 'The Sovereigns', 2012, image courtesy of the Mermaid Arts Centre

Get Together 2013.Visual arts resources & activity in Sligo.

Ireland in Venice 2013: Richard Mosse. Residency reports: AIR Krems, Austria; Tyrone Guthrie Centre.

The Joinery, Dublin.Rory Tangney.Dougal McKenzie.‘Pathways to Practice’, Arts & Disability Ireland symposium.

Object Orientated Ontology & Speculative Realism.

Critique:‘The Artist’s Overcoat – Exploring the Studio and Collections of F E McWilliam’; Ffrench/Harte, ‘The Sovereigns’ Mermaid, Bray; ‘Analysing Cubism’ , IMMA; ‘Monuments’, Lismore Castle Arts; Anthony Haughey ‘Citizen’, Highlanes Gallery; Seamus Nolan, ‘10th President’, TBG&S. Nick Stewart. VAI & DAS Residency Award.Lattitudes #OpenCurating.NeXus Arts.Pallas Projects Periodical Review.

Seacourt Print Workshop.Small Small Worlds – moving image workshops at Void.Pablo Helguera’s Artoons.

VAI professional development training and events.

Opportunities.News.The Roundup.

The Pavilion of Ireland at the 55th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia Commissioner/Curator Anna O’Sullivan, Director Butler Gallery Location Fondaco Marcello, San Marco 3415 (Calle dei Garzoni), 30124 Venezia La Biennale di Venezia Dates 1 June—24 November 2013 Vernissage Dates 29—31 May 2013

design: www.dynamite.ie

Making The Enclave, Richard Mosse, North Kivu, Eastern Congo © 2012. Cinematographer Trevor Tweeten operating an Arriflex 16mm camera, mounted on Steadicam

Official Website www.irelandvenice.ie Artist’s Website www.richardmosse.com Pavilion of Ireland Email ireland.venicebiennale2013@gmail.com Publication A new publication entitled The Enclave, with an essay by Jason Stearns, will be published by Aperture Foundation to coincide with this exhibition.

Arts Council of Northern Ireland, MacNeice House, 77 Malone Road, Belfast BT9 6AQ. T: +44 (28) 9038 5200. W: www.artscouncil-ni.org. E: info@artscouncil-ni.org

Image: Brendan Jamison, Green JCB bucket with holes. Arts Council Collection

Arts Council of Northern Ireland Developing the arts in Northern Ireland

RUN COMPUTER, RUN 25 MAY - 13 JULY CURATED BY NORA O MURCHÚ EXHIBITIONS WORKSHOPS FILM SYMPOSIUM CLOSING PARTY WWW.RUNCOMPUTERRUN.COM

WWW.RUARED.IE/GLITCH_2013.HTML Image: David Zsauder

Cultural perspectives.

MA Fine Art, Winchester School of Art Art for us is structured in ideas. Whether you work in a specialist medium, the electronic space of the internet or the world at large, at Winchester School of Art you will engage with contemporary art informed by a diversity of cultural perspectives.

Grounded in both personal reflection and engagement with the wider world, you will engage with a wide variety of artists and thinkers in your academic research and studio practice. Recent visitors include Brian Eno, Victor Burgin, Siobhan Hapaska, Imogen Stidworthy, Vinay Gupta and Dougald Hine.

For more information please view our blog: www.fineartwinchester.wordpress.com/category/ma

Curating Partnerships

Programme Leader | Nick Stewart | n.stewart@soton.ac.uk

www.southampton.ac.uk/wsa

r

el le

R:

4 201

l ona nati r e t 14 n 012 l 20 va I a e i al 2 i n n t n : n o r i s e t r i o r a r fA ake l Ba kestone T allery o va Intern Spe E G l e & ity sam gs Fo ck C eum i Bas s g r i u e m im is B ey L Van Abbe tor & IKT l r Lew a ura 014 iona en C tcher le 2 nt C rnat a e e Hel e n t d l n n n I e ie F epe t Bi eva Ann ray Ind nohan Buchares G n er

Zoë row K fhause a od Sch Wo s u ola Nic at

.cur www

sh

tner

par ing-

org ips.

This event is free but numbers are limited, to reserve a place please contact: rsvp@curating-partnerships.org

ai se De Dr ig m na u e Si m st n m m i c o o M n G n ar od d y F Eng le Pa lis ss itz tri h Ge ck M ar ra J o i l an d lle Eo ne y, in Re Ke Pa M cH be ul at cc in ug Co Nu g a h lin ge Tr Je nt os O’ nn t, C ife on Da In ge rT no ph rL ro r ne ut ise W rig on Ha ht ns

KE

Do

EA

Bl

M ich

SP

te

Cl e d

Co t

ity

au

M

E

ar

By Fe

UD

lic

ra

rd

ah

ing t a r Cu ships ner t r a P

EL

Ge

Sa r

PR

rn

Br

Saturday 11 May 2013 | 14.00–16.30 Limerick City Gallery of Art FREE

e

ow

ne

A Roundtable Discussion Event

en

Crawford Art Gallery in partnership with the Office of Public Works present

Co

nt

em

po

ra

ry

Ca

st

le

to

wn

April 30 – June 30, 2013 Castletown opening hours: 10 am to 6pm (Tuesday to Sunday) Castletown, Celbridge, Co. Kildare Free parking, exit 6, M4 Celbridge West For further information: crawfordartgallery.ie / castletown.ie

4

The Visual Artists’News Sheet

Introduction Welcome to the May / June edition of the Visual Artists New Sheet. In this issue we introduce the Valerie Earley residency award, in memory of our dear friend and colleague. The award is open to all VAI members, and offers a two-week residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre – details on page 25.

The Visual Artists Ireland Get Together 2013 takes place Friday28 June at NCAD, Dublin. Bookings are now being taken for this inclusive and holistic day of sharing, networking and information forums for artists and everybody with a professional interest in the visual arts sector – details on page 35.

Our reviews include: ‘The Artist’s Overcoat’ – exploring the studio and collections of F E McWilliam; Ffrench / Harte’s ‘The Sovereigns’ at Mermaid, Bray; ‘Analysing Cubism’ at IMMA; 'Monuments' at Lismore Castle Arts; Anthony Haughey’s ‘Citizen’ Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda; and Seamus Nolan’s ‘10th President’ at TBG&S, Dublin.

Columnist Emily Mark-FitzGerald considers cultural democracy and the internet. Similarly Anne Mullee interviews Mariana Cánepa Luna and Max Andrews about #OpenCurating project, an international survey of the online mediation of art projects and instititions.

We present plethora of national and international case studies. These include profiles of the Joinery in Dublin and NeXus Arts in Drogheda. Richard Mosse, who is representing Ireland at the 2013 Venice Biennale, is interviewed by our editor Jason Oakley.

Sue Morris shares her experience of a residency at AIR Krems, Austria. Margo McNulty profiles her time utilising the print facilities at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. Rory Tangey and Nick Stewart offer ‘How is it Made?’ accounts of recent projects in Cork and Southampton, UK. Susanne Stich discusses ‘Small Worlds’ – innovative moving image arts workshops for children, held at the Void, Derry. Our Regional Focus is on Sligo, with input from the Arts Office, The Model and artists Andy Parsons, Adam Burtham and Lisa Vandergrift Davala.

Recent talks – on the subject of collaboration at Pallas, Dublin and arts and disability at the Glucksman, Cork – are covered respectively by Jonathan Carroll and James Merrigan.

Belfast based artist Dougal McKenzie addresses his ‘Career Development’, stressing balancing an understanding the importance of the ‘lucky break’. Joanna Hopkins the, 2012 winner of the first Visual Artists Ireland / Digital Art Studios Residency Award, assesses her experience of the residency and the work she created. Finnish curator Kati Kivinen talks about her experience of conducting Peer Critique sessions for VAI’s Professional Development Programme.

The latest information of VAI’s Professional Development training and events programme for spring / summer 2013 onwards can be found on page 32 – book now to avoid disappointment!

In our second art and philosophy article, Sinead Hogan interviews Paul Ennis of UCD about two recent philosophical concepts – Object Orientated Ontology and Speculative Realism – that artists have been taking an interest in.

Accounts by our regional representatives, Aideen Barry in the West of Ireland and Feargal O’Malley in Northern Ireland, explore the state of play and ups and downs of their respective territories.

We also welcome back, Pablo Helguera’s Artoons, which highlight the foibles, ironies and occasional foolishness of the art world, captured with clarity and economy.

All this and our regular roundups of recent exhibitions and projects of note, details of all the latest grants, awards, exhibition calls and commissions, and key news items from the visual arts sector.

May – June 2013

Contents 5. Column. Get Together 2013. It's For Everybody.

5. Roundup. Recent exhibitions and projects of note.

6. Column. Emily Mark-FitzGerald. The Feedback Loop.

8. Column. Seán O Sullivan. Visual Arts Workers' Forum.

8. News. The latest developments in the visual arts sector.

9. Regional Focus. Visual arts resources and activity in Sligo.

12. International. Ireland in Venice 2013: Richard Mosse. Jason Oakley talks to Richard Mosse about

representing Ireland at this year’s Venice Biennale.

13. Residency. Interventions and Transformations. Sue Morris on her residency at AIR Krems, Austria.

14. Institutional Profile. DIY Support. Miranda Driscoll, co-director of the Joinery, Dublin, offers an

account of the venue’s ethos and activities.

15. How is it Made? Belief and Conviction. Rory Tangney describes how he funded and created his large-

scale installation at Camden Palace Hotel, Cork.

16. Career Development. Art and Opportunity. Dougal McKenzie on balancing preparedness with

understanding the importance of the ‘lucky break’ in his art career.

17. Symposium. Inspired Not Hindered. James Merrigan reports on ‘Pathways to Practice’, a symposium

organised by Arts & Disability Ireland and the Fire Station Artists’ Studios (28 Feb 2013).

18. Art & Philosophy. New Objects, New Realism? Sinead Hogan interviews Paul Ennis about two recent

philosophical concepts, Object Orientated Ontology and Speculative Realism.

19. Critique. ‘The Artist’s Overcoat – Exploring the Studio and Collections of F E McWilliam’; Ffrench/

Harte, ‘The Sovereigns’ Mermaid, Bray; ‘Analysing Cubism’ IMMA; ‘Monuments’, Lismore Castle

Arts; Anthony Haughey ‘Citizen’, Highlanes Gallery; Seamus Nolan ‘10th President’, TBG&S.

23. How is it Made? Border Post. Nick Stewart discusses Which is The: 49 Views, a publication that

evolved from a week spent driving along and across the Irish border.

24. VAI & DAS Residency. Questioning Viewership. Joanna Hopkins, 2012 winner of the VAI & DAS

Residency Award, discusses her experience of the residency.

25. VAI / TGC Residency Award. Details of the Visual Artists Ireland / Tyrone Guthrie Centre Valerie

Early Residency Award.

25. Residency Profile. Exploring Hidden Histories. Margo McNulty on her one-week residency utilising

the print facilities at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Co Monaghan.

26. Professional Development. A Hungry Ear. Kati Kivinen, a Helsinki-based curator, discusses working

on VAI’s Professional Development Programme.

27. International. Growing Connectivity. Anne Mullee interviews Barcelona-based curators Mariana

Cánepa Luna and Max Andrews about their on-going #OpenCurating project.

28. Profile. Engagement & Innovation. NeXus Arts, an independent artist-led curatorial team based in

Drogheda, outline their projects to date and future plans

29. Discussion. More Than a Second Glance. Jonathan Carroll reports on ‘Dialogues on contemporary art,

discourse & collaboration’ a panel discussion (24 Jan 2013) held at Pallas Projects / Studios, Dublin.

30. Regional Contacts. VAI’s Northern Ireland Manager Feargal O’Malley and VAI West of Ireland

Join

Representative Aideen Barry offer accounts of activities and issues in their areas.

31. Project Profile. Agency & Child-Adult Connectedness. Susanne Stich discusses ‘Small Worlds’, a series

of moving image arts workshops for children, which she has run at Void, Derry since 2011.

32. Artoons. Pablo Helguera’s Artoons – the foibles and ironies of the art world.

32. Professional Development. VAI professional development training and events programme for

spring / summer 2013 onwards. Book now to avoid dissapointment!

33. Opportunities. All the latest grants, awards, exhibition calls and commissions.

Visual Artists Ireland Visual Artists Ireland provides practical support, services, information & resources for professional visual artists throughout their careers.

Production: Publications Manager: Jason Oakley. Assistant Editor: Lily Power. News: Niamh Looney, Rose Fitzpatrick. Opportunities: Niamh Looney. Proofing: Anne Henrichsen. Invoicing: Bernadette Beecher.

Contributors: Emily Mark-FitzGerald, Seán O Sullivan, Mary McAuliffe, Emer McGarry, Andy Parsons, Adam Burtham, Lisa Vandergrift Davala, Jason Oakley, Richard Mosse, Sue Morris, Miranda Driscoll, Rory Tangney, Dougal McKenzie, James Merrigan, Sinead Hogan, Paul Ennis, Mary Catherine Nolan, Sarah Lincoln, Alissa Kleist, John Graham, Roisin Russell, John Gayer, Nick Stewart, Joanna Hopkins, Margo McNulty, Kati Kivinen, Anne Mullee, Mariana Cánepa Luna, Max Andrews, NeXus Arts (Els Borghart, Declan Kelly, Brian Hegarty), Jonathan Carroll, Aideen Barry, Susanne Stich, Pablo Helguera.

Contact: Visual Artists Ireland, Ground Floor, Central Hotel Chambers, 7–9 Dame Court, Dublin 2 T: 353(0)1 672 9488 F: 00353(0) 1 672 9482 E: info@visualartists.ie www.visualartists.ie Board of Directors: Liam Sharkey (Chair), Maoiliosa Reynolds, Roger Bennett, Susan MacWilliam, Linda

Republic of ireland

Northern Ireland

Standard€50 / Concessions €25

Standard £44 / Concessions £22

Shevlin, Fergus Martin, Niamh McCann, Donall Curtin.

Staff: CEO / Director: Noel Kelly. Office Manager: Bernadette Beecher.

Discounted Direct Debit Rates

Discounted Standing Order Rates

Publications Manager: Jason Oakley. Assistant Editor: Lily Power.

Standard€48 / Concessions€24

Standard £43 / Concessions £20

Advocacy Programme Officer: Alex Davis. Professional Development Officer: Monica Flynn.

Britain

Europe & Rest of World

Book-keeping: Dina Mulchrone. Listings Editor / Membership Assistant: Adrian Colwell.

Standard (no concession) £44

Standard (no concession)€70

Admin / Events Assistant: áine Macken. Northern Ireland Manager: Feargal O'Malley. West of Ireland

Professional Development Assistant: Ruth Hynes. Communications Officer: Niamh Looney.

Represenetative: Aideen Barry.

The views expressed in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, do not necessarily reflect those of

T: (00353) 01 672 9488 E: info@visualartists.ie

www.visualartists.ie/join

the Editors, Editorial Panel or Visual Artists Irelands’ Board of Directors.

Visual Artists Ireland is the registered trading name of The Sculptors’ Society of Ireland. Registered Company No. 126424.

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

Column

It's For Everybody

5

Roundup

Weaponising speculation

The Molesworth Gallery, Dublin hosted

copernicus; and other systems

The

Speculation’

‘Honey Well’ (7 – 29 Mar), a solo

exhibition took place at Block T, Dublin

exhibition by Sheila Pomeroy. The

and accompanied a conference of the

exhibition was officially opened by Eoin

same name organised by DUST (Dublin

McGonigal SC,Chairman of the Irish

Unit for Speculative Thought), an art /

Museum of Modern Art.

VAI Get Together 2013

‘Weaponising

theory collective recently founded by

www.molesworthgallery.com

Michael O'Rourke, Paul Ennis and Fintan Neylan. The featured artists were

prism

Alan Boardman, Teresa Gillespie, Ciara Friday 28 June 2013. Save the date. Postpone the holidays. Here comes Visual

McMahon, Rob Murphy, Alice Rekab,

Artists Ireland’s Get Together. The VAI Get Together 2013 will be an inclusive and

John Ryan and Andy Weir.

holistic day and night of engaged sharing, networking and information forums for

www.blockt.ie

artists and everybody with a professional interest in the visual arts sector – writers, imma at the drawing project

students, educators, arts officers, curators, museum and gallery directors, art historians, technicians, archivists, studio managers, facilitators, art administrators, philanthropists, policy makers and legislators. The host venue is the splendid environs of the National College of Art and Design campus in Dublin.

Whatever medium or mode of practice you work in or that interests you, there will be something essential for you to engage with at Get Together 2013. The event will reflect and celebrate the inter-generational, multi-disciplinary nature of visual arts practice and practitioners across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, both traditional and contemporary: painters, sculptors, print-makers, film and video artists, audio artists, ceramic artists, installation artists, performance artists, artistpublishers, digital artists, technologists, collaborative and community based artists – to name but a few.

Get Together 2013 will provide vital presentations and forums for the visual arts sector, to not only share skills and experience, but to urgently address the

Channelle Walsh, from 'Copernicus; and other systems'

‘Copernicus; and other systems’ by Chanelle

Walshe

FLOORONEGALLERY,

ran Temple

at Bar

Gallery & Studios and included, the press release noted,

assemblage, "peculiar arrangements"

From 7 – 30 March, the Talbot Gallery,

and painting. This exhibition saw

Dublin ran Aisling Conroy’s exhibition,

Walshe

take

“an

elemental

and

molecular approach” to sculpture, and find a “balance between a delicacy and intimacy, combined with the absurd and morbid”. There was also an element

pressing issues we are all facing in the current economic and cultural climate. This

of the internal revealed via skeletons,

will be supported by a plethora of opportunities to meet and talk one-on-one with

wire and other raw materials. The

fellow artists and other attendees, participants and presenters.

images included moved between a

There will opportunities to learn more about the ways in which you can help

combination of death and re-birth.

the arts in your local area and make a real contribution to various national

www.flooronegallery.tumblr.com

campaigns, along with briefings on how you can have input into the range of on-going strategic advocacy work being undertaken at legislative, political and

it is only a state of mind

administrative levels by Visual Artists Ireland and other key lobbying groups.

Strand One: Short Briefings. Quick, informative sessions on a variety of topics

video works at NGBK, Berlin (1 Mar –7

re-energising your art career; thinking outside the box; becoming an activist in your local area; how we can make Europe work for us; collaboration and exchange;

Apr). MacWilliam also gave a talk about her work alongside a screening of her 2007 video work, 13 Roland Gardens.

The press release notes, “The exhibition looks at the experiment as a mode of exploring the inexplicable and the uncertain… At the heart of the exhibition is the question of how much our ‘state of mind’ and the patterns of perception and perspectives that arise from it, shape our assessment of what is real”. www.susanmacwilliam.com

insurance; corporate governance and consultancy.

The central hub of Get Together 2013 will be the Common Room Café, which will host a multitude of information stands from a wide spectrum of arts organisations, all offering support, advice and services to the visual arts sector. The Common Room Café will also offer an alternative opportunity to talk informally and directly to the presenters involved in the day, augmenting the lively groupbased discussions taking place throughout the Get Together 2013 programme.

Concluding the day will be a specially-devised speed dating networking event, providing a welcome informality to the process of making professional contacts and introductions – start getting your art-patter, CVs and digital portfolios polished now!

Mary Martin Fermanagh District Council’s Arts Office welcomed Mary Martin to the Higher Bridges Gallery (1 – 28 Mar). shoreline of southern Portugal where the ocean has marked “the towering

in response to the theme ‘mise-en-scène’.

The press released noted that “the

a

collection…

the

behind-the-scenes

students

optical illusionary methods to create a space of sensory experience”. By surrendering to the sensory elements or colour, form and sounds, “‘Prism’ notes the re-emergence of the idea of faith in modern society”. Conroy used “the duality of dark and light, colour and form in her paintings, installations and sound work, creating abstractions of various models of sacred art, iconism and the veneration of ritualistic manifestations”. www.talbotgallery.com

aspects

rotator

of

The Legacy project Presented by SIPTU and the National Women’s Council of Ireland as part of the one-day conference, ‘One Struggle: Women Workers 1913 – 2013’, the launch of the NWCI Legacy Project, took place on 9 March at Liberty Hall, in association with History Ireland Hedge

Pallas Projects, Dublin hosted ‘Rotator’

Project

mainstream

by Niamh Moriarty and Ruth Clinton (1

representations of women and work

Mar – 5 Apr). The press release noted

and to look for alternatives.” Four core

that "‘Rotator’ emerged from Clinton

commissions will be led by artists

and

“whose work resonates with the

investigation of the architecture and

interests of the Legacy Project”. The

surroundings of Pallas Projects / Studios.

artists are: Anne Tallentire, Miriam

The works will connect the gallery to

O’Connor, Sarah Browne, Vagabond

the city and emphasise the physical and

Reviews, Ailbhe Murphy and Ciarán

historical depth of place through

Smyth; the curator is Valerie Connor.

engagement with some of Dublin’s

to

challenge

www.nwcilegacyproject.com

timescale to the powerful ocean with its

honey well

but

note speaker and other additional programme elements – will be widely publicised

changing”.

are

nevertheless

hidden topographies. The site is located two strands of the living, breathing viewers are invited to steal a glance at an otherwise hidden artificial lake, a disembodied tour (transported from the crypt of St. Michan’s Church) and an endlessly descending red-brick wall".

constantly

www.fermanagh.gov.uk

collaborative

waterway: the river Poddle. Here,

waves, strong force and hidden depth,

visualartists.ie. Further details of Get Together 2013 – including details of our key

Moriarty’s

on an island that is perched between

cavities in weak spots… the vulnerability

or to continue the day’s conversations in a more relaxed context.

Ruth Clinton and Niamh Moriarty, still from 'Rotator', 2013

School. “The NWCI initiated the Legacy

sandstone cliffs, creating holes and of the rocks move on a different

very soon. See you at Get Together 2013!

the

exhibition from the IMMA Collection

Martin’s work stems from a visit to the

This will be followed by a closing drinks party, offering a chance to simply unwind Information on how to book a place can be found on page 35 or at www.

co-curated

zone". Her work uses "artificial and

Susan MacWilliam, still from 13 Roland Gardens, 2007

Ulster University.

payments; promoting yourself and working internationally; re-commencing /

students

“human

www.facebook.com/The-Drawing-Project

Susan MacWilliam presented three

issues; internships – aspirations and reality; exhibition payment rights and pursuing

graduate

explores

creating an exhibition.”

This strand will also include a presentation from Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes of

A selection of the vital issues addressed across the Get Together programme

March). IADT Visual Arts Practice

and

Strand Two: Art Writing. 'Publicise, Interrogate, Record’, in partnership with

include: artist led initiatives in ‘empty spaces’ across Ireland; legal and contractual

Drawing Project, Dun Laoghaire (7 – 13

conversation on the selection, staging

Richards.

‘cultural corridor’.

between IADT and IMMA at the

together might create a critical

European Cultural Contact Point, Jen Coppinger, Leszek Wolnik and Peter

talks by artists who work collaboratively, looking especially at the Dublin Liverpool

resulting from a collaborative project

work

perception within an autonomous

investigated how bringing these works

Household, Mary Conlon, Linda Shevlin, Lisa Fingleton, ArtQuest, Arts Council

Strand Four: Cultural Corridors. Patrick Fox of CREATE leads a series of curated

‘474: mise-en-scène’, an exhibition

for

relating to the visual arts – contributors include The Complex, Occupy Space,

in Ireland and in Europe

IMMA’s National Programme presented

exploring the various aspects of caring

debate:

Strand Three: Academia – talks on current trends in visual arts academia both

Conroy’s

the Museum Collections Department

running concurrently – each promising timely and prescient discussion and

own media to more mainstream journalism in order to address wider audiences.

‘Prism’. The press release stated that Mathew Ashe, Live Wire, 2013

project focused on behind the scenes of

The programme for Get Together 2013 offers a choice of four thematic strands

AICA Ireland, will centre on exploring how the visual arts can reach out beyond its

Aisling Conroy, Prism, 2013

found object

www.pallasprojects.org Sheila Pomeroy, Totem, 2013

6 COLUMN

Emily Mark Fitzgerald

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

Roundup artworks

awkward beauty

from

significant

artists

they all came down...

working in very different economies

The Feedback Loop

and locations. Initiated by the Goethe Institut Paris, the exhibition was part of

‘We are all makers now,’ proclaim the technology pundits, as digital technology, interconnectedness and the instantaneity of the internet offer unprecedented possibilities for re-mixing and reinterpreting cultural material. User-generated content, crowdsourcing and social networking are now naturalised concepts for the ‘digital native’ generation, for whom boundaries between public and personal space are less defined than ever before.

In such a context, the older notion of a ‘cultural democracy’ – which has for many decades defined efforts to strengthen the bond between civil society and cultural production – may seem outdated. However the central aspiration of a cultural democracy is to re-balance cultural provision and consumption by equalising access to and participation in the arts. Few would argue that these goals have been fully achieved but, in any event, as the nature of participation has altered, so too has its language. Core tenets of citizenship, access and empowerment are now joined by entrepreneurship, experientiality and collectivity.

One doesn’t have to look far to see evidence of these principles in Irish cultural activity. From DIY pop-up initiatives to creative projects financed by FundIt campaigns, participatory aesthetics now dominate many forms of practice.

Community and public art projects have perhaps been ahead of this curve, as dialogism has formed part of their practice for decades – Deirdre O’Mahony’s 2008 X-PO collaborative project, transforming a rural post office in Clare, is but one example (documented at www.x-po.ie). Likewise, collectivity is at the heart of much of contemporary theatre-making, not simply in terms of secondary audience engagement, but from fundamental conception. Fishamble’s recent Tiny Plays for Ireland (I and II, 2012 – 13) selected 50 plays out of 1,700 public submissions, performed in two stagings of 25 4-minute mini-plays. Performed in the round, they presented a kaleidoscopic view of contemporary Ireland – a theatre experience that was exhilarating, multi-vocal and unpredictable.

Irish museums and collecting institutions have proved more resistant in adapting to new digital opportunities and shifts in power relationships between knowledge encounter and curation. There are honourable exceptions: the National Library of Ireland has developed perhaps the most visible presence on social media of all the National Cultural Institutions, with an active and well managed Twitter account and regular postings of images from its collection on Facebook, soliciting public knowledge and identifications of unknown images or features (in addition to its collection digitisation initiatives). The outcomes of the DECIPHER project (Digital Environment for Cultural Interfaces; Promoting Heritage, Education and Research) – a collaboration between DIT, IMMA and the NGI – are still emerging, but their prototype ‘Storyscope’ draws upon semantic web technology in ways utterly novel for Irish cultural institutions.

How and why should cultural organisations adapt to rapidly evolving cultures of encounter and expectation? In early 2013, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London presented the findings of a visitor survey conducted in 2012 on the subject of mobile technology and visitor experience (‘Understanding the Mobile V&A Visitor’). The study found 60% of their public visitors had used smartphones to access information about the collection and / or taken photographs of their visit.

With use of traditional audioguides decreasing sharply (especially amongst younger audiences) one of the report’s key recommendations was to think creatively about how such use patterns might be built upon by museums as a means of deepening engagement – or in their own words, ‘leverage these existing behaviours to meet the Museum’s mission’.

Such information suggests we should design encounters centred on visitor needs and behaviours, using technology as tool rather than endpoint, and develop interpretative and engagement strategies based on the public’s desire to individuate their experience. These findings won’t surprise anyone working in marketing in the commercial sector, where personalisation of services and customer experience is now an embedded practice. However, for cultural institutions accustomed to the role of gatekeeper and custodian of cultural knowledge, the challenge of the networked visitor often runs counter to institutional culture and structures.

In Ireland, the short-term response has sometimes produced apps and one-off applications that may capitalise on available project funding, but essentially do little to shift organisational approaches to public engagement. These short-lived apps are but the modern equivalent of the CD-ROM and other early forms of 1990s ‘multimedia’ now gathering dust in storerooms across the country. The free download ‘History of Ireland in 100 Objects’ app (sponsored by the RIA, National Museum, and the Irish Times) has proved popular and a clever marketing tool in the year of The Gathering and Ireland’s Presidency of the European Union, but whether the principles of open access and haptic experience it conveys will translate to other aspects of the NMI’s engagement strategy remain to be seen.

As Dr Ross Parry (Director of Museum Studies at University of Leicester) has argued, the outlook and approach of contemporary museums should be situated (aware of the online and physical channels they occupy), semantic (adaptive and responsive to external influences), social (participatory and user-focused) and sensory (bridging the digital and tactile).1 Such distinctions can be easily mapped to other artforms as well, and despite the financial crunch faced across the board, the challenge that remains is philosophical rather than resource-dependent.

Note 1. Ross Parry, keynote address at Digital Strategies for Heritage (DISH) Conference, December 2009 (www.dish2009.nl)

Culture

Connects

Programme

of

Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. www.nationalsculpturefactory.com

handjob Alan Phelan’s exhibition, ‘Handjob’, ran at the Oonagh Young Gallery, Dublin (14 Mar – 26 Apr). The press release

Ayelet Lalor, Lost in Thought, 2013

stated, “The show, in keeping with much

From 7 Mar – 6 Apr, the South Tipperary

of Phelan’s practice, provides a structure

Arts Centre hosted ‘Awkward Beauty’,

for a myriad of random connections – in

described as “a mixed media exhibition

this instance ‘hands’. The concept has

of figurative sculpture and drawings" by

been further opened out to several other

Dublin-based sculptor Ayelet Lalor.

artists whose recent work has involved

www.ayeletlalor.com

this prestidigitatorial subject. The springboard for the project is an online

thresholds

archive of hand imagery, which Phelan

Group exhibition ‘Thresholds’ ran at

has accumulated over the past year.”

Belfast Exposed (15 Mar – 26 Apr). The

www.alanphelan.com

press release states that, “Thresholds explores the relationship between truth,

Colin Matthes, Personal Continuous Evacuation Dwelling

The group show ‘They all came down from the mountain when they heard the good news’ ran at Monster Truck Gallery, Dublin (Mar 29 – May 4), and was devised in collaboration with the Wexford Arts Centre and the residency programme at Cow House Studios, Wexford. The artists involved were Colin Matthes, Lois Patino, Marc Horowitz and Susie Tarnowicz. The press release noted: “This exhibition explores the disjunction between their

text work ii

observations and representations of

fiction and fantasy within documentary

environment, and how this separation

photography”. Curated by Ciara Hikey,

alters perceptions of our landscape,

artists exhibiting included Maja Daniels,

private and public space, customs,

Stephen Gill, Sophie Ristelhueber, Luke

traditions and habits.”

Stephenson, Peter Watkins and Tereza

www.monstertruck.ie

Zelenkova. www.belfastexposed.org

raphael hynes From 3 Mar – 20 Apr, Droichead Arts

sensory overload

Centre displayed the still life paintings of Raphael Hynes. The press release describes Hynes’s use of “simple Shane Cullen, Fragmens sur les Institutions Républicaines IV

As part of their Spring Exhibition Programme, Luan Gallery, Athlone held ‘Fragmens

sur

les

Institutions

Républicaines IV, 1993 – 1997’ (7 Mar – 28 Apr). This exhibition showcased the

mathematical ratios to place the objects within the picture…. The paintings are built up slowly with small measured units. This method and these ratios are used in an attempt to give the still life objects some emotional weight”. www.droichead.com

second instalment of Shane Cullen’s text work, as part of IMMA’s National Programme.

Catherine Ryan, 'Sensory Overload', 2013

www.athloneartandheritage.ie

Tamp & Stitch hosted ‘Sensor Overload’ (7 Mar – 3 Apr), an exhibition of paintings by Catherine Ryan. The work was described as “an expression of contemporary life in all its speed, complexities and possibilities”. The exhibition was a part of First Thursdays Dublin – a Temple Bar Culture Trust initiative whereby cultural spaces open their doors after hours and offer an extra chance to see art, culture and events on the first Thursday of every month. www.facebook.com/TampandStitch

national craft gallery The National Craft Gallery presented six simultaneous exhibitions: ‘Future Beauty’ at the National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny (Jan 25 – Mar 13); ‘Shaping the Void’ at Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris (Jan 17 – Feb 22); ‘Modern Languages’ at The Lighthouse, Glasgow (Jan 5 – Mar 21); ‘Out of the Marvelous’, Navan (Feb 9 – Apr 6); ‘Between Art and Industry’, Galway City Museum (Nov 28 – Apr 8);

www.nationalcraftgallery.ie

In partnership with Cork Civic Trust and the National Sculpture Factory, Crawford Art Gallery presented ‘United States of Europe’ (8 – 30 Mar), an exhibition

that

offered

“artists’

perspectives on citizenship, freedom of expression, democracy and identity”, as noted in the press release. ‘United States of Europe’ served both “as a platform for open discussion about contemporary Europe and as a tool to question or strengthen the sense of European identity

among

European

Union

citizens”. The exhibition featured video, installation and photographic works, and provided opportunities to encounter

Shane Lynam’s exhibition ‘Contours’ – held in Alliance Française from 7 Mar – 5 April – was a study of the landscape found in la banlieue de Paris. The press release stated, “Drawing on the feeling of social optimism that was present in the area from the 1920s to the late 1950s, it seeks to recreate a fictional green belt around the city. By looking at how a selection of ‘natural’ spaces is used, ‘Contours’ considers the original vision and suggests how the area might look today had things gone differently.” www.alliance-francaise.ie

and ‘21st Century Icons’ at Dublin Castle (Dec 19 2012 – June 30 2013).

united states of europe

contours

kerlin gallery

paddy jolley The Limerick City Gallery of Art exhibited work by the late Paddy Jolley (21 Mar – 17 May). The press release stated, “Points of departure for Jolley’s work often lies in those moments where time seems to move abnormally or an

Installation view

atmosphere becomes unnaturally dense

From 7 – 10 March, The Kerlin Gallery

or thin. Although dark and redolent

participated in the Centennial Edition

with hopelessness, Jolley’s work retains

of The Armory Show, New York,

a possibility of the absurd, employing

showing new work by Phillip Allen,

slapstick and macabre humour as

Aleana Egan, Mark Francis, Callum

effective critical tools.”

Innes and Kathy Prendergast. wwwgallery.limerick.ie

www.kerlin.ie

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

7

motley nineteen

‘Edges and Margins II’ ran at 4,

News

screenings, and a common publication.

The Complex, Dublin exhibited the

Cumberland St, Dun Laoghaire. It was

vai show and tell #3

Irish, Serbian, Spanish and European

work of a group of emerging fine artists

curated by Claire Behan and included

artists are involved”. The first exhibition

from DIT (4 – 8 Mar) entitled ‘Motley

work by Leona Lee Cully, Bernadette

is to open in October in Vitoria, Spain,

Nineteen’. The show featured work in a

Beecher, Anne Cradden and Catherine

the second in Feburary 2012 at The

variety of mediums such as live

Atkinson. The press release describes

Model, Sligo, and the third will open in

performance (on opening night), video

the exhibition as “an investigation into

June

installation, painting and print.

the identity of Dun Laoghaire and the

Conotemporary Art, Belgrade.

Roundup In a certain light

www.thecomplex.ie

2012

at

the

Museum

occupation of its public spaces”. It

of

www.themodel.ie

featured “a film, a fictional narrative, music performances, a guided tour, a

glorious freaks

series of live actions, a public discussion and a series of photographs and drawings exploring the domain”.

Liam Crichton, Witchdance

'The Second Most Conservative Game

with Belfast-based artists at St Carthage

in Town, a solo show by Nevan Lahart,

Hall. ‘In a Certain Light’ engaged with

and photography”. The exhibition ran from 10 Mar – 14 Apr.

co-lab ‘Co-Lab’ ran from 4 –15 Mar at the Ballroom Gallery, University of Ulster. It was described as a “collaborative and experimental project consisting of a set of wall-based works on paper by three Northern Irish female artists: Joanna Proctor, Lydia Holmes and Grace McMurray… the exhibition explores a varied approach to contemporary and

27 Apr) after previously showing at the

Installation view

‘Co-NUI Galway’s Feminist Society, in

fine

art

practice,

and photography exhibition entitled

incorporatingscientific methodologies”.

peppercanister gallery

www.ormstonhouse.com

which featured works by Albert Irvin, Liam Belton, John Bellany, Conor Walton, Barrie Cooke, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Deirdre McLoughlin, Simon McWilliams, Colette Murphy, Hughie O’Donoghue, Neil Shawcross and Charlie Whisker, among others. www.peppercanister.com

automatically, giving the speaker 30 seconds to talk about what was on the screen. The artists who presented were: Miguel

Martin,

Sinead

from 4 – 8 Mar. It coincided with

Tonya McMullan. It gave the artists the

International Women’s Day, and focused

opportunity to speak about their work

around the theme of body image.

to a Dublin-based audience that may

Featured artists included Daire Lynch,

not necessarily have been familiar with

Deidre Robb, Mary Roantree, Gillian

their work and stimulated further

Campden, Sandra Hickey, Kayes Maahs,

discussion at the wine reception taht

Nicki Cheevers, Sonya Whitefield, Gina

followed the event. Information on

Concannon, Rynes Walker, Ingela

future Show and Tell evenings will be

Sternburg, Ramona Burke and Angela

listed on our website and in the

Kelly.

ebulletin. www.visualartists.ie

Saidhbhín Gibson's solo show, ‘Make Good, Make Better’, ran at the Arthouse

weathermen exhibition

Gallery, Stradbally (4 – 24 Apr). The

'Weathermen' ran at the Golden Thread

press release noted that “the show

Gallery, Belfast (4 – 24 Apr). The press

contained newly-produced work, which

release notes, "'Weathermen' draws

married aspects of man's domesticity

upon a number of sources including an

with elements of the natural world. The

interest in key countercultural figures

drawings were portrait-like in their

from history. A key reference for this

presentation

work is 'the weathermen' a clandestine

exhibition was a response to the natural

revolutionary party in the USA in the

world that exists around us and our

1960s and 70s for the violent overthrow

relationship with that which is not

of the US government and the

man-made.”

Conor

McFeehily's

of

Irish

birds.

The

www.arthouse.ie

Leary will be present in the work in the

limerick city of culture The governing board of Limerick City of Culture 2014 has announced that Karl Wallace has been appointed as Artistic Director. Karl Wallace, originally from London, is the current chief executive of Siamsa Tire, Home of National Folk Theatre of Ireland and will take up his position in Limerick next month. Mr Wallace previously worked in an artistic and managerial capacity at theatres in the UK, Belfast, and Dublin and is a former Artistic Director of the Belltable Arts Centre Limerick. Limerick was announced as the first National City of Culture for 2014 by Jimmy Deenihan,

How to?

Get into the Roundup

TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the

from cult fiction works including the

■■ Email text & images to

as a National City of Culture every two

opening paragraphs of Robert Musil’s

years with the designation itself lasting

The Man without Qualities. These are used

■■ Details should include: venue

for one calendar year. The first draft of

as points of entry into alternative

name, location, dates and a brief

the programme for Limerick City of

narratives."

description of the work / event.

Culture 2014 will be officially launched

form of voice recordings, and local weather conditions will manifest themselves through the use of passages

www.goldenthreadgallery.co.uk

■■ Inclusion is not guaranteed,

Kevin Bohan’s exhibition ‘It Just Popped Out’ ran at White Lady Art Gallery, Dublin (2 – 28 Mar). Bohan’s show was “a mixed media exhibition, exploring some of the icons and myths of popular culture” such as religion, sex, fascism, war, love, art, death, celebrities, films and music. www.whiteladyart.com

lily@visualartists.ie

Gaeltacht. As part of the initiative, a city in Ireland will be selected and designated

in mid-2013.

The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia is hosting Manifesta 10, 2014. “The State Hermitage Musuem was selected by the Board of Manifesta Foundation because of its critical intellectual and historical relationship with East and West Europe: a uniting principal that is also central to Manifesta, as the single roving European biennial of contemporary art. Manifesta 10

will

consider

the

historical

perspective of St Petersburg’s view to the West and its extensive relationship with Europe at large. The new premises of the State Hermitage Museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art will be fully open in 2014, and will be the main stage of Manifesta 10." www.manifesta.org

cca special advisor The Centre for Contemporary Art announced Professor Declan McGonagle as the Special Adviser to the Board of Directors. McGonagle said, “I am very CCA and its ambitious vision for the future which will complement other organisations in the city and the region, in a very exciting period. I look forward to working with the staff and the board and to making an input to strategic planning to help realise that vision”. As the first organiser of Derry’s legendary Orchard Gallery, the Founding Director of IMMA and the current leadership of the National College of Art and Design, McGonagle will “support the CCA by represententing our interest locally and abroad, support the development of link with key partners and potenial funders, and lend his wealth of experience to the development of CCA”. www.cca-derry-londonderry.org

venice biennale Richard Mosse will represent Ireland with ‘The Enclave’, a major new multimedia

installation

at

the

55th

International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The Commissioner and Curator is Anna O’Sullivan, Director of the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland.

but everyone has a fair chance

Ireland at Venice is an initiative of

■■ Criteria: to ensure that the

Culture Ireland and the Arts Council /

invisible violence

roundup section has a good

regional spread and represents a

diversity of forms of practice, from

a range of artists at all stages in

going to receive EU Grant funding

their careers.

under the Strand 1.2.1: Cooperation

Director / Curator Seamus Kealy announced that the Model, Sligo, is

■■ Priority is given to events

project. The grant is to fun the 2013 /

taking place within Ireland,

2014

but do let us know if you are

investigating “forms of cultural, social

taking part in a significant

or political violence that exists today in

international event.

European society. ‘Invisible Violence’

project

‘Invisible

Violence’,

will consist of three exhibitions, three Bernadette Beecher, from 'Edges and Margins II', 2013

manifesta 10

pleased to have been invited to support

Saidhbhín Gibson, Hot Cup of Fluff

edges and margins ii

it just popped out

limited to 10 slides; each slide advanced

Bhreathnach-Cashill, Jane Butler and

jailbreak and escape of Timothy Leary.

Dubin ran its annual Spring Exhibition,

remained the same: each speaker was

Crichton,

proletariat. They famously aided the From 1 – 30 Mar, Peppercanister Gallery,

Belfast. The format of the presentations

Sara O’Gorman, Amy Brooks, Liam

make good, make better

establishment of a dictatorship of the Installation view

as all speakers were artists based in

‘Glorious Freaks’ at the Quad Art Gallery

investigating themes of identity, nature and culture and mortality, whilst

Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin.

association with the University Theatre and Arts Advisory Group, held an art

www.catalystarts.org.uk

drawing

ran at Ormston House, Limerick (12 –

alternative

of media including drawing, sculpture

differed slightly from previous evenings

the 2nd most conservative...

by Lismore Castle Arts to curate a show

narratives and liminal space in a variety

and Tell evening at the VAI offices, led Assistant, Adrian Colwell. This event

anniversary, Catalyst Arts were invited

surrounding

On 23 April, VAI hosted the third Show

by Listings Editor and Membership

To coincide with their twentieth

“ideas

Show & Tell presenting artists, photo by Trish McCormack

conferences, three

sets of film

An Chomhairle Ealaíon. The 55th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia – will be on view from June 1 – November 24, 2013, with vernissage days on 29 – 31 May. A new publication entitled The Enclave, with an essay by Jason Stearns, will be published by Aperture Foundation to coincide with this exhibition. www.irelandvenice.ie

8

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

news

May – June 2013

column centre are the reason behind the move

in careers in the arts. In a statement

philanthropy initiative

to liquidate. The building where the

from the department of AHG, the

Seán O'Sullivan

Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts,

Belltable is housed is owned by Limerick

initiative will see JobBridge extended to

Visual Arts Workers Forum

Heritage and the Gaeltacht, has

City Council. The venue closure comes

allow

encouraged arts organisations to apply

after nearly 32 years in operation.

internships for local arts groups. The

local

authorities

support

to his Department’s Philanthropy

local authorities will invite expressions

To those working in the arts, the most valuable conversations are the ones that

Initiative for 2013. In 2012, Minister

of interest from the groups, and recruit

present a new approach to familiar territory. Gathering these approaches together

Deenihan launched this initiative to

sector 30 announcement

interns accordingly who will work with

becomes particularly important at a moment like this, when the working conditions

provide an incentive to arts organisations

The

recently

the groups under the aegis of the local

of the cultural sector are both under-regulated and highly unstable.

to proactively seek new and multi-

welcomed the announcement by the

authorities. Arts officers in the local

Visual Arts Workers Forum (VAWF) was started in 2011 as a way of opening up

annual relationships with sponsors,

Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi

authorities will coordinate and govern

such conversations. The forums provide a common ground where anyone involved

which would deliver more private

Quinn TD, that Section 30 of the

the internships. The Arts Council will

in the arts can discuss their own working conditions and hear about the circumstances

sector funding for the arts. Taxpayer

Teaching Council Act, 2001 will

develop a toolkit of best practice to

affecting others in the cultural sector. VAWF is not a representative body, nor is it a

funding was made available for

commence on 1 November 2013. The

support the initiative. The strand builds

lobbying group, its principle aim is to give us – as a community – the chance to look

organisations that could match this

announcement was made at the INTO

on a long tradition of informal

into the careers of our colleagues, and better understand both the precariousness

with funding from the private sector.

Congress in Cork. After 1 November,

mentorship within the arts community.

and the potential of our own work. VAWF has been primarily co-ordinated by Tessa

The application form is available on the

when Section 30 is commenced, teachers

The initiative will extend the level of

Giblin and Rachael Gilbourne, with strong leadership from each of the venues that

department’s website and applications

employed in state-funded teaching

support that local authorities can give

host it, providing the backbone of the discussion topics as well as underwriting the

are dealt with on a first-come-first-

positions in recognised schools will

to arts organisations at a time of

financing for the day.

served basis. The application form

have to be registered with the Teaching

constrained resources, and will give

The first forum took place at Project Arts Centre, Dublin in April 2011, and the

includes a provision that in the event of

Council in order to be paid from state

successful applicants hands-on training

second in May 2012 at the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, in partnership with National

multiple applications competing for a

funds. If you are a teacher who is not

and experience of working in the sector.

Sculpture Factory, Cork. Each day included presentations, debates, and informal

limited grant allocation, priority will be

already registered, you are advised to

Successful applicants are offered either

periods for questions, answers and conversations. There was also plenty of time to

given to arts in education projects aimed

register asap.

six- or nine-month internships, along

meet people face-to-face. VAWF includes contributions from those active in every

with €50 per week on top of social

level of the sector: artists, curators and writers are all represented, as are institutional

welfare payments.

staff, civil servants and those coming from cultural fields outside of the visual arts.

Teaching

Council

at disadvantaged (DEIS) schools.

www.teachingcouncil.ie

www.ahg.gov.ie

In both years, the first half of the forums were arranged as a series of rapid-fire

temple bar cultural trust

presentations. The first year, there were four talks in forty minutes; the following

parnell cultural quarter

On 11 April, it was announced that

Lord Mayor Naoise Ó Muirí recently

Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT) is

imma reopening building

year squeezed twelve into an hour. They included contributions from Clíodhna

announced details of a new project for

being wound down following critical

From 12 October, the Irish Museum of

Shaffrey, Vaari Claffey, Ed Krcma, Alex Pentek and others. Mary Conlon described

Dublin city: the Parnell Square Cultural

reports about its finances. This follows

Modern Art will fully reopen at the

the early gestation of Ormston House, where passers-by saw her painting the gallery

Quarter. The development will involve

a report commissioned by trust owner

Royal Hospital Kilmainham. IMMA will

and volunteered their help. Jesse Jones staged artists as being caught in a two-part

the construction of a new and innovative

Dublin City Council, which concluded

reopen its main building with a major

dynamic: the hustle and the rub. In this metaphor, you can get ahead in the art

Dublin City Library on the site of

the move would save the council

retrospective of the work of Eileen Gray,

world, but every gain is offset by an equal and opposite consequence.

Colaiste Mhuire on Parnell Square. The

€800,000 a year. A separate audit

designed and produced by the Centre

Throughout these quick descriptions of strategies to parry the sector’s

new City Library and the existing Hugh

highlighted issues relating to the use of

Pompidou, Paris. Eileen Gray at IMMA

instability, the common refrain was that a climate for successful work pivots on

Lane Gallery will be connected by a

company credit cards, expenses and

is a significant exhibition featuring

how well arts practitioners can support their peers. It’s an understandably crucial

civic plaza, creating a new intercultural

salaries. The decision follows the

many of the works shown at the Centre

element in the development of a field where we’re all in negotiation with one

district for Dublin. The project aims to

resignations of artist, councillor and

Pompidou.

another, and where so many peoples’ practices depend on working alone. Considering

fulfil the city’s ambitions for a ‘Civic

activist Mannix Flynn and Irish Theatre

Spine’ connecting the capital’s key

Institute Director Jane Daly from the

historic places. It hopes to be a new

board, as well as the resignation of chief

visit artists' studios

programmes and national cultural bodies – there is a great deal to gain from simply

public landmark that will inspire

executive Dermot McLaughlin from his

Visit 2013 is a weekend event which

gathering and sharing a set of innovative work practices.

physical and economic renewal. Seed

secondment to Derry UK City of Culture.

will see artists’ studios all over Dublin

Over the past two years, some discussions at the forum have offered valuable

capital for the project is being provided

At a board meeting yesterday, the

City open their doors to the public. On

insight into how the sector is developing. In his 2011 presentation, Mick Wilson

by international real estate investment

remaining directors considered the

Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May,

described a ‘reputational economy’ that affects the visual arts specifically. This is a

and services company, Kennedy Wilson,

2011 report by Latitude consultants on

from 12pm – 6pm, this free event offers

system where our attempts to work towards an improved livelihood are augmented

on a philanthropic basis. Preliminary

the trust, which recommended the

curious art lovers an invitation to visit

by the way that we compete with our peers for reputation. Wilson characterised this

estimates for the full development cost

company be wound down and its

over 250 artists' private studios and gain

competition as a zero-sum game, wherein one person’s reputation rising means that

are €60m. The public is being

functions taken over by the Council. In

a first-hand insight into their work. In

another’s must fall. Everybody doing this together has created an economy where

encouraged to participate in the

a

board

Dublin City, artists’ studios, old and

the right to work is now the thing that is valuable. Hence, if we succeed in our work,

consultation process. A series of public

acknowledged the achievements of the

new, exist in a variety of buildings

the reward is enough reputation to qualify us for more work. Throughout all of this,

meetings and workshops are being

Trust but said, "the time has come for

including industrial warehouses and

very few rewards take the form of financial gains.

planned to help develop a shared

reinvigoration of what was the cultural

Georgian buildings, converted stables,

In their 2012 keynote discussion, Sarah Glennie and Mary McCarthy spoke

understanding of the expectations and

remit of TBCT”. The Trust, set up in

old fire stations, former shop units and

very frankly about the planned amalgamation of the museums. It came at a moment

needs

statement,

the

TBCT

www.imma.ie

the conditions that are affecting Ireland’s cultural sector right now – the prevalence of unpaid internships, the scarcity of fees and the attenuation of both funding

from

1991, is charged with promoting events

tile warehouse factories. These spaces

when the sharp corners of the amalgamation were at their most contested and least

individuals, community groups, and

in the cultural area and managed a mix

range from those that are celebrating

transparent state. They talked through the different adaptations and strategies that

public representatives to cultural

of 28 commercial, residential and retail

their 30 year anniversary to those who

the museums might use to defuse the potential damage caused by the reform plan.

promoters, educational institutions and

premises. Dublin City Council is

are only a few months old. You might

Glennie remarked that the museums had been added to a list of 40 quangos that

businesses. These meetings will take

expected to take over responsibility for

not be aware that the building you walk

were brought into a government cabinet meeting to be absorbed or abolished.

place in tandem with the commissioning

the promotion of Temple Bar with

by every day is in fact a hub of artistic

It is precisely these kinds of discussions that make events such as VAWF so

of the design and will inform the final

cultural events run by the DCC Arts

activity. If you have ever been curious

valuable right now; the visual arts could use more transparency and more sharing of

design brief.

Office.

about what goes on inside an artist’s

information. We need a place to air our problems and, critically, to share our

studio, Visit 2013 is your chance to find

successes. Not only do these conversations give us access to alternative perspectives

out! Visit 2013 is a free event and each

but also, through having them, it becomes easier to see who is willing to work for

of

all

stakeholders,

www.dublincity.ie

belltable arts centre

Arts internships

studio will organise its own programme

the entire sector, rather than just for themselves or their own institutions. The

One of Ireland’s oldest arts centre’s, the

Kevin The Minister for Social Protection,

of events such as workshops, talks and

sustainability of our work practices relies on how well we can learn from our peers

Belltable in Limerick city, has gone into

Joan Burton, TD and the Minister for

performances. Bus, bike and walking

and, in that sense, the problems that affect the arts are not permanent: they are a

liquidation. It is that understood the

Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy

tours will also be available. Participating

temporary and dangerous opportunity. If we can address them as a community, we

decision of the board to liquidate the

Deenihan, TD, jointly launched a new

studios include: Black Church Print

will be taking a big step forward. So if you’re involved in the visual arts in any

company came after talks to meet a debt

strand of the JobBridge National

Studio,

Studios,

capacity, then it’s your forum – what do you want from it? Planning for the third

over a major refurbishment failed. The

Internship scheme to provide for

Commonplace Studios, IMMA (ARP)

Visual Arts Workers Forum is underway – contact vawforum@gmail.com to

Belltable, which comprises a theatre, art

internships in the arts sector. In

Studios, Independent Studio Artists,

suggest issues for future discussion.

gallery and digital cinema, underwent a

association with the Arts Council, the

BLOCK T, Brunswick Mill Studios, Fire

major refurbishment two years ago

initiative extends JobBridge to facilitate

Station Artists’ Studios and The Red

costing almost €1 million. It is believed

local authorities support internships for

Stables Artists’ Studios.

that the large capital debts incurred

local arts groups and to provide

from the extensive remodelling of the

opportunities for jobseekers interested

Broadstone

www.visitstudios.com

Seán O Sullivan is a writer and curator based in Dublin.

Editor’s Note For further details of the lamentable rates of financial acknowledgment and reward currently available to Visual Artists see VAI’s campaign and related data sheet, ‘Ask: Has the Artist Been Paid?’ on our website, www.visualartists.ie/advocacy.

The Visual Artists’ News sheet

May – June 2013

9

Visual Arts Resources and Activities: Sligo The Model

Bart Lodewijks, River Side Drawing, Sligo, March 2013

IT’S a little bit scary for me to think that I’ve worked at The Model for 10 years. During this time I have seen a good many changes within the organisation, not only in terms of personnel and programming, but also in resources, funding and even the building itself. However, one thing that has enabled The Model to remain at the cutting edge of contemporary arts programming over the last decade, is the consistency in the dynamism of the organisation’s creative team.

Before my time, The Model had mounted major exhibitions by a host of Irish and international artists, including Dorothy Cross, Anthony Gormley and Tony Cragg. This mix of the best of national and international visual art programming continued and, from 2003 – 2008, we presented shows by Patti Smith, Andy Warhol, Jaki Irvine and Gerard Byrne.

Between 2008 and 2010, The Model underwent a major redevelopment project, which saw the building increase in size by over 1500 square metres. Eight purpose-built artists’ studios were created, a new restaurant was added, a large new gallery space was constructed and storage and gallery space for the Niland Collection was upgraded and improved. In addition to all of this, a purpose-built theatre space, which doubles up as a state of the art cinema, was added.

For the past two years, the new theatre space has allowed us to present IFI @ The Model, our weekly programme of first-run independent and world cinema, in collaboration with the Irish Film Institute. It has also enabled us to develop the Film Fest North West in partnership with Cinema Northwest. The festival, which is programmed by Lara Byrne, Tara McGowan and Colin McKeown, is a unique look at the cross-over between music and cinema, and features world class music acts, live scored screenings, concerts on film and sing-along animations.

In 2011, the Community Foundation committed to fund a three-year public drawing project with the Dutch artist Bart Lodewijks, curated by The Model’s Education Curator, Marie Louise Blaney. Bart’s practice takes him right into the heart of the community, accompanied simply by a piece of chalk and a ladder. Bart’s impulse to “draw on the world” meant that he was welcomed into the hearths and homes of locals, who often allow him to draw on – and sometimes even in – their homes. The local community, their stories and hospitality, become an important part of Bart’s practice, and resonate in the vibrant though transient nature of his drawing.

Over the last three years, The Model has been involved in a major cross-border project backed by the International Fund for Ireland. This involved many collaborations and different strands of programming. One cornerstone was the exhibition ‘Double Vision’ (11 February – 6 May 2012), curated by a cross border youth arts group called Young

Moulding and Shaping Space, Light and Sound

Bart Lodewijks, River Side Drawing, Sligo, March 2013

Curators, and led on behalf of The Model by Assistant Education Curator, Linda Hayden. The exhibition was drawn from both the Niland Collection and the social history collection of the Braid Museum in County Antrim. It allowed Young Curators to play with ideas of cultural geographies and identity, and to consider how these things have changed in recent years.

Since reopening in 2010, The Model has continued to present the work of major national and international artists, with exhibitions by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Omer Fast, Harun Farocki, Isabel Nolan and Duncan Campbell, all of which were curated by Director / Curator, Seamus Kealy.

Our collection continues to grow through donations and bequests, most notably in recent years with the gift of two Jack B Yeats paintings that had been in a private collection in Denmark.

Our summer Yeats exhibition is ‘Enter the Clowns: The Circus as a Metaphor in the Work of Jack B Yeats’. It will look at the nightmarish visions of war, mental illness and political and social instability that Yeats explored through the metaphor of the circus.

Between 2008 and 2012 I worked closely with Seamus Nolan on ‘The Trades Club Revival’ – an ambitious off-site project he developed that saw Sligo United Trades Club redeveloped and re-established as a self-directed social space for Sligo communities. The project culminated with a gallery intervention at The Model in the winter of 2012, with number of live events and an exhibition of documentation curated by Nolan. I am looking forward to curating a major show with Phil Collins, one of the UK’s most exciting filmmakers, later this year. Much of Phil’s work examines the way in which social and political changes impact on personal identities. His deft treatment of his subjects results in film works that are both moving and profound.

Like all arts organisations, The Model has had to adapt to the changing world in which we exist.

Fortunately, we have been selected as one of the first eight organisations to participate of the Arts Council’s RAISE: Building Fundraising Capacity initiative. The programme is guided by a specialist team and includes one-to-one professional support for two years through planning and implementing a tailored fundraising programme.

Whatever the future brings, The Model is in great position to thrive. The organisation’s commitment to the development of its creative team ensures that many curatorial perspectives are presented, and audiences are provided with multilayered, dynamic and vibrant programming.

COMING to live in County Sligo in 2006 after 15 years in Clare and as many in the US was a surprise.

This place was new to me, both physically and culturally. There is a rough and gorgeous quality to this ‘land of heart's desire’. Everything here – from the weather to the economic climate – seems to be experienced in extreme terms.

Like artists around the country, I’m sure Sligo artists are also busy re-inventing themselves. The Sligo Arts Office was not able to offer individual artist’s bursaries in 2012. All but one of the staff is presently on secondment to other projects, or on leave. The Sligo Art Gallery closure is further evidence that exhibition opportunities have diminished, or are evolving away from traditional galleries.

Recently, I came across this quote from Horace Plunkett, written in 1904. He said, “The work of the morrow will largely consist of the impossible of today. If this adds to the difficulty, it also adds to the fun”. Sounds like the typical artist’s work order.

The irony is that we ‘funsters’ are likely to be less appreciated in dire times – the very moment that our cultures should be turning to us to innovate, create and entertain. This is not a new idea and not a straightforward situation – yet, 109 years on, the result is still the same: the best work gets done in spite of obstacles. Our own government proclaims that the arts are necessary to the health and wellbeing of the people of Ireland. Now, more than ever, that concept needs to be honoured.

On paper, my career looks like I have changed my mind a lot… or wasn’t paying attention. In fact, I was following one thread all the way through. I think that, as the boundaries of our practices shift and the tools we use change, labels are less accurate.

For me, it’s all about moulding and shaping space, light and sound. But what is that called?

Depending on who I run into on any given day, I’m asked, “How’s the painting going?” “Are you still making music?” “What’s new with artists' books?”

“Did I hear you made a film?” The truth is, from the time I was a kid, I never saw any boundaries between these interests. I needed some time and for technology to develop to a point where I could figure out where it could lead.

I started as a mural painter and artist’s apprentice, worked as an exhibiting painter, artist’s bookmaker, exhibition installer, curator, architectural restorer, property stager, sign writer and gilder, and co-owner of a web design firm.

Music, theatre, dance and mime have all been a part of my life and, like many artists, I’ve experienced every imaginable way of generating an income: art sales, work on contract, busking, prizes or awards,

fee for hire, honorariums, teaching, consultancy, commissions, royalties, and bursaries.

I’ve been able to realise, since living in Sligo, that all of this moulding and shaping of space, light and sound points to the art of filmmaking, something that’s been a dream for a couple decades. Now that I’ve experienced it, film gives me the chance to use all I’ve got. Maybe I’ve just been a slow starter.

Since 2006, my artists' books became digital projections and books mounted on custom iPods (‘Heal', Naughton Gallery, Queens, Belfast 2007, ‘Sitting Room’, a travelling exhibition to UK, Europe, North and South America, 2006 – 9, and ‘New Wave: Canon of the Twenty-First Century' artist’s books' exhibition and world wide AHRC research project on new forms of the artist’s book, UWE, UK, 2008 – 10).

The calligraphy of painting evolved to pure light: painting in space with two public light installations (each with1000 people of all ages, invited artists, photographers and film makers: SLIGLOW 2009, SLIGLOW 2 2010, Culture Night Sligo. We hope to exhibit all the SLIGLOW photos and films – giving the work back to the people who participated via digital down loads).

After looking for funding for three years, the Sligo Arts Office and partners commissioned my first professionally made film, …for peace comes dropping slow… An experimental, cinematic short film; it received nominations and awards at five film festivals in Ireland, the UK, the US and Asia. The premiere was at the Gaiety in Sligo, and it screened at the Model and for Culture Night 2010. Above any work I’ve done, …for peace… contains more of who I am as an artist and also a great deal about Sligo. I got to score the film’s sound track, and Sligo musician Seamie O’Dowd graced it with his vocal and fiddle improvisations. This was the first experience of integrating my creative tools. Ironically, after years of pursuing personal and mostly solitary art forms, it was in working with a great production crew and cast that I came closer to my own vision as an artist.

The film incorporates all of the methods I’ve ever engaged including artists' books (poetry written in light across the landscape ‘page’ of Sligo), painting (with coloured light), mime and choreography (people and light), as well as music and composition.

As it turns out, I couldn’t have done it anywhere else but Sligo.

Lisa Vandegrift Davala works from her studio in south Sligo, and is currently working on a feature documentary.

Emer McGarry is Deputy Director at The Model. www. themodel.ie

Lisa Vandegrift Davala and invited artists, SLIGLOW2, 2010, image by Cormac McConville

www.lvandegriftdavala.com www.sliglow.com www.forpeacecomesdroppingslow.com

10

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

REGIONAL PROFILE: sligo

Practice.ie

Pilgrimage

Since 2008, Practice.ie has been operating as the only professional network for artists working with children and young people in Ireland. As Practice. ie moves towards its sixth year, there are new and exciting opportunities to support exchanges between Irish artists and their peers in Europe. The Practice European Artists Network is a unique pilot project, which aims to make visible contemporary arts practice with children and young people in Estonia, Hungary and Ireland, and to identify and explore the needs of artists in terms of online connectivity and supports.

On April 4th and 5th 2013, Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership, Sligo Arts Service and the Model, Sligo were delighted to co-host a two-day meeting at The Model, which was attended by artists from Sligo, Estonia and Hungary as part of a new initiative, funded by the Arts Council’s EU Local Partnership Scheme. The two-day meeting involved presentations from eight participating artists, who shared their work across a variety of contexts. Deeper discussions also brought to light themes and questions that were emerging in relation to the artists’ practice, for example: What different pathways are there for reaching new audiences? The adult-child relationship and the ‘Pedagogy of Mutuality’; skills versus conceptual approaches; how important pedagogical and developmental knowledge is for artists working with children; developing children’s independent critical thinking; and how artists self-reflect.

The artists then devised a programme of online exchange that will take place over the next two months, and which aims to support them in their existing work. Among the positive responses from participants, artists described the process as “empowering” and “fluent”, and one participant said, “It will be interesting to do and in my mind has the potential for an innovative result and strong network… collaboration and discussions were quite free and open”.

This unique collaboration with the Ludwig Museum in Budapest and Sally Stuudio in Tallinn brings together likeminded organisations that are committed to professionalising, supporting and showcasing models of engagement and arts practice with children and young people.

A research strand, led by independent researcher Áine McKenna, will explore the potential impact of this network on artists’ practices and child outcomes, and will draw learning to inform future development of the network. A showcase at The Ark, A Cultural Centre for Children, on 10th June, will also share the outcomes with a wider audience of artists and anyone who is interested in attending can register by contacting Kids’ Own: info@kidsown.ie. More information is available on Practice.ie: or on the Practice.ie Facebook page.

'Pilgrimage - A Cultural Odyssey' is a collaborative project connecting a diverse group of Irish, Icelandic and Greek musicians, visual and performative artists. Following the threads of the ancient pilgrimage tradition, an experimental artistic collaboration will be hosted in Sligo in early May 2013. ‘Pilgrimage’ is committed to excavating and decoding collective cultural identity drawing on mythology, folklore, pilgrimage, memory and the resilience of island spirit. In 2013, the project will focus on Irish cultural identity, mining our ancient past for the foundations of who we are now.

‘Pilgrimage’ is a process-based residency where the group will coexist, living and working together in a remote part of Sligo for a week. The project is inspired by the Black Mountain College, an experimental, independent college established in America in the 1930s on the belief that learning and living are intimately connected.

The ethos of ‘Pilgrimage’ is similarly collaborative, with participants (pilgrims) sharing practice, co-teaching, visiting ancient sites and walking the land. Pioneers – field specialists and leading edge mentors across sectors and practices – have been invited to visit and share their different perspectives. Together, the group will explore the relationship between interior and exterior landscapes and examine the journey of both the individuals present and their national identities.

Curated by myself and Kathy Scott, the participating artists include Róisín Coyle, Kate Ellis, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Noeline Kavanagh, Myles O’Reilly, Seán Mac Erlaine, Andri Snaer Magnason, Linda Buckley, Mikhail Karakis, Valgeir Sigurðsson and Donal Dineen. Pioneers include Pat Collins, Stefan Berg, Michael Harding, Dolores Whelan, Karen Ward and Mari Kennedy.

Sligo’s archaeological and mythological heritage is incredibly rich; the landscape is peppered with monuments stretching back 5,000 years, most notably the sites of Carrowkeel, Carrowmore and Knocknarea. Intertwined with the mythology of the region, the sites have rich resonances with the story of Irish people through the generations and can help unlock our cultural identity, individually and collectively. Sligo has also long been acknowledged for its strong artistic tradition, attracting artists, creatives and independent thinkers to the region.

‘Pilgrimage’ will open with a ceremonial ritual by the sea and close at the summit of Croagh Patrick. ‘Pilgrimage’ is an ‘Ireland: Iceland’ project and is funded by the National Culture Programme for the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which has been programmed by the National Cultural Institutions of Ireland under the auspices of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Pilgrimage project partners are Sligo Arts Service, The Model, The Icelandic Embassy and the Galtarviti Lighthouse (Iceland).

Mary McDonagh is the Sligo County Council Public Art Officer

Floating World Books

Aoife Flynn www.pilgrimageproject.ie

Practice European Artists Network, photo courtesy of Kids Own

Aoife Flynn, Inside, Looking Out, Carrowkeel, Sligo

Andy Parsons, Flooded Sea Road, Strandhill, Sligo, 2012

Andy Parsons, Ben Bulben, 2013, screen print with oil pastel

Sligo continues to sustain my practice in ways I would never have imagined a few years ago. Firstly, it has proven to be great base for Floating World Artists’ Books. Glenn Holman and I started Floating World Artists’ Books 10 years ago when we were both living and working in London. I moved to Sligo in 2005 and since then we have benefitted from having two centuries of activity.

We initially concentrated solely on making books, working with artists in Ireland, the UK and Japan. We were keen to get our books represented in collections and showed at various book fairs like the ICA in London. We now have books in a number of public and private collections including the Tate Collection.

Over time, Floating World has evolved into a vehicle for a kind of gentle activism and an umbrella for all manner of curatorial projects. We still make and show books, but we are increasingly interested in exploring a range of practices that have features in common with making artists’ books. We are interested in ways of making art that are low tech, versatile, portable, cheap, immediate and accessible.

The membership isn’t fixed, so we add new people all the time – some local, some from further afield. Our recent shows have recruited new people to make books – both artists and members of the public – and we hope to include works by these artists for more projects in the future.

The methodology we chose for our most recent project, 'Beckett Bucket', is an indication as to where are heading as an entity. This two-volume artists’ book was created as part of ‘Happy Days’, the first International Samuel Beckett Festival, in Enniskillen.

In a series of workshops in Belfast and Enniskillen, members of the public were asked about their knowledge and awareness of Beckett’s work. They were encouraged to share their visual and verbal memories relating to it. These were transcribed directly in ‘real time’ into each volume of the document as drawings, texts, collages, photographs and general observations.

We created our own portable Beckett-inspired stage set (from cardboard) and set up camp in the foyer of the Ulster Museum and then the Enniskillen Castle Museum. The process of sitting around and talking to people was the art, as much as the final books themselves. The project marked a new direction for us, namely the making of an artist’s book as something akin to a performance piece.

A lot of my own recent work is linked to one of the key elements of this project, the idea of making art in public. This brings me to the second way in which Sligo supports my practice: as a subject. Since 2010 I have been drawing and painting outdoors in a number of locations around

Sligo. These ‘Plein Air Pictures’ deliberately use views that reference German romantic painting as well as the work of Irish artists such as Yeats.

The works have all been created outside, painted from life in the manner of nineteenthcentury ‘plein air’ painting. I produced many of the works in extreme conditions: snow, rain and violent winter storms. They range in size from tiny A5 drawings to 8 x 4 foot canvases. The sheer difficulty of making the pictures (bear in mind I only have a smallish hatchback to move them round in) is part of the work. Another part is the conversations I have with people I meet while I am doing them. I explain what I am doing and we chat about the history, geography and characteristics of the location; sometimes I just say hello.

The way the paintings and drawings have been made can be traced through the rough edges of the work, though the holes in the surfaces of drawings and all manner of flora and fauna stuck to the surfaces of the paintings. The landscapes come from an intensive process of looking; many are the result of a prolonged series of revisions and re-drafts that can take up to a year.

The notion of trying to make landscapes outside seems old fashioned, and this is deliberate.

I have chosen this new approach as a conscious attempt to challenge the hegemony of the photographic image, and to reframe the making of art as a publicly visible activity.

The process of making these works has, until recently, been much more important than the final works themselves. My latest body of work explores what could be a way of sharing these experiences with a broader public. I have been working on a set of prints with Advanced Graphics in London, which attempt to translate the immediacy of the process of working outside into the medium of silk screen. Using sheets of kodatrace, I went out into the landscape and created a series of tonal studies, which were then made into silk screens. The image reproduced here is tranquil but it was created in a howling gale from the vantage point of muddy ditch, with sheets of kodatrace flying off in all directions and me chasing after them.

Andy Parsons is an artist whose work includes painting, drawing, printmaking, artists' books and sculpture. His practice also involves working as a facilitator, lecturer, critic and curator. www.floatingworldbooks.com www.andyparsonsartist.com

The Visual Artists’News Sheet

May – June 2013

11

REGIONAL PROFILE: sLIGO

Lament Introduction To be considered eligible for financial backing one increasingly has to become a 'creative industry / entrepreneur'.

For myself, art is not really an industry. It is a social tool and channel for deeper spiritual truths, awakenings.

We are in the serious situation whereby the 'Artworld' is being cajolled and coerced into becoming an 'industry sector', collaborating in the bail out of the 'banking debt / fraud'.

This amounts to a concensual affirmation of the neo-liberal values that disempower the socially functional: going against artistic integrity and conscious reason.

Art serving the economy to this end is an appropriation of creative resources that should actually be engaging directly with communities to provide a wealth beyond monetary value.

Artist = Being (I am not the only one) in Sligo Wherever I am is my Studio There is a garage workspace / store for tools, equipment and a growing archive of materials, relics, objects, works.

Patience / Time / Duration It takes a long time for an artist to be embedded in a community, as opposed to dropping in, dropping out.

It's a question of living in the landscape, with its inhabitants.

Four years at Carrick-On-Shannon carboot sale amongst the bric-a-brac and market traders.

I make and show work to people who don't go to art galleries.

Trovere Wood from local sources cut and chopped for burning good pieces saved for future works become firewood once again.

Objects and materials gathered by means of purchase, gift, exchange found by the wayside, skips and ditches living on remains Sustain-ability To maintain an outside vantage position the household is run on a very tight budget.

We grow vegetables in a geodesic greenhouse that I built last year.

Materials are utilised or adapted for whatever purposes.

Place / Location We live in a beautiful mountain location of South Sligo steeped in ancient traces, wild flora, wild fauna.

Remoteness and distances mean minimal socialising surrender to Weather This stasis has marked a return to making objects continued accumulations sifted from environments frequented.

Source Artworld information comes mainly from the Internet, rare visits to venues, and meetings with people.

VAI (very good but not much for me; here) e-flux and e-artnow (Interesting, out of reach stratospheres of activity) email news and updates, soft bolts from the blue Networks Currently chairperson of open trades club seeking to establish a people's creative resource in Sligo.

OTC is an unfunded collective umbrella initiative facilitating a number of arts and special interest groups.

Through OTC this past year I have organised a monthly 'F4th Friday' art club to gather together, diverse creative practices.

I use email, Facebook and LinkdIn to connect.

County Council Arts Office website presents a range of artists practising in the region.

I am on the Arts Council panel of artists for teaching in prisons just over a year, no communication.

Local Authority Supports?

Local funding is an absurd lottery for a minimal jackpot.

In the realm of 50 artists applying annually for ˆ 7,500 divided amongst 4 – 5 disciplines.

It cannot be called serious or meaningful.

Beyond institutions; artists are increasingly unable to access what is really realistically required as solid investment.

A shrinking core creates selective exclusion and invisibility Local Art Scene?

There are places, and people, and work and there are good and great things around.

At whatever level contending with dwindling means some do well others struggle, come and go.

Assemblies, collaborations, individual practices restricted, confounded by financial constraints, available time, synchronisation.

Therefore: How to organise, without Supports and in the face of dogmatic disapproval, the logistics of significant, meaningful artistic presence?

Adam Burthom, MFA

Call For Entries RDS Student Art Awards Deadline – June 13 Open to registered students of Irish Art Colleges

Enter online:

www.rds.ie/arts Barry Mulholland, Emerging from Dystopia

@TheRDS

RDSdublin

emerging artists

Zofia Malanowska

Hilton Miller

Renata Mooney

Benita Stoney

emerging artists CURATED BY ALICE LYONS

Zofia Malanowska Hilton Miller Renata Mooney Benita Stoney Exhibition preview Friday 3 May 2013 at 7pm Runs through to Friday 14 June 2013 All very welcome.

www.thedock.ie

12

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

international

Ireland in Venice 2013: Richard Mosse JASON OAKLEY TALKS TO RICHARD MOSSE ABOUT REPRESENTING IRELAND AT THIS YEAR’S VENICE BIENNALE.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) form a crowd at Rubaya, South Masisi, North Kivu. Most of these IDPs are Hutus fleeing ethnically targeted massacres carried out by the Raiya Mutomboki (meaning angry citizens), a loose inter-tribal anti-Hutu alliance.

Richard Mosse, The Enclave, 16mm color infrared film, Eastern Congo, 2012 (all images). Internally displaced people (IDPs) form a crowd at Rubaya, South Masisi, North Kivu. Most of these IDPs are Hutus fleeing ethnically targeted massacres carried out by the Raiya Mutomboki (meaning angry citizens), a loose inter-tribal anti-Hutu alliance.

A rebel from the M23 movement stands watch in Virunga National Park, North Kivu, Nov 2012

Jason Oakley: How and where does this questionnaire find you?

Where are you at with your work for Venice?

Richard Mosse: I am currently in Venice, working inside the Irish Pavilion – which this year is the Fondaco Marcello – editing the multi-channel film, The Enclave, within the space. The final installation will happen in May.

JO: Have you found making and installing work for the Biennale different from your usual way of working or experience of exhibiting?

RM: Yes. I have never really worked closely with a curator before, especially in terms of producing the work, so that is a new experience, though Anna O’Sullivan has given me a lot of space to breathe. It’s also allowed me to bring people onto the team and really collaborate with others, such as Trevor Tweeten (cinematographer and editor), Ben Frost (composer) and John Holten (assistant), who travelled with me in Congo and who contributed enormously to the final piece. I have learned a great deal through this collaboration. Meanwhile, I have been working on a new book, also titled The Enclave, to be published by Aperture Foundation, which is a rather ambitious monograph of around 240 pages.

JO: Are you showing all new works or a mixture of old and new?

RM: I will show all new work. Everything in the Pavilion is work that was produced in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012. The Enclave is the culmination of Infra, a project I have been working on since 2010.

JO: Could you briefly describe the works you will be showing?

RM: The Pavilion is situated in San Marco on the Grand Canal, with its own private jetty. There are two main rooms inside the Pavilion.

The smaller room, overlooking the Grand Canal, is about 80 square meters. I am planning on hanging three very large landscape photographs in this space. The bigger room is a large squarish chamber, about 280 square meters, with round supporting columns, beams and rafters, which is where we will present the main component of the exhibition: the film, The Enclave. The Fondaco is the only building situated on the Grand Canal that is not a palazzo, so in that sense it’s a very appropriate space for an art installation, as the space is more like a warehouse than a domestic or church space.

The Enclave will be presented on multiple screens installed inside the larger darkened chamber. The screens will hang from the rafters, each one touching a column. By placing each screen adjacent to a column my hope is to activate the architecture, working with it rather than resisting the columns, which are difficult to work around.

The screens can be viewed from both sides, creating a sort of sculptural labyrinth within the space. The viewer must actively participate in the piece spatially, moving through the chamber according to the work’s emphasis on sound and vision. In this respect, I learned greatly from the choreography of Gerard Byrne’s piece A man and a woman make love (2012), although, as you’ll see, the work couldn’t be more different.

JO: Could you expand upon some of the key issues you will be exploring?

RM: The Enclave changes styles throughout, shifting gears between the anthropological, the metaphoric, the lyrical, surrealism and the absurd. The piece is about the three ‘Rs’: the real (as in documentary realism), the Real (in the Lacanian sense), and the reel (as in the newsreel).1 It is quite different to my earlier photographs from Congo simply because motion picture and still photography are such extremely different animals. Motion picture strikes the heart immediately, rather like music, while still photography is more

reflective, more endless, yet less proximate. The Enclave is deeply visceral, sometimes terrifying. You can’t really achieve that with still photographs in the same way. They are a slower burn.

I’ve put everything I have into this. It’s all there. This is my Congo. The landscape’s radiant beauty and the volatile, turgid climate, married to such an unstable conflict situation, have put me in a very peculiar place. Travelling in Congo, I feel at once deeply lucid yet entirely lost in my imagination, in my waking dreams, often verging into nightmare. As these journeys have evolved, and the deeper into the conflict that I have found myself, this state has pushed me further out. It’s a pursuit of the sublime, a very personal one, but dressed in the tidy uniform of the documentary photographer.

What is the piece about? It describes an escalating conflict situation in North and South Kivu throughout 2012. The camps of the internally displaced, a child’s lullaby that describes finding piles of bodies in the bushes, rebels being blessed with bullet-proof potion by their prophet, dead bodies left to rot on the road, a rebel propaganda rally in which children jump through a burning ring of fire, footage of actual conflict captured while mortars were landing all around, the radiant landscape during rainy season, glowing a nauseous pink.

These are our subjects, and they are represented through a crystallisation of styles and transgression.

JO: Has the particular site and context of the Irish exhibition space at Venice had any bearing on the work you are showing and making there?

RM: Yes. Since the Fondaco’s owner, Countess Marcello, will only agree to rent the space for one year at a time, we have had the privilege of editing the piece within the space itself. It has had a huge bearing on resolving the final installation of the work.

JO: Could you talk a bit about your working relationship with Anna O’Sullivan, your commissioner and curator, and the rest of the team working on this show?

RM: It’s very strong indeed. Anna, the director of the Butler Gallery, is an old friend from Kilkenny, where I grew up. The project manager, Mary Cremin, and all of us, have been working like maniacs on Venice against all the odds. I’m confident it will be a strong exhibition.

JO: Has the Venice exhibition given you the opportunity to realise works that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible?

RM: I suppose it pushed me to finish producing The Enclave with an aggression and ambition that perhaps otherwise could not have been justified. It gave me a reason to really strike as hard as possible, to return to Congo and to put everything I have into this work. I see Venice as the greatest opportunity of my career, so naturally I am doing everything I can to make the work as strong as possible. It is a huge honour.

JO: How conscious have you been of showing work in the context of the Biennale – be that in the context of Venice in general or in relation to the specific characteristics of the Biennale and the particular audience and attention it gets?

RM: I’ve been to each Biennale since 2005, when I went with a group of Goldsmiths postgraduate Fine Art students. I have a sense of which works create a sort of catharsis at Venice, and I guess my ambition is to head in that direction. We’re at a bit of a disadvantage, so far from the Arsenale / Giardini, but it makes the viewing much more special, as the piece is not crowded by other voices, and it becomes a much purer experience.

JO: How relevant to you is the notion of representing your country, Ireland?

RM: I never make work in or about Ireland but I see all my work, throughout my career, made in war or post conflict situations from Iraq to Gaza, the former Yugoslavia to Congo, and further afield, as speaking sideways about Ireland. It’s a gesture of transference.

Sometimes it’s easier to speak about yourself through other people’s problems!

JO: Do you have any strong thoughts about the Venice Biennale or Biennales in general as contexts for showing work and hubs for debate, knowledge production, reflection and overview?

RM: They’re handy ways to see a ton of art without that feeling that you’ve had the oxygen sucked out of your blood, which always happens at art fairs. You just need stamina though, particularly for the three-day Biennale opening, and to take care with the Prosecco. www.richardmosse.com www.irelandvenice.ie Note 1. See Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst’s 1953 lecture, Le symbolique, l'imaginaire et le réel (The symbolic, the imaginary, and the real).

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

13

Residency

Interventions & Transformations sue morris discusses her residency at AIR krems, lower austria, in november 2012, and the exhibition that followed on from this.

Sue Morris, Dreamscape, 2012, wool, wire

Sue Morris, Monument to Days Gone, 2012, TV aeriel, books, conker, string

I was awarded Artist in Residence at Krems, Lower Austria, for the

breath of Austrian air and launched into new and exciting work.

In his novel, The Quiet Twin, Dan Vyleta observes that, “It is a

month of November 2012. This came about through an exchange

Hortus Conclusus (enclosed garden) explores notions of constriction and

curious fact of acoustics that a toilet plunger, skilfully waved before

programme initiated by John McHugh, director of Custom House

growth, order and entropy, particularly within the dynamic of the

the open bell, can transform the trumpet’s sound into that of the

Studios, Westport. Artists who had staged an exhibition there the

domestic space. Contrary to notions of the garden as a tranquil place,

human voice”. These transmutations can also occur for the visual

previous year were invited to put forward a proposal to the selection

this virtual garden is imbued with a sense of claustrophobia,

artist. Bringing found objects together in new ways, sometimes with

panel in Krems. In exchange, Custom House Studios reciprocates by

containment and inevitability. I set about making a ‘forest’ of columns

fabricated elements, can transform their significance and lend them a

offering a residency to an Austrian artist. The AIR Krems scholarship

of white wool, hung from ceiling to floor with wire hoops. I installed

different emotional or dynamic resonance – an evocation of time or

includes an apartment / studio and a stipend of €1,000. This offered a

them in the second bedroom of the apartment rather than the studio

place, or of a particular person or personal relationship. Lithuanian

unique opportunity to step away from my normal day-to-day

area for a number of reasons. Firstly, the room provided a sense of

writer Rolandas Rastauskas said, “We travel to not only see new

responsibilities for a sustained period of time and avail of the space

confinement while the small divan in the corner, dressed in white

places… but to see ourselves as something other, to shed our skins of

and all-important funding to re-examine my art practice. AIR Krems

sheets, signified the domestic in this strange, semi-transparent,

deeply engrained habits… and what do we find at that magical

is located in a reclaimed factory on Krems’ ‘art mile’ and within close

dreamlike forest-scape. Furthermore, both the room and bed provoked

destination? Our old selves no doubt”.1

proximity to several galleries and museums. With views from my

a sense of scale and, from my lofty eyrie in the mezzanine bedroom, I

Before the residency, my art practice explored dynamics within

studio / apartment overlooking the Danube on one side and the

was able to look down onto the work through the railings adjacent to

the domestic space – particularly the female experience and its

Justizanstalt Stein prison complex on the other, it made for an

my bed.

complex relationship to the world. My multiple roles as mother, artist

interesting and thought-provoking juxtaposition between the expansive and the contained, conflicting ideas that have long informed my art practice.

AIR Krems offers five international residencies running concurrently and across disciplines. This contact with other artists provided much welcome interchange to offset the many hours spent working and reflecting in solitude. I particularly enjoyed the company of Iosif Kiraly, a visual artist from Romania. Our conversations and occasional jaunts and expeditions together made our residencies less solitary, and we have maintained contact since returning to our respective countries. The residency is exceptional in the support and facilities offered to artists, with a friendly administrative / curatorial team on hand, which I think was crucial to the development of the artists’ projects.

Shortly after accepting the residency, I was offered an exhibition at the Kunstverein Galerie in the Viennese suburb of Baden bei Wien, so I decided to travel to Vienna a week before the residency to visit the gallery, survey the exhibition space and meet the director, Cornelia König. The exhibition was to take place three weeks into the residency. Given the short time span and bearing in mind that installation would most likely take a few days, Cornelia and I decided that I should send over some work from Ireland to lessen the pressure and constraints of having to produce work for the show. Having made that decision, my approach to work at my residency studio could be open ended, transitory and experimental, responding to my new surroundings. This left me free to focus on process rather than outcome.

It is amazing how quickly and easily one can establish a new routine and become immersed in work when the conditions are right.

Having spent a day unpacking and rearranging the studio / furniture and two days on a drawing that proved to be a false start, I took a deep

Living and working in the same space allowed me to jump out of bed, grab a bowl of muesli and launch straight into work while still in my pyjamas. In the evening, sitting with a cup of tea when the working day was finished, I would notice a quirk in the architecture that would set off yet another line of thought. Time and space, both physical and metaphysical, seemed to dissolve. I rooted through cupboards and drawers for nails, string, paper clips and Blu-tac, and began to find tantalising traces of past residents: assortments of condiments, utensils, books, board games, tubs of unidentifiable granules and seeds, a collection of TV aerials, and other ephemera shed light on personal, cultural and artistic values and differences.

Informed by conversations with the AIR Krems coordinator, Sabine Gueldenfusz, I became interested in and intrigued by previous resident artists, particularly those who were accompanied by their children. This offered parallels to my own situation as a mother and an artist. AIR Krems is quite unusual in that it facilitates artists with domestic responsibilities and welcomes spouses, partners and

Sue Morris, Time, Motion, Suspended, 2012, chess board, pebbles, nylon thread

and teacher necessitated an element of separation between these domestic / artistic / pedagogical selves. But in Krems, working and living in the same space, freed from everyday constraints, these delineations began to blur, merge and finally dissolve. My work became the domestic space, and the domestic space became my work.

That ‘magical destination’ was indeed my old self but in a space transformed and unified. As the political theorist Antonio Gramsci observed, “The starting-point of critical elaboration is the consciousness of what one really is, and is ‘knowing thyself’ as a product of the historical process to date, which has deposited in you an infinity of traces, without leaving an inventory”.2 Since returning home from Austria, I have been thinking about my own new ‘startingpoint of critical elaboration’ within my art practice and the need to think about these vestiges in my work as interrelated, the need to draw them together and compile my own ‘inventory of traces’. Of all the insights I’ve taken from my residency at Krems, this has been the most valuable.

children. I was becoming aware of the increasingly fluid boundaries

Sue Morris is a graduate of the Royal College of Art, London.

between my work, the domestic space and its detritus. Since collecting

She practises from The Model Studios, Sligo. Her residency was

and foraging forms an intrinsic aspect of my art practice, I took the

funded by an AIR Krems scholarship. The exhibition ‘Hortus

opportunity of making use of some of these disparate objects and

Conclusus’ at Kunstverein, Baden bei Wien (24 Nov – 3 Mar) was

elements to conjoin them in a series of ‘domestic interventions’ or

funded by Culture Ireland as part of the International Cultural

‘transformations’. An old chessboard with missing pieces was

Programme for Ireland’s Presidency of the EU. It was transferred

reinvented as a game of levitation (Time, Motion, Suspended). A floral

to museumORTH where it will run until 23 June.

candleholder became one with an iron (Homage to my Mother), a clothes-drying rack supported a set of pegs and a small rubber ball, arranged to suggest table football, which took its place by a window in the hallway with a view of the prison (Mother and Child) and a ‘rabbit’s ears’ TV aerial (with suspended conkers) was perched on a stack of books (Monument to Days Gone).

www.suemorris.ie Notes 1. R Rastsuskas, ‘Private Territory: Essays’, 2009, in the Vilnius Review, 2011, 12 – 22 2. A Gramsci, ‘Selections from the Prison Notebooks’, 1971, Lawrence and Wishart, London, 11

14

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

institution profile

Art in the Contemporary World MA, 'Space of Appearance' at the Joinery, photo by Aideen Roche

DIY SUPPORT Miranda Driscoll, co-director of the independent Dublin arts space, The Joinery, offers an account of the venue’s curatorial ethos and how it sustains its activities

Anthony Kelly, First Thursdays gallery performance at the Joinery, photo by Miranda Driscoll

Helga Franza, Animales Vivos, photo by Miranda Driscoll

The Joinery – located in a former joinery workshop on Arbour Hill, Stoneybatter, Dublin – was founded in 2008 by myself and Feargal Ward; both of us had a background in photography / filmmaking. We set out in a very loose and ad-hoc manner, and, while we have refined our agenda somewhat, elements of this approach still hold true.

Currently, the Joinery can be seen as a site for experimentation – for making, exhibiting, performing and discussing. Over the last five years, the Joinery has become synonymous with a challenging and energetic programme that encourages diversity and collaboration.

The Joinery provides a DIY platform for artists, curators and musicians to experiment with new working practices, while at the same time offering what we hope is a varied programme of events for the many people who visit the space annually. Some things work, some things don’t: such is the nature of experimentation. The organisation is not-for-profit and volunteer-run. Funding is necessary to continue this work and it comes from a variety of sources: workspaces, gigs and the gallery.

Recently, we had a remarkable experience that demonstrated an impressive level of generosity and support for the Joinery. This time three months ago we were faced with the very real possibility of closing, and so we began a last-ditch attempt to keep the doors open.

On 18 February we launched a Fundit campaign and, 35 days later, €18,740 had been raised by 520 people who funded, shared, tweeted, posted and offered their support and help in countless surprising ways. This money will allow us to remain open this year and much of it will go towards programming. In effect, it replaces what should have been public arts funding. This has raised many interesting issues for us in relation to sustainability, audience / community and what the future looks like for us and for similar organisations.

While a part of the gallery programme is still supported by artists having to pay a small amount for the space, we have never been a ‘space for hire’. This is something that we had hoped would no longer be the case five years down the line but, unfortunately,

remains necessary. While of course it helps to generate a very small amount of revenue, it, more importantly, gives a platform to graduates and emerging artists; every show, event and performance is carefully selected and treated with the same importance and integrity as the next. We try to provide as much support and advice to artists as is possible in the time given, bearing in mind that everyone is working on a voluntary basis. We have received a small amount of revenue over the last few years from Dublin City Council and from the Arts Council for the studio / workspaces under the Workspace Scheme.

On top of this, we need to raise a significant sum every year if we are to programme anything further, and this has not yet stretched to wages. We have received a Visual Arts Project Award just once, in 2011, despite submitting applications bi-annually.

We endeavour to support local artists as much as possible and we have seen quite a few artists really develop their practices over the years. Many of these artists we have worked with time and time again.

It’s rewarding to see people explore new working methods and we have been lucky to work with some great artists over the years. Many of the artists who we worked with in the ‘early days’ are still regular contributors. What we have tried to achieve with the programming of the Joinery is to create a space where visual art and music / performance can meet; this has been vital to us in the development of an ethos or aesthetic to the type of work that we programme. We feel that the gallery has benefited hugely from the experimental nature of improvising musicians and their practices. So, while arts funding still seems to insist on a separation between the two, we see them as influencing each other. We are as much concerned with selecting challenging art works and programming new music as we are with the aesthetics of music and the sonority of art. More music in galleries, more discussion and interrogation of music and performance in visual art are things we would like to develop further this year.

Some of these ideas do feed loosely into how we select work, often questioning the role of the exhibition itself. During a series of

conversations with artists in the lead up to a show, we generally try to flesh out previous questions that have often arisen during the course of an exhibition – from initial idea through to installation, opening and de-installation. What has become apparent over the last number of years is this: as a ‘DIY space’, we see our role as trying to encourage each artist or group to steer the execution of the exhibition in a way that they see fit – in some cases there is more of a curatorial role on our part and in others not so much, but in each case generally we try to support and advise accordingly without being too heavy-handed curatorially.

In considering this, however, one subject that we have returned to repeatedly is the reconsideration of what we would call the static exhibition and encouraging an active element during the course of a run, by including events during a show such as talks, workshops and additional performances. We will often suggest collaborations with artists from different disciplines: musicians, writers or journalists, for example. Not only should this give the artist another opportunity to engage with a new audience but it also opens up the discourse beyond visual art. Stemming from an interest in collaboration between artists and non-art disciplines, this may be viewed as a way of building onto what is perceived as the ‘finality’ of a work when it is placed within the context of the white cube space. In theory, it becomes less about the exhibition of work and more about what happens during the artists’ short time in the space or indeed the conversations that arise from that. Often, the time an artist spends, during installation, on documentation, discussion and de-installation, far outweighs the brevity of the show itself.

Previously, the exhibition was the beginning and end of the work – it was the main event that supported everything else. Any publication, talk, screening etc was secondary to the work on display.

Now, there seems to be an equal emphasis on everything, with a dialogical, pedagogical approach where the space, the artists and the collectives can even play a part in programming. The content of what is going on inside the space becomes more important than the space itself. In recent years, the emphasis on the white space has shifted due to the ever-changing use of the space. Alex Farquharson writes in Frieze, “If white-walled rooms are the site for exhibitions one week, a recording studio or political workshop the next, then it is no longer the container that defines the content”.1 This, it seems, is crucial to the make-up and the future of the Joinery and places like it.

The Fundit campaign has proven to us that there is a keen and hungry audience who want places like the Joinery to survive and are happy to contribute and to become stakeholders of sorts. This brings with it a new challenge for us to deliver to this ever-widening community: these funders are now involved and how the funding is used should be transparent. There is much talk about philanthropy as a future model for the arts here, but something like Fundit may only last so long before people grow tired of being asked to contribute.

Essentially, you are asking the taxpaying citizen to help replace what should be publicly funded. The development of something like the department’s Philanthropy Initiative is an interesting turn. It offers to partially match funding towards amounts raised, mostly for arts-ineducation projects. Of course, philanthropy is being proffered as an alternative to government funding, but this new government initiative is a welcome opportunity, if it lasts. While we fully acknowledge that there is less money in the funding pot, we would like to see that pot being used in new and innovative ways every year.

There is little consideration in relation to the ‘DIY’ scene, which is something that tends to thrive in times of economic depression but which often falls outside of the mainstream funding criteria and is therefore largely unsustainable (unless we can think of alternative ways to raise the money). There is a misconception in Dublin that empty buildings are free to be taken over by groups of artists; this is much more difficult to secure than one might think as there is very little security for long-term tenancy. We still have rent to pay and we are paying the same amount of rent that we were five years ago.

The Joinery is now into its sixth year of programming; we have put on over 350 shows and events in Dublin and are determined to keep the place (and pace) going. The question of how is an ongoing challenge financially, effectively, psychologically and with autonomy.

The question of why is one that we continue to pose on a daily basis.

Watch this space.

Miranda Driscoll is co-director of the Joinery with Feargal Ward.

The sound programme is run by Will Joyce assisted by Ivan Deasy. www.thejoinery.org Note 1. Alex Farquharson, Bureaux de Change, Frieze, September 2006

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

15

how is it made?

Rory Tangney, Build Your Church on the Strength of Your Fear, 2011, installation in progress

Rory Tangney, Build Your Church on the Strength of Your Fear, 2011

Rory Tangney, Build Your Church on the Strength of Your Fear, 2011

Belief and Conviction

again to fit all the nuts and bolts. We bolstered it from within with cabling so it wouldn’t collapse in on itself. Once it seemed secure, we went about removing the underneath supports. One by one they came away, and everything seemed fine, until ... I took away one of the last few props and the whole thing lurched! One of the cables connecting it to the roof slipped free, and it shifted dramatically until one end rested on the ground. It was a terrifying moment, but exhilarating. There was no way we were going to get it back to where it was, but the more I looked at it, the more I liked it at this unexpected angle, with one end jutting into the air.

The next thing was to wrap it. Eight people spent a day clambering all over it, covering it in shrink-wrap – a great material that served to bind the whole structure, adding immense strength.

Now it was safe! I then draped long lengths of builders’ plastic from the ceiling within, some of them smeared with crimson paint, like blood. I fixed a single short fluorescent tube to its dead centre; the plastic gave body to the light, diffusing it, while the layers added a murky depth. It was not immediately clear to the viewer what the materials were, while the cellophane created random patterns that drew the eye. It looked great. All that was left was the sound.

rory tangney discusses his large-scale installation at camden palace hotel, cork.

Build Your Church On The Strength Of Your Fear was a large-scale project I installed at Camden Palace Hotel, Cork, in September 2011.

It was the result of a period of reinvention for me. I’m originally from a craft background and I wanted more freedom to explore ideas, and less of the constant battle with material. I wanted to broaden my practice into other media; having experience as both a sound engineer and a musician, I was particularly interested in using sound in a sculptural context.

The Idea This work came out of my interest in ideas around belief and conviction during the emerging scandals about the Catholic Church and the collapse of the economy. In a nutshell, I was interested in the notion that a person’s ‘faith’ could be as much a product of their conditioning as a result of any conscious ‘leap’, and that such blind faith could have consequences for the individual and the wider world. However, the work was not just concerned with religion and I wanted to extend this to any form of conviction or dogmatic mode of thought. In developing the project I looked at religious architecture, ritual and iconography, as well as the inevitable symbolism of light and dark; I also took from aspects of consumerist culture, particularly through the use of materials.

The Venue Bertrand Perennes and his cohort (www.camdenpalacehotel.org) were the first to capitalise on the empty buildings within Cork City centre. I approached Bertrand about working at Camden Palace, and he was very welcoming and embracing of the project. The space I was to use was a huge windowless cube with 6m-high ceilings, perfect for this large-scale work. Everyone at the Palace was great. I had the run of the place and extra pairs of hands as I needed them. The exhibition was to open on September 22nd, the night before Culture Night. I had targeted Culture Night from the outset as, the previous year, Camden Palace had received huge numbers of visitors on that night, making it a great opportunity for exposure.

Fundit Crowd-funding was my only real option to finance this project. I first heard of the phenomenon through the singer / songwriter Niall Connolly, who funded an album back in 2008 using a US-based site called Rockethub. It was my intention to use a UK-based site until Fiona Kearney of the Glucksman told me about a new Irish website called Fundit.ie. It was a nice coincidence. Being Irish-based, it meant I would get the right audience. Also, I could get ahead of the posse, as I was pretty much ready to go. A tested method for music projects in other parts of the world, it was not so clear if it might work for visual art. Due to the scale of this project, it was only going to get one outing, at least for the time being, meaning a limited geographical scope.

When contemplating the video to pitch the project, an idea came to me one night in the studio. I just went with it without thinking too much about it – all in the spirit of exploring new horizons. I had myself dressed up in character and singing to the camera like some demented monk. Then, the night before it was to go live, I did in fact think about it and had a real panic. By then, though, I was beyond the point of no return. It certainly succeeded in getting people’s attention, and in the end that was the whole point. Plus, the theme seemed to resonate with people. It was pertinent, and an area of great emotion for many.

My original design would have cost upwards of €13,000 but the reality of finding funding made me rethink. In doing so, I undoubtedly created a better work, and forced myself into the new territory that I craved. I slashed the projected cost to €4,000. Fortunately, I had the promise of €1,000 from a particular collector before I had even started. The rest of the money came mostly from friends and family, with a few surprise unknowns. People's generosity was amazing and humbling at a time when money was so tight.

Fabrication

By June, after planning for almost a year, it was finally time to start making. I booked myself into the National Sculpture Factory, which is a great place to work. I even had a work experience student from Germany helping me while I was there.

Loosely based on the interior cavity of the great gothic churches with those huge vaulted ceilings, I designed the work as a modular system – using a series of plywood frames all bolted together meant a minimal number of different components, which reduced the time and materials needed. 24 sheets of plywood later, and I was ready to install...

The Installation I gave myself a week, thinking that I would have a day or two free at the end. Ha! I think I had all of 45 minutes. I worked minimum fifteen-hour days, with between three and eight volunteers at any given time, including old friends David Folan, John O’Donovan, Rob O’Keeffe and Leon Domini, without whom it would not have been possible.

The first couple of days we assembled parts, painted and tried to work out a strategy. I was starting to realise how out of my depth I was. I think Dave’s comment when he arrived was, “Dude, it’s not going to work”. I was quickly learning that everything changes when you’re working on a larger scale. I had neglected some simple architectural principles that I might have gotten away with on the scale I was more used to – and the plan was to suspend this monster from the roof!

It was nerve-wracking. We built it on temporary props at the desired height. It took three full days to erect, and then more time

Sound I sing in choirs, which hugely influenced the sound. I took field recordings of masses in progress and choirs singing, as well as from the likes of supermarket checkouts and even the factory floor of the NSF. One sermon I picked up was of a priest apologising for all the abuse within the church. I also used a news extract discussing the Anders Behring Breivik tragedy in Norway. These varied sounds were chopped up and processed, many beyond recognition, and, together with recordings of myself singing extracts of Psalm 51 (the Miserere), were reconfigured into an atmospheric composition – a man chanting, as though in ritual of some sort, veiled from view by the layers of plastic.

My friend Sheena Crowley, of Crowley’s Music Shop, was hugely supportive and helpful throughout. She provided the sound system, and arranged for the custom building of a huge speaker, to be concealed within. At times during the exhibition the amplifier overheated and cut out leaving only the hum of the cooling fan. In a way this was as effective as the soundtrack, and I really liked the contrast between the two states.

The Exhibition Plenty of people showed up to the opening, and I got really positive feedback. I also felt a good sense of achievement. Although it’s a dark work, a number of people commented on how they found it quite soothing, while others found it very emotional. I was personally satisfied with what I had done, maybe for the first time, and felt that I could have done no more.

I would like to thank all at Camden Palace Hotel, and the many other people who contributed to this project.

Rory Tangney is an artist currently based in Dublin. He has exhibited internationally and is presently working towards his second solo exhibition.

16

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

career development

Art & Opportunity DOUGAL MCKENZIE writes about BALANCING PREPAREDNESS WITH UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ‘LUCKY BREAK’ IN HIS ART CAREER.

Dougal McKenzie, Study for a Painting (after Charles Morin), 2013

Dougal McKenzie, Things of This World, mixed media and collage on paper

Dougal McKenzie, Study for a Painting, mixed media and collage on paper

If one thing is true in the life of an artist (whatever stage of your

Coming to Belfast gave me a much stronger sense of connecting

Connolly and Aisling O’Beirn). Another mad-capped venture saw a

studies or career) it is that no matter how much you think you are

my studio practice to things outside of art college – more than I had

group of us flying out to Documenta X in Kassel in 1997 – not to

making your own decisions and setting your own goals, it is so often

ever been aware of as an undergraduate student in Aberdeen (where

participate, but to stage a fringe exhibition of our own. Two hired

others who are actually creating the pathways for you. It may be an

art college life seemed the be-all and end-all of everything). I became

Nissan Micras, a slide projector and an electricity generator later, we

interview panel for a course you are applying for, or a job at an art

increasingly aware that artists in Belfast were very good at initiating

were up and running in a car park close to the main event, showing

college, a selection panel for a funding round or for an open

their own projects, in an often difficult climate. Whilst on the MA,

examples of our own work.

exhibition, or a curator looking for particular artists that will fit with

visits to a tutors’ studio collective and to the newly formed Flax Art

Each of these experiences were important ways of getting

a concept for a show.

Studios, set up by some recent MA graduates (then on the Crumlin

international venues onto my CV, and none of them would have

Of course within all of this you can be well prepared and

Road – we walked there in daylight, and in typical fashion Alistair

happened had it not been for the artists behind them. They were also

strategic to a point. However, my experience as an artist has been that,

MacLennan funded the after-dark ride home by taxi), gave me the

key to me getting my first job in an art college, at Limerick School of

to begin with, by being actively engaged with artist-run initiatives,

inspiration and incentive to remain in Belfast after the MA.

Art and Design, in 1997. I was lucky to get this at a time when your

you can take ownership of your career development straight away.

Not wanting to stray too far from the apron strings of the art

activities as an artist, and the potential for what you could bring to

Another fundamental element within the attitudes of the best artists

college on York Street, a chance meeting with artist Nuala Gregory (I

your teaching role through these, were the main criteria for

I know is that they have kept an honest and open approach to the

seem to remember it being a Spar-based encounter, buying cheap

successfully securing a lecturing post. However, after six rewarding

actual making of their art, with a focus on, and a rigorous application

sandwiches to see us through the day) brought me the offer of a

years as a lecturer in painting, I found that I missed many things

to, their own vision of a personal model of practice. By this I mean

shared studio space in Cathedral Buildings very nearby. This was my

about the North and took the risk of a career break in order to see

that they try to shape and advance their own career development

third lucky break, as the studio was a sub-let from artist Deirdre

what might happen both in the studio and for my wider prospects.

through the actual practice of art making, regardless of trends and

O’Connell, who was off doing the (now sadly demised) Arts Council

This period of time was one of the rare occasions when a mixture

fashions, which in turn eventually creates significant opportunities

of Northern Ireland PS1 New York scholarship, never to return. This

of self-initiated decision-making (the career break) and focus on

in some shape or form.

period at the start of the 1990s seems to me to have been the

studio work, seemed to lead to an ideal set of outcomes. I took up

It can be this sort of approach to an artistic life that makes such

beginning of a burgeoning, artist-led art scene that has over the years

residency of a studio at Queen Street in Belfast and, in 2004, I was

opportunities (or put another way, the lucky breaks) feel like ‘the

witnessed a proliferation of projects and spaces, many of which

selected for, and took one of the prizes at, the John Moores 23

right thing’ when they do come along and, in turn, feel more

survive still.

Exhibition of Contemporary Painting in Liverpool. I was also a

rewarding and fulfilling. In most cases, it is usually an uncontrollable

Cathedral Buildings Studios joined forces with Egg Studios at the

recipient of an Arts Council of Northern Ireland Major Award in

series of events, revolving around the art practice itself, which take

other end of Lower Donegall Street (still there, in the form of PS2

2006. This allowed me to concentrate for an extended period of time

you from situation to situation.

studios and gallery) to create Six-into-18 artists’ projects. In 1993 we

on exhibition opportunities. In 2007 I was approached by Peter

For me, an early career synopsis might read as follows: I thought

organised a major-scale, artist-led exhibition, entitled ‘Presentense’,

Richards at the Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast to curate an

I would go to art college in Edinburgh because it was all I knew to do

located in the newly renovated, but partially vacant, Ross’s Court

installment of the ‘Collective Histories of Northern Irish Art’ series.

as a 17 year old. The brother of my girlfriend at the time suggested I

shopping centre. This included (young!) artists of the time such as

My concept was to organise a show that explored the interplay of

put down a second choice – he had been to Gray’s School of Art in

Mark Orange, Lorraine Burrell, Sandra Johnson, Aine Nic Giolla Coda

imagery between contemporary Irish painting and photography. The

Aberdeen and said it was good to get away from home. In truth I

and Willie Heron, to name but a few. This led on to a similar follow-

exhibition ‘The Double Image’ was the result of this.

didn’t mind where I ended up, I just wanted to get into art college. My

up show, called ‘Set Up’, in vacant commercial premises in Derry.

In recent years, I have shown twice at the Third Space gallery in

first lucky break: Edinburgh College of Art was not particularly

Having attracted Arts Council of Northern Ireland funding for

Belfast – with exhibitions entitled ‘Dunkelbunt’ and ‘Hot and Cool’.

interested in my portfolio. Instead I got a place at my second choice,

these, I then went on to join forces with another group who were

Last year I was again selected for the John Moores 2012 Exhibition of

and a move away from home broadened my horizons.

interested in developing artist-led initiatives. Out of this, in 1994,

Contemporary Painting. I am currently working towards a three

After four cold and happy years in Aberdeen, in the days when

came Catalyst Arts at Exchange Place (off Lower Donegall Street).

you really could be an art student full-time (and I mean full-time,

This has continued to thrive at different locations around the city

person exhibition with painters David Crone and Mark McGreevy at the FE McWilliam Gallery in Banbridge, Co Down.

painting at college all day and evening, and then painting more in

centre. Of all the city’s artists’ organisations, it truly is the Doctor

I now work as a lecturer on the Fine Art degree course at the

your bedsit accommodation at night), I and most of my peer group of

Who of Belfast! I was a director in its original incarnation from 1994

University of Ulster in Belfast. In that regard, there is a sense of a

1990 aspired to getting onto one the London post graduate MA

to 1996 and, as well as providing invaluable experience of running

circle being completed, which stretches back to my time on the MA

courses (Chelsea was my intended destination) or alternatively

exhibitions, it also gave me opportunities to develop my own practice

there. Such a circle is sometimes difficult to circumscribe entirely by

Belfast. The MA in Fine Art, as it was known then, at the University of

with trips to New York and Alabama in 1995.

your own hand; a mixture of dedication, happiness in the practice of art – whatever the circumstance – and decisions made by others, have

Ulster, was in the habit of sending out to potential undergraduate

Such international trips are so often the result of artists being

applicants a very enticing promotional package showing current MA

pro-active and seeking to create opportunities for themselves: making

students hard at work in their studio spaces (some windswept and

funding applications and looking for reciprocal groups to exchange

interesting female students I noted!) It was headed-up by a course

with. Other such projects I have been lucky enough to be involved

Dougal McKenzie

leader who was interesting and inspiring – the performance artist

with have been to Iceland, again in 1995 (organised by the artist and

www.thethirdspacegallery.com/mckenzie

Alistair MacLennan. It was he, and MA tutors Slavka Sverakova and

lecturer Sean Taylor), Poland in 1996 (organised by Amanda

www.notesoncolourmixing.blogspot.co.uk

Tony Hill, who gave me my second lucky break.

Dunsmore) and Slovenia in 1998 (Sean Taylor again, along with Brian

all helped along the way.

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

17

symposium

Inspired Not Hindered James Merrigan reports on ‘Pathways to Practice’, A SYMPOSIUM held at the lewis glucksman, Cork – organised by Arts & Disability ireland and the Fire station artists’ studios – that explored issues and ideas around disability arts and artists (28 February).

'Pathways to Practice symposium,

The term ‘disability arts’ refers to art that is informed by the personal and / or collective experience of the ‘disabled self’. That is, creative work across all art forms that has as its core the influence upon the artist of, and responses to, a disabling world.1 Co-organised by Arts & Disability Ireland (ADI) and Fire Station Artists’ Studios (FSAS), the ‘Pathways to Practice’ symposium was a one-day event hosted by the Lewis Gluckman Gallery, Cork. Confronting the sensitive subject of disability arts, I anticipated presentations that would be top-heavy on the ethical subjects of stigmatisation and equality for artists with disabilities. It was a welcome surprise that art came to the fore while disability was something that inspired rather than hindered creativity. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise, as I was fascinated with the work of Ryan Gander long before I knew he was a wheelchair user.

The morning session was kicked off by Pádraig Naughton, Director of ADI, and Clodagh Kenny, Director of FSAS, who introduced the audience to the vital projects that ADI and FSAS are co-developing, such as the Studio Award, which was created in 2008 and devised specifically for Disability Artists: offering a disability-friendly studio at FSAS, a stipend of €5,000, and €2,000 access grant to awardees.

With Naughton’s plea for “objective articles that critique work by artists with disabilities” ringing in my ears, I tried to approach the symposium as I would do any art event, objectively and critically.2 However, all preconceived notions of disability artists not cutting the ‘mainstream’ mustard were swept aside, when the four previous recipients of the FSAS / ADI Studio Award presented their work to the audience, followed by a Q&A with art historian, curator and writer, Padraic E Moore.

First up was Noëmi Lakmaier, a wheelchair user whose durational performances are obstacle ridden, confronting issues of control, power and gender. As part of the FSAS / ADI Studio Award, the winner gets to exhibit at The Lab, Dublin. Lakmaier’s visually striking and humorous We Are For You Because We Are Against Them was presented at The Lab in June, 2009. It was a dinner party for eight with a difference: all eight party guests were wedged into a ‘weeble’ – a grey plastic ball in which the wearer’s arms and head are the only visible and moveable body parts.

Since then, Lakmaier has went on to make very confrontational and powerful work. One Morning in May (2012) saw the artist, dressed in business attire, crawl one mile on her hands and knees through central London, taking seven hours. While Undress / Re-dress (2011) presented the artist as a disabled and gendered object, when a male collaborator undressed and redressed Lakmaier in front of live audience.

The second winner of the FSAS / ADI Studio Award, Anna Berndtson, who has degenerative eyesight, presented her site-specific performance work, Monto, at The Lab in September 2010. Reacting to the local area of Foley Street and its history as the red light district of its day and also the location of one of the Magdalene laundries, Berndtson’s

'Pathways to Practice symposium,

performance seemed weighed down in obvious signifiers for family and the mother figure. Her recent video and photographic work, however, heralds a new and exciting direction, in which performance is reduced to a framed, sometimes glamorous, iconic posture. One photographic work in particular is reminiscent of the iconoclasticism of Anselm Kiefer’s Nazi salutes, portraying Berndtson performing Anders Behring Breivik’s fascist salute in a pastoral setting. 3 There is a glamorous brutality to Berndtson’s art practice when it is contained within the frame of the photographic image, which goes against the belief that performance art is dead when presented as a document.

In 2010, FSAS and ADI restructured the Studio Award by splitting it in two, and awarded Irish artists Ruth Le Gear and Hugh O’Donnell a six-month residency each.

O’Donnell, who has dyslexia, was one of the more witty communicators on the day. Aixelsyd doesn’t harm your health was his selfreflexively titled performance at The Lab in 2012. O’Donnell’s art practice seems to confidently stutter into existence, as if failure is the desired outcome. His performances are prop infested – chairs, flour, hearts, Virgin Mary statuette – you get the gist. One minute he is tentatively opening up a vacuum bag of pigs' hearts in the manner of a hypochondriac, the next he is posing, unglamorously, with painted blue feet, black T-shirt, jocks and a lawnmower.

In contrast to the physicality of Lakmaier, Berndtson, and O’Donnell’s performances, Le Gear’s art practice is enchantingly intangible. She spoke of the “primal purity” of light and water, and how her research is based both on empirical science and the more “intuitive” process of homeopathy, which works on the notion that the lower the concentration of a substance, the more potent it becomes. This has led her to grow crystals from human tears, dilute 400mm of iceberg homeopathically, capture starlight and trace the memories of fairy circles and megalithic sites.

The audience had been informed earlier in the day that one of the main speakers, Garry Robson – Artistic Director of DaDaFest International, an International Festival for Deaf and Disability Arts and performance worldwide, and Co-Curator of ‘Niet Normaal: Difference on Display’ at The Bluecoat Liverpool in 2012 – had had an accident,

and would not be able to attend. In his stead, Patrick T Murphy, Director of the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, interviewed Aaron Williamson, an established disability artist, which ended up being one of the most entertaining and compelling introductions to an artist’s work that I have experienced in a long time.

Williamson has a hearing impairment, but his art practice is not an extension of his personal disability, but a “politicised, yet humorous sensibility towards disability” as a whole. His performances are subversive and cheeky public displays on accessibility and selfgoverning behaviour. The session was opened with a video clip from a street performance entitled Barrier Man, which showed the artist with a yellow hi-visibility jacket, an orange traffic cone and white barrier tape, setting up tape barriers around Liverpool that diverted ablebodied pedestrians and allowed access to the disabled.

With artwork titles such as The Disabled Avant Garde, Williamson’s theme is to "challenge and subvert the romantic valorisation of social ‘outsiderness’”. Although the artist said he wants to “move away from verbal language,” Williamson’s articulate responses to Patrick T. Murphy’s unpretentious questioning revealed a charismatic way with words.

In the last session the FSAS / ADI Studio Award, artists returned to discuss the Connect Mentoring Programme, which pairs mentor with mentee artist. Amanda Elena Conrad was introduced as being mentored

by Berndtson, Le Gear by Kathy O’Leary and the absent Sean Hamill by O’Donnell. O’Donnell admitted that he asked himself when applying for the FSAS / ADI Studio Award, “am I disabled enough?” Although disability is a continuum, O’Donnell’s question did highlight the absence of any discussion around the intellectually disabled, and how they fit into the FSAS /A DI initiative? He also spoke of the absurdity of the disability ‘tick’ box that you find on the Northern Ireland Arts Council funding application, and with no further question as to what type of disability you have. What was met with nodded agreement by the audience was Aaron Williamson’s statement that we are all “temporally able-bodied”.

Patrick T Murphy observed after lunch that the morning panel discussion with the four FSAS / ADI Studio Award artists could have been mistaken for a symposium on performance art. Although Liz Burns, Managing Director at FSAS and Chair of ADI, highlighted that this was a coincidence in her concluding remarks, there was a sense that performance art, being a subculture within the arts, and with its adaption of the body and self as an artwork, that perhaps disability artists gravitate toward performance art because it facilitates a relative normalisation factor.

What I learnt on the day was that art and life are intrinsic to each other, as exemplified by the art practices of Lakmaier, Berndtson, Le Gear, O’Donnell and Williamson. Published on the day of the symposium in the Irish Times, Gemma Tipton wrote in the context of disability arts: “The best art comes from personal experience, but also transcends that, to be about wider truths.”4 Even though it was clear from the presentations on the day that the artists’ disabilities unavoidably conducted the subject and execution of their art practices, I didn’t see that as a problem, but a positive, potentially creative side-effect. Of course, the practicalities of access are a stumbling block for artists with disabilities, and hopefully the FSAS / ADI Studio Award does not remain the only gateway for disability arts.

Liz Burns concluded the day with the launch of FSAS / ADI Mentoring Programme 2013. Big changes are afoot, with a panel of 12 curators and artists with an established track record, who will be introduced to mentor award winners. My only concern is that FSAS and ADI are prioritising the ideological submergence of the disability art and artists into the ‘mainstream’, rather than just facilitating artists who have access issues to make art, and not like everyone else.

James Merrigan is an artist, art critic and co-editor of Fugitive Papers. He lives in Wicklow.

Notes 1.Quoted in Anna Berndtson’s FSAS / ADI monograph: original source, Dail Magazine, November, 2004 2. Gemma tipton, Irish Times, Making a difference, from Dutch to DaDa, written in the context of disability arts and published the same day as the ‘Pathways to Practice’ symposium, 28 February 2013 3. Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks 4. Gemma Tipton, Irish Times, Making a Difference, 2013

18

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

Art and philosophy

New Objects, New Realism?

PART OF THE VISUAL ARTISTS' NEWS SHEET'S ROLE IS TO ENCOURAGE AN UNDERSTANDING OF CURRENT ART-THEORIES, BEYOND THEIR DEPLOYMENT AS MERE BUZZWORDS OR ART-SPEAK. IN THIS SECOND INSTALLMENT OF OUR ART & PHILOSOPHY SERIES, SINEAD HOGAN INTERVIEWS PAUL ENNIS ABOUT TWO RECENT PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTS – OBJECT ORIENTATED ONTOLOGY AND SPECULATIVE REALISM – THAT HAVE AROUSED ARTWORLD INTEREST. THEIR DISCUSSION OUTLINES THE DEPTH AND COMPLEXITY OF THOUGHT UNDERPINNING THIS NEW EXCHANGE BETWEEN ART AND PHILOSOPHY, which SUGGESTS INTRIGUING NEW CONCEPTIONS OF THE ‘OBJECT’ IN ART. For a long time we have been accustomed to characterize the question of what something is as a question about its nature. The question about the nature of something awakens at those times when that, whose nature is being questioned, has become obscure and confused, when at the same time the relationship of men to what is being questioned has become uncertain or has even been shattered.

Heidegger, What is Philosophy? 1 Why have Object Oriented Ontology and Speculative Realism appeared as references in recent art and philosophy discourses?

Firstly, to unpack this term ‘Object Oriented Ontology’: Ontology is an aspect of philosophy that engages with the ‘is’ part of the question ‘what is …?’ It asks about what it means to be. In turn, Ontology is a branch of metaphysics, sometimes known as ‘first philosophy’, an area of philosophy that considers how we understand the fundamental aspects of reality and our knowledge of reality. Metaphysics therefore poses some deceptively simple but important questions. Some of the most recent key ideas have developed from the work of Martin Heidegger (1889 – 1976), who suggested that “the most far reaching… the deepest, and… most fundamental of all questions” was why are there things that are, “rather than nothing”? 2 The term object has to be understood within the complex historical context of the ‘subject / object’ relation in philosophy. In traditional / classical philosophy the notion of ‘subject’ has come to mean a ‘thinking consciousness’ – in other words, a person / mind possessing intentions, ideas, thoughts, beliefs and perceptions that operate to define some ‘things’ as ‘objects’. Heidegger developed a radically new mode of thinking that dissolved this dualism of subject / object. The philosophers associated with Object Oriented Ontology and Speculative Realism are proposing even stronger objections to any privileging of human ‘subjectivity’ in all or any consideration of subject / object relations.

The term Speculative Realism describes a recent emphasis placed by a group of relatively disparate writers on exploring the full spectrum of peculiar problematics encountered when the ‘real’ is considered without the thinking-subject as the defining autonomous focal point. The consequence of this has produced attempts to engage with other senses of autonomy and ‘objectivity’, which are independent of human interactions and perceptions.3 Many of the artists showing interest in this kind of thinking have focused on the writings of Graham Harman (b 1968). Harman performs a controversial and reductive reading of Heidegger’s nonhuman-centric philosophy. Heidegger analyses in a very nuanced way the differences between the terms ‘object’, ‘thing’, ‘tool’ and ‘artwork’. In Being and Time (1927), Heidegger discusses how our use of ‘equipment’ (das Zeug) and tools points to a different non-theoretical / non-observational understanding of objects. He proposed, “when we deal with [things] by using them and manipulating them, this activity is not a blind one; it has its own kind of sight...”.4 Harman prioritises this so-called ‘tool-analysis’ in the development of his own object-oriented philosophy. He argues that the extent of possible associations, relations, meanings and potentialities that any object or entity might possess, exceeds anything dependent on the human mind; objects ‘withdraw’ and are never fully perceived by us. These ideas have now attracted the attention of artists and art theorists, and some are reintroducing debates around the ‘object-nature’ and the autonomy of the artwork.

This is because one of the implications of Harman’s philosophy is that it implies that all objects including ‘art objects’ potentially posses a kind of ‘life of their own’, wholly independent of any psychology or socially constructed context of the viewer and even the artist / creator. Harman extends Heidegger’s analysis of the ‘toolobject’ and makes it the fundamental principle of all entities. This includes tangible, material objects and “those entities that are neither physical nor even real”.5 This, then, would obviously include all the myriad and complex forms that appear as ‘art-objects’.

If all this is difficult to get our heads around, it is partly because it is the relation between mind and object that is being radically called into question.

Philosophies such as Object Oriented Philosophy and Speculative Realism starkly counter philosophies that prioritise the role of human subjectivity, as evidenced by thinkers such as Emmanuel

Levinas (1906 – 1995), who, in proposing that ‘ethics is first philosophy’, stressed the significance of thinking about the ethical relation with ‘the other’ over querying the status of the object.

Harman considers that his focus on an expanded sense of ‘object’ removes the privilege of human-centric action and proposes instead that “aesthetics is first philosophy, because the key problem of metaphysics has turned out to be as follows: how do individual substances interact in their proximity to one another?” 6 It is necessary then to ask: how does this shift away from privileging the human subject impact upon the classical humanist understandings of areas such as art, politics and culture? Specifically of interest for visual artists might be the question of how this total focus on the object impacts on the traditional identity and role of the artist as creator of artworks.

To clarify and expand upon some of these introductory points, I have interviewed Paul Ennis who is the founder of and currently associate editor at Speculations: Journal of Speculative Realism.7 He is the author of Continental Realism (Zero Books, 2011) and completed his PhD at UCD. Sinead Hogan: What is the difference between Speculative Realism and Object Oriented Ontology / Philosophy?

Paul Ennis: Speculative Realism is an umbrella term, referring to the work of four thinkers: Iain Grant, Ray Brassier (b 1965), Quentin Meillassoux (b 1967) and Graham Harman (b 1968). All four adopt Meillassoux’s critique of ‘correlationism’. This is all that they agree on.

Harman distinguishes himself from the other three by undermining correlationism with an emphasis on objects. This is how he wipes away the split between mind and world (or subject and object). In Harman’s work, it’s objects all the way down, and across, and up…

SH: Could you explain the idea of correlationism?

PE: Correlationism is the claim that we can only perceive and talk about the relation between the mind and the world. It is the combination that matters. The idea is that both (mind and the world) co-constitute one another. You need them both to generate meaning.

Whatever falls outside the range of this co-relation is unknowable (as Kant tells us). Correlationism is opposed by speculative realists because they believe that it leads to us being locked up inside our own heads, unable to examine the real world – the world as distinct from our access to it.

SH: In light of this critique of correlationism, what is an object?

PE: Well, this is the hardest one to address. For Harman, once you subtract human perception’s distortion of an object, you begin to recognise its depths: that the object is withdrawn from complete know-ability and can surprise us. He then splits objects in two. The sensual part consists of all the qualities that appear to us. The real part is the site of potential. Due to the real part, there is limitless possibility inherent in an object, depending on new configurations and interactions. One way to understand it is to think of sensual as surface and real as depth. His metaphysics is all about the tensions that this split causes.

SH: I am reminded that at the historical beginning of philosophy, ‘surprise’ or ‘wonder’ as the Greek notion of thaumazein is traditionally considered to be the initiating movement for thinking. But if the status of the object is not dependent on human consciousness, where is it located?

PE: In your opening remarks, Heidegger pops up a few times, and I don’t think it is a coincidence that Harman’s work is built up from a Heideggerian foundation. Harman is someone clearly concerned with how the singularity of objects is being flattened in an ontologically reduced age (hence he follows Heidegger in his mistrust of scientism and preference for art). He seems to simply shift the space or place of surprise to each object’s depth. Since everything is an object then the capacity for surprise is located everywhere or, more precisely, in everything.

SH: Given the heightened focus on ‘object’ and a critique of the primacy of human consciousness, what is the status of the ‘subject’ in these modes of thinking?

PE: This is the big one really. What happens to the subject when it is turned into an object? Technically speaking, the shift is just deflationary, ie to no longer privilege the subject as the locus of the world. In this sense, the only real change would be to consider the human-world relation one amongst many relations (flat ontology). It is still there, but no longer the presumed starting point.

SH: Do you think the material basis of artworks and the sensual basis of aesthetics is something that enhances and / or explains the interest of the art world currently in Speculative Realism and Object Oriented Ontology?

PE: It is not a perfect fit, but it gets close. I think that, certainly, Object Oriented Ontology lends itself well to the material (art work) sensual (aesthetics) distinction. For Harman, the sensual realm is, as I see it, the human qualitative one. He wants to stress the ultimately deep structure residing in all objects – their real dimension. The ‘material’ can be considered a kind of location for this, but strictly in terms of indicating hidden depths. I should stress that Harman is no materialist.

He wants to highlight how objects seem to resist us, how they can surprise us, and I think this disposition toward the world is what makes Harman so appealing to working artists. I do genuinely believe the appeal is to be found in how close his conceptual take on the world mirrors the artistic take on the world.

SH: I think the art world’s interest in these ideas is sociologically interesting and perhaps of wider significance. For example, do you think that the artist’s take on the world could in turn be considered to operate a feedback loop for this philosophy?

Philosophy would not normally privilege the new, whereas there is in art a tradition of identification with avant-gardism as a value in-itself in opposition to tradition / conservatism. I see a parallel in how some new philosophy is describing itself. Here is a quote from the introduction to the Open Humanities series 'New Metaphysics' edited by Harman and Latour, “We favor… the spirit of the intellectual gambler… like an emergent recording company, what we seek are traces of a new metaphysical ‘sound’ from any nation of the world… our main interest is to stimulate the birth of disturbing masterpieces of twenty-first century philosophy.” 8 PE: I am not entirely sure at this point, but sociologically there does seem to be a recurring pattern here. A new philosophy emerges and is ignored or rejected within philosophy departments. It gets picked up in other departments and certainly in the art world. In these circumstances, there is always an initial burst of enthusiasm (as there always is when two types of people get to know one another). This fades, as it always must, and a more nuanced engagement starts to take place. A key feature of this will surely be the manner in which art works tend not to chime so easily with the various speculative realist theories.

This, I think, is healthy and I try to make the point, when I can, that philosophy has an immense reservoir of resources. For example, if one wishes to explore space, place, colour, time, etc, then phenomenology is actually a better option than Object Oriented Ontology. If one is really attempting to engage with objects as such, then the non-correlationist perspective is helpful. I’m a bit of a pragmatist when it comes to philosophy. Use the best material at hand. For me, that was a lesson I picked up from the art world.

Sinead Hogan lectures in visual arts practice in IADT and completed a PhD in philosophy at UCD on the subject of aesthetic thinking ∞ uncanny rhetoric.

Notes 1. Martin Heidegger, What is Philosophy? (trans William Kluback & Jean T Wilde), 1958, Twayne Publishers Inc, 43 2 Heidegger, An Introduction to Metaphysics, (trans Ralph Manheim), 1987, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2 3. Examples of art’s interests in these modes of thinking include: the Speculative Realists conference, 'The Real Thing', at Goldsmiths, London, 2007, organised by Urbanomic (www.urbanomic.com); Tate Britain in 2010; and the 'Weaponising Speculation' conference and exhibition, Dublin, March 2013, organised by Dublin Unit for Speculative Thought (DUST) (www.dublindust.wordpress.com).

4. Heidegger, Being and Time, (trans Macquarrie and Robinson), 1962, Harper & Row, 96 5. Harman, The Quadruple Object, 2011, Zero Books, 5 6. Harman, www.nakedpunch.com/articles/147 7. www.speculations-journal.org 8. www.openhumanitiespress.org/new-metaphysics

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

Critique Supplement Edition 11 May / June 2013

Anthony Haughey 'Citizen' Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda 8 February – 6 April 2013 It may be nestled in a nineteenth-century friary,

wall. There is an emphasis on written and spoken

but Drogheda’s municipal art gallery is not a

content that highlights the role of alternative

temple of obedient hush. Something of a hub in

voices in shaping the work. In the wall text, Asylum

the medieval town, the gallery’s proletarian buzz

Archive (made from transcribed video recordings),

seemed well fitted to an exhibition called ‘Citizen’,

a denizen of Mosney – the former holiday camp a

though Anthony Haughey’s ‘citizen’ is an individual

few kilometers from Drogheda town that is

not easily defined. The exhibition is concerned

currently Ireland’s largest reception centre for

with life beyond recognised boundaries, and its

asylum seekers – announces, “We will be here for a

title posits a question mark as much as a declaration.

while, to see if we will be accepted or refused. Most

What is a citizen? What is the relationship between

of the time you are in Limbo facing uncertainty; nothing is definite”. Mosney is a sort of mini-state of the provisional and typifies the in-between states inhabited by Haughey’s ‘informal citizens’.

Stakes can be high amidst this uncertainty and the same speaker declares, without ambivalence, “I am crossing a bridge, when I reach the end I will burn down the bridge behind me, so I can never go back there”.

Crossing boundaries, and hospitality given or denied, are central themes. The video projection, suspended incongruously in front of the church’s former altar space, presents stories of harrowing journeys from North Africa to Europe across the Sicilian channel. The soundtrack of voices and turbulent seas was loud in the bright open space but the screen was difficult to see. A roving camera in the video work Progress ll was also unsettling. In an engaging dialogue about place and identity (reenacted from a blog conversation), the articulate group of mostly recent migrants to Ireland seemed more harried than identified by the restlessly recording eye. Collective elaboration of meaning can reside in the processes of production as much as any subsequent modes of display but as a viewer I am restricted to witnessing outcomes and, as a viewer, I found that I sometimes missed the authority that a single vision can bring.

Two large portrait photographs of Mosney residents also make somewhat ambiguous statements. In Ezi, former Butlin’s Mosney Dining Hall, a young girl stands between rows of diminutive dining furniture. Reserved for children in an era when they were seen but not heard, the anachronism of the setting puts the girl in odd relation to the scene. Her light summer clothes are carefully colour matched with the surrounding room but it’s not obvious why – is she attempting to blend in with her environment, or has she already been subsumed within it? Either reading seems peculiar in the circumstances. Lorlor, former Butlin’s Mosney Ballroom employ a similar device, but without making the issue any clearer.

Anthony Haughey, Ezi, former Butlin's Mosney Dining Room, 2013

An avowed aim of the work is to “dispel an individual and a state? How is this negotiated?

And what happens when one side of the equation

myths and reductive stereotyping… [to help] migrants reclaim their agency”.2 A series of large

no longer feels at home with the other?

photographs show a fence between North Africa

The exhibition is a “culmination of research

(Morocco) and Europe (Spain). While these

and artist projects from the last few years,” a

so-called ‘separation barriers’ are often flash points

compilation of separate works, or fragments of

of conflict and dispute, Haughey’s pictures are

works, drawn from a practice of community-based

serene. In Hakim, Mount Gurugú Forest, Nador, near

collaborations that focus on the issue of migration.1 Haughey is interested in people and in the often-

the separation fence between North Africa and Europe,

difficult relationship between people and place.

covered and his shoes lie beside him on the ground.

An early group of photographs, ‘Home’, made

Subtle hints of habitation blend into the

while living and working in Ballymun in the late

surrounding terrain. Framed between trees, his

1980s and early 90s, examined ideas of ‘home’ from

gesture of supplication evokes humility, reclaiming

the perspective of those who couldn’t wait to leave

agency in his own quiet way.

it. Home could be somewhere you imagined as much as the place you were already in, and this sense of longing for somewhere else has been a consistent theme in Haughey’s work ever since.

The exhibition includes video works on monitors, a large video projection with an ambient soundtrack, large format photographs, sculptural Anthony Haughey, installation view from 'Citizen', Highlanes Gallery

Anthony Haughey, installation view from 'Citizen', Highlanes Gallery

elements and a vinyl text covering one complete

a man kneels in a sun-dappled clearing. His head is

John Graham is an artist based in Dublin.

Notes 1. From the article ‘Migration & Transformation’, Visual Artists’ News Sheet, January – February 2013 2. Gallery press release

The Visual Artists’ News sheet CRITIQUE sUPPLEMENT

May – June 2013

'Monuments' Lismore Castle Arts, waterford 20 April – 30 september 2013

'The Artist's Overcoat' FE Mcwilliam Gallery, Down 16 March – 9 June 2013

oN approaching Lismore Castle Arts, my head

The dominance of white emptiness behind a

locks into an upward tilting position. This

web of structural lines continues in vastly different

contemporary art gallery is located within Lismore

scale through Bronstein's architectural installation,

Castle in County Waterford, which dominates the

Pavilion, in the castle gardens. This imposing seven-

southern river bank on approach to Lismore and

meter-high work is visible from afar – due in most

requires this unusual positioning of the head if the

part to the scaffolding system surrounding it.

entirety of this vast edifice is to be fully taken in.

Closer inspection reveals that this scaffolding

High and ancient walls run at either side as you

encases a 2D drawing on vinyl. Apart from a

walk towards the public entrance. The sense of

minimally rendered window and door, this

crossing a threshold into another precinct persists

enormous sheet of vinyl is blank. While the heavy

as you enter a narrow stone tower, pay an entrance

and cumbersome scaffolding may ultimately

fee, climb a set of steep wooden steps and gain

facilitate the further working of this large scale

access to the upper garden of the castle, where

drawing, for the time being its presence seems to

Lismore Castle Arts is situated.

have hindered progress and is blocking our view of

My fixed assumptions about taking a leisurely

Aoibhin Killeen, Extremities, 2013

the printed vinyl.

visit to an old, stately home are confirmed. The

A spirit of provisionality, in which materials

title of the current group exhibition is 'Monuments',

linger ambiguously between a state of coming

which chimes with these expectations, and brings

undone and finding new form, continues through

to mind various displays of closed and authoritative

FE Mcwilliam, Women of Belfast series, c1972, ink on paper

From FE Mcwilliam's scrapbook

the works in the rest of 'Monuments'. Yorgos

AS the sliding doors to the glass vestibule hiss

and quick lines – is Clare Martin’s sound installation

representations of status and power. Mark Sladen

Sapountzis employs modest materials and a human

open, visitors to the FE McWilliam Gallery are

Continuous Lines and Intimate Moments, piping

– the curator of this exhibition – self-consciously

scale to suggest an improvised and wild approach

greeted by the familiar warm aroma of café food

whispered confessions of lust and lies through

embraces all that this title suggests in relation to

to the creation of temporary and collectively

and by, somewhat surprisingly, two works from the

cardboard tubes, which subsequently imbues some

this loaded site: resisting and complicating these

activated memorials. His Castle Knots and Animals

current exhibition, ‘The Artist’s Overcoat’. The first

of the work on show with more explicit meaning.

assumptions through the works in 'Monuments'.

comprises the remnants of a performance which

is made by McWilliam, the other – the cast latex

McWilliam undeniably enjoyed studying the

A thinness of surface appearances and the

took place at Lismore Castle. The materials –

pages of a historical book on a small shelf – by

female body. His sketchbooks are filled with

making visible of structural supports persist as

bamboo, pieces of fabric, tape and sheets of light

Kaylin Hackett, who is part of the group of NCAD

collages of legs: crossed, elongated, splayed and

characteristics through many of the works in this

metal which have photocopies taped to them – are

second year sculpture students asked to respond to

open, crotches and buttocks. The protesting female

show. The Vietnamese artist Danh Vo contributes

haphazardly arranged in the gallery space and

the FE McWilliam collection.

figures holding placards depicted in Banner Series

three large copper sculptures to 'Monuments',

through both their scale and arrangement, invite

The main gallery is an open, bright and

which comprise a series from his We The People

human use. Though the materials are inert, they

warmly lit space. It becomes immediately evident

(detail) project. Since 2011, Vo has been having one-

seem ripe with purpose: defunct if not held and

why this exhibition started at the front door: it

McWilliam sympathised with the victims

to-one reproductions from the Statue of Liberty

used by people.

comprises a substantial collection of work, which

caught up in the escalating violence in Northern

Studies re-appear as sketched, scantily clad nearnudes in Banner Series Series, mounted next to it.

fabricated in China. The sections in 'Monuments'

Through both Sapountzis's work, and in

includes a plethora of different sized sculptures,

Ireland in the 1970s, yet many of the women he

are taken from the drapery of the statue and appear

Alexandra Mir's two pieces of work in this show, an

wall-mounted drawings, prints, models and casts

portrayed in response are simply featureless

to be languishing in the gallery space – fractured

insistent belief is apparent in the inevitability of

in large glass vitrines, and a cordoned off, neatly

victims. Their beautifully sculpted limbs and

and useless, without their body to support them.

changing cycles in the status of our monuments

constructed tableau of tools, work boots, floor-

contorted bodies, replicated so finely in bronze, at

The thin copper sheets have been worked from one

and moreover in their contingency upon people's

based sculptures and overcoats.

times betray a pre-occupation with the aesthetic

side to create the appearance of a flowing and

relationships and sense of ownership of them.

Outside, sitting in the neatly trimmed grass

study of the female form that feels distanced and

undulating surface; we can walk behind one of

'Monuments' is a provocative and challenging

next to the replica studio, which is visible through

objectifying. In a vitrine surrounded by sculptures

these pieces and note the stiff, geometrically-

exhibition which squares up to the complexity of

the large windows, are Josh Joyce’s two wooden

of dismembered legs and limbs and fully dressed

arranged bars which are required to hold this

its site. The environs of Lismore Castle Arts are

crates. They are a reminder that this show provides

male judo players (in McWilliam’s defence, he does

'flowing' form together.

conspicuously monumental; such a space playing

an opportunity to exhibit some of the lesser-seen

occasionally represent the male form, but not

The foregrounding of such thin, structural

host to art works which call for the questioning of

items in the FE McWilliam collection that are

nearly as enthusiastically), the small semi-naked,

lines forms an integral part of Pablo Bronstein's two

the certainty and stability of fixed monuments

usually in storage.

masked bronze, Miss Orissa, crawls sexily towards

works in 'Monuments'. These lines are spare and

could be cynically regarded as further evidence of

How does one decide what to include in an

provisional in DB Nostalgia Ironwork Redesign,

art's co-option and sanitisation. But on the other

exhibition such as this? And what is to be excluded?

Aoibhin Killeen’s Extremities is a welcome

where a series of eight black and white laser prints

hand, the openness of this uniquely-positioned art

On display is just a selection of the extensive

addition in direct response to McWilliam’s

of architectural drawings depict fantastically

space to such questions could be lauded and

collection, focusing in particular on the artist’s

Umbilicus.

imagined, grandiose corporate buildings. The

regarded as a brave, self-reflexive position.

studio. McWilliam’s process of abstracting the

installation distorts the reflection of the large,

human form is communicated effectively through

crossed bronze female legs and crotch and acts as a

the introduction of collages, sketched studies,

simple

master models and maquettes that map the artist’s

engagement with the unsettling array of naked,

process and working methods.

dissected and distorted female body parts in the

portrayed buildings are wildly bombastic, yet rendered flat and monochrome through their

Sarah Lincoln is an artist based in Waterford.

humble representation on paper.

Also referenced is the transition into the wider

Her

floor-based,

intervention

mirrored

demanding

PVC

critical

collection.

world outside the studio by the inclusion of

‘The Artist’s Overcoat’ successfully showcases

finished sculptures and, in the case of the Seated

source material, research and sketchbooks that

Woman / Figure studies, even postage stamps: the

give a comprehensive overview of McWilliam’s

flattened image of the abstract female figure

prolific career. The decision to include work by

repeated perfectly across multiple surfaces, ready

NCAD sculpture students made in response to the

to be distributed across the globe.

FE McWilliam collections and studio seems

Daisy Gaffney’s steely surgeon’s table of sharp

appropriate and progressive, pushing the work on

precision tools keenly contrasts with McWilliam's

show into a contemporary framework that opens

tactile, irregular and textured plaster cast and

this archival material up for interpretation and

metal-concrete surfaces, and his muted palette of

debate. It is an act of preservation, guaranteeing

browns, beiges and warm oranges. However, these

that the collection retains its relevance amongst

seemingly perfect implements also betray the

emerging contemporary artists and continues to

presence of their maker – they are unidentifiable

resonate beyond the walls of this purpose-built

hand-made tools not quite sharp enough for an

space.

operation, speaking of craftsmanship and quietly tracing the artist’s touch.

In the top right corner of the space, the exhibition takes an unexpected turn. Snaking amongst the preparatory drawings for the Women Danh Vo, We The People (detail (detail), 2011-13, courtesy of Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris, image by Paul McAree / Lismore Castle Arts

her identical master model counterpart.

of Belfast series – fresh, loose, covered in doodles

Alissa Kleist lives and works in Belfast. She is a visual artist, co-director of Catalyst Arts and a member of artist collective PRIME.

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet CriTique SuppleMeNT

May – June 2013

Seamus Nolan '10th President' Temple Bar Gallery & Studios, Dublin 10 April – 8 June 2013 i wish to acknowledge the significance of your initiative and hope it will serve as an important opportunity to promote discussion on this difficult period in our history. i share your view that public art can help us to learn from our experiences and encourage us in our ongoing pursuit of a more just and caring society. letter to Seamus Nolan, from president Michael D Higgins, 4 April 2013

‘10th President’ proposes that the office of President of Ireland should be handed over for a nominal amount of time to a deceased child, Willie Delaney (1957 – 1970), who died in state care after being sentenced to six years in Letterfrack Industrial School in 1967, aged 10. His case proved unique in its impact when reopened for investigation years later.

Nolan’s symbolic gesture might be seen to acknowledge the suffering caused, to honour those affected and potentially create a space for healing.

May 20th, the anniversary of the publishing of the Ryan Report, is set for an event at which this symbolic, temporary transferal of power would take place and to which the President, key dignitaries, survivors and survivor support groups will be invited.

The exhibition offers us a short but instantly communicative trail to navigate: Jim Fitzpatrick’s adaptation of the presidential seal, to be passed to the President’s Office if present on May 20th; a giant poster of the candidate, in iconic graphic style; a stand bearing pamphlets, badges and stickers; a framed copy of the letter Nolan received from the President confirming his acknowledgment of this project; and a short film providing imagery, historical information, quotes and reflections on some of the project’s key concerns.

Nolan emulates the components of a political campaign for this exhibition, with only one candidate. These often take place outdoors, where we can choose to turn a blind eye, but by drawing the campaign and its viewers into the intimate setting of a gallery space, we are encircled and confronted with its concerns head on. On May 20th, the gallery could become a space where the individual and the state structure which governs it will meet, potentially subverting standard power structures in a dynamic way. The pamphlets and film provide information, which generates awareness and knowledge; from knowledge can come influence, which in turn can yield change.

The badges and stickers allow us to show our support and galvanise others into action. Although

'Analysing Cubism' New Galleries, irish Museum of Modern Art, Kilmainham, Dublin 20 February – 19 May 2013 seemingly impossible, the project is supported by a legal explanation for how this transfer of presidency to a deceased candidate – representative of all those whom the state failed to protect – could take place.

The texts by Francis McKee and Fin Dwyer inform us about Delaney’s life and the context of the times. They also consider several issues at the heart of this project. How can we accept unquestioned authority when it is our own welfare, and that of those around us, at stake? How can people feel powerless to intervene even when the truth is known? Does the meaningfulness of an action, which creates a deeper engagement between those in power and the more vulnerable in society, now have a more profound effect as a commemoration than the traditional monument?

Raising these questions in a public space creates a platform for thought and debate on topical issues deeply embedded in our shared recent history. An action from the President would be the ultimate gesture from those with power to those they represent and are responsible for. An overall conviction emerges that the only way for us to heal as a nation after all the suffering that was caused, and the collective failing to prevent it, is by accepting what happened, engaging with the issue and from there moving forward toward a more just society. As the key power holder, the state must also accept its mistakes for change to occur.

Nolan’s practice is developmental in nature, drawing from communities and situations around him. He seeks to address issues concerning them, without necessarily speaking for anyone. Projects like ‘10th President’ consider how art can engage with, and impact on, not only social and political concerns but even legal concerns. In his letter, the President himself acknowledges the potential contribution public art can make towards discussion and the drive for social progress. In ‘10th President’, the gallery becomes a space for an acceptance of failings but non-acceptance of unquestioned authority, a place where exchange and honest dialogue can begin. It remains to be seen how May 20th turns out but, whoever attends and whatever form the ceremony takes, no doubt the outcome of such a unique project is bound to have a wider impact.

Roisin Russell is a writer based in Dublin. Her writing has featured in Paper Visual Art Journal and Circa online.

Mainie Jellett, Seated Female Nude, 1921 – 22

Artists, if you haven’t yet seen this exhibition, go now. And if you teach, bring your students.

‘Analysing Cubism’, the exhibition currently

which it fails to answer. Why are the principal Irish

taking place at the New Galleries of the Irish

exponents of cubism mainly women, for example?

Museum of Modern Art, is a very good (though not

The catalogue does address this issue, but not every

perfect) example of a publicly funded art museum

visitor is going to buy it. ˆ 20, while a very good price

doing what it was set up to do, namely to “foster... an

for the production values involved, is not an

awareness, understanding and involvement in the

‘inclusive’ price tag in the current economic climate.

visual arts through policies and programmes which

The inclusion of just one piece by Braque and one by

are excellent, innovative and inclusive”.

Picasso also jars. Neither pieces can be considered

Awareness. The title of the exhibition is cleverly

either seminal or especially instructive, leaving the

chosen. Cubism is possibly one of the best known of

viewer with the niggling suspicion that these were

all art movements, and therefore less likely to

the only pieces by the artists available to the

alienate the visitor cautious about contemporary

museum.

art, while ‘analysing’ is a nice play on words

The most irritating aspect of ‘Analysing

referencing the term ‘Analytic Cubism’. The fact that

Cubism’, however, is the presentation and

the exhibition provides an effective visual analysis

organisation of information. It is clear that a lot of

of the movement through the works on view adds

work went into gathering the relevant information,

yet another layer of meaning to this choice.

demonstrated in the catalogue and the list of dates.

Understanding. Cubism is in a sense an easy

But the catalogue, as already mentioned, is not a sine

movement to understand; it breaks down the subject

qua non for many visitors, and the list of dates

into discrete elements, and then reconstructs it

would have been more useful if provided on each

using these discrete elements differently yet

floor.

distinctly. What is fascinating in ‘Analysing Cubism’

On the second floor, there is a set of preliminary

is to see how cubism works; the pieces on show

sketches by Mainie Jellett in a display case. These

demonstrate artists moving from the strictly

caused some puzzlement to a number of visitors

representational to varying degrees of abstraction,

who looked around the room for the related work; it

and the process is further elucidated with examples

was only by asking a member of staff that they

of workbooks or preliminary sketches.

discovered the work was not on display, a confusion

Innovative. ‘Analysing Cubism’ is certainly that, focusing not on the well-worn names associated

information on the display case.

Finally, the labels and ‘blurbs’. Having to work

May Guinness, Evie Hone, Mainie Jellett, Norah

out which label goes with which painting is

McGuinness and Mary Swanzy in Ireland, and Paul

annoying. Having to bend down to read lengthy

Egestorff and Elizabeth Rivers in England. It also

blurbs is annoying. Spotting a plethora of easily

references in some detail the European teachers of

avoidable errors – spelling mistakes (especially of

these artists, such as Albert Gleizes and André Lhote, juxtaposing their works with those of their pupils to

proper names), mis-use of punctuation – is very annoying.1 This is not acceptable in an institution

provide instructive visual examples of how the one

whose aim, inter alia, is to educate, and that in so

influenced the other.

many other ways can more than hold its own on an

Understanding is underpinned by information.

Cubism’ is the list of important dates available on the ground floor, which helps to put people, paintings and events into a broader context, giving both a global and a local dimension to the works on show. The catalogue is a textbook in itself, with a wealth of information and some glorious images to Eriu, Goddess of Ireland, presidential seal redsigned by Jim Fitzpatrick, 2013, image by Clare Breen

that could easily have been avoided by having more

with cubism, but on more local exponents, such as

One of the most effective elements in ‘Analysing

image of William Delaney courtesy of the Delaney family, graphic design

by Brian Coldrick (Seamus Nolan, 2013)

Nonetheless, ‘Analysing Cubism’ is not without its faults. The exhibition raises several questions

boot.

international stage.

But, artist, if you haven’t yet seen ‘Analysing Cubism’, go now.

Mary Catherine Nolan is A Dublin-based artist and writer with a background is in linguistics.

Editor's Note 1. These small errors have been corrected since the reviewer visited the exhibition.

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet Critique Supplement

May – June 2013

Ffrench / Harte 'The Sovereigns' Mermaid Arts Centre, Wicklow 7 March – 11 April 2013

City wide artists studios open day

Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th May 2013

Art in the making, meet artists, be inspired

20 + artists studio organisations & over 100 artists

Ffrench / Harte, 'The Sovereigns', 2012. Image courtesy of the Mermaid Arts Centre

Rope bridges incite all sorts of responses. Linked

structure, elegant curve, inherent flexibility and

to recollections of playground fun, tree house

strength, for example, contrast sharply with the

adventures or daring action movie escapes, they

density, rigidity and jagged contours of the stone.

trigger feelings of excitement and fear. Encountering

Some are drawn to the level craftsmanship – the

Ffrench / Harte’s rope bridge in the Mermaid Arts

artists tied each and every knot, and resorted to

Centre’s bright and spacious gallery not only

cutting up wooden pallets to make the deck – or

conjured up such impressions, it also helped

make historical associations. Not only did the

relinquish them, because this bridge could not be

artists pursue a labour-intensive process, they also

experienced in the expected way. Lumped on the

immersed themselves in a centuries-old technology.

floor and only partially extended, it came across as

Still, others became transfixed by the wooden deck

a weighty and cumbersome object – more an

and its unusual array of colours. The multi-coloured

obstacle to movement than a conveyance. The only

bars actually reminded me of an oversized

intimation of suspension occurs at one end. Here,

children’s xylophone, but the predominantly

the terminus has been draped over a wooden

sombre tones, which range from discoloured

partition and dangles freely on the far side of that

whites, muted yellows, ochre and a touch of violet

wall. In this configuration, the bridge seems to lie

to a multitude of dark green-greys and browns,

in temporary visual storage: a functional object

advocate an altogether different relationship. It

temporarily, if not permanently, devoid of purpose.

turns out that each tone replicates one of the hues

Housed in this climate-controlled environment, it

produced by a computer translation of Edouard

can readily be accessed for perusal and

Manet’s Le déjeuner sur l’herbe, a work chosen for its

consideration.

strange depiction of modern life.

The bridge was originally constructed for the

Much like Christo’s Valley Curtain, the rope

provisional joining of The Sovereigns – two small

bridge hovers between being a functional entity

and barren islands along the West Cork coastline

and an art object, but with its placement in the

– where it was installed and removed in the course

gallery its complexity is compounded. Seeing it in

of one day. In the Mermaid gallery, the bridge is

this ‘uninstalled’ state poses a dilemma for the

accompanied by a video and a selection of

viewer. One expects to see it suspended or

photographs that show the rope bridge in situ

inventively displayed, not collapsed on the floor.

between the islands and document the people that

The lack of access and sense of purposelessness are

contributed to the project’s realisation. The islands,

unsettling and initially distance viewers from the

which are isolated, enshrouded in light mist and

structure. And yet there is something very powerful

provide a habitat for sea birds, exude a mysterious

about the bridge’s presence, in the way that it grabs

aura and have a lurking presence. Their proximity

and holds attention. That power derives, in part,

to one another actually proposes some kind of

from the degree of workmanship, the physicality of

connection; but for whom and for what purpose? It

the materials and the congruence of its constituent

quickly becomes obvious that the bridge really

colours and textures. The fact that it cannot be

goes nowhere. Though it is accessible from the

traversed changes our relationship to the structure.

smaller of the two islands, the opposite end meets

We can, for example, imagine seeing the bridge as

a wall of rock. The images also effectively relay a

the artists saw it when they completed its assembly.

sense of the project’s scale and the challenges that

We can also, with the help of the accompanying

confronted the artists. Evidence of the difficulties

images and video, envision its transport across the

also derives from the photo of five team members.

water and its hanging. The realisation that it

It is written across each of their wet and weary

connects to vertical walls in both contexts confirms

faces as they huddle together in a small inflated

that alternative explanations must be sought. The

craft.

passage offered by this richly evocative object takes

Visitors respond to the exhibition in many ways. One individual walks into the space, sees the picture of the suspended rope bridge and questions if it’s the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge in County Antrim. The image also reveals a host of materialistic differences. The span’s open mesh

us out of the literal realm.

John Gayer is a writer and artist based in Dublin.

Visit 2013 is a weekend event which will see artist’s studios all over Dublin city opening their doors to the public.

On Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May this free event will give curious visitors the chance to meet artists in their private studios and gain an insight into their practice by meeting the artists and seeing their work first hand.

www.visitstudios.com

Visit 2013 is a free event and each studio will organise its own programme of events like workshops, talks and performances.

Bus, bike and walking tours will also be available. You can get more information at visitstudios.com or pick up a handy map at any of the participating studios!

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

23

How is it MADE?

Nick Stewart, Border Bird, digital photograph, 2011

Nick Stewart, Upper Lough Erne, digital photograph taken using a Lumix compact camera during Stewart’s road trip along and across the Irish border, September 2011

Nick Stewart, Cement Works 4, digital photograph, 2011

Border Post Nick Stewart discusses Which is The: 49 Views, a publication that evolved from: a meditation retreat; a week spent driving along and across the irish border; notebook observations; Photography and google maps.

Borders persist within a culture of ever-greater anxiety about national security post 9 /11 and yet, in the context of globalism, borders are increasingly breached, albeit for purely strategic financial reasons.

Similarly, nationalism surged worldwide in the early twenty-first century in spite of the phenomena of global communications and cheap international air travel. In this global context, the Irish / British border can appear a somewhat parochial dispute. Furthermore, in the context of the new European Union and with the advent of the Peace Process, it is perhaps becoming increasingly irrelevant, at least on an economic level. Nevertheless, conflict continues along this border with sporadic incidents and the ebb and flow of security fears is a regular feature of life here.

On a day-to-day level this border is simply an inconvenience that impacts on the lives of those who live in its hinterland. Its seemingly arbitrary meanderings across the landscape cuts across personal, social and institutional constituencies, whose natural boundaries are quite other to the political imperatives that gave rise to its creation. It was this everyday reality that engaged me, rather than the desire to contribute anything further to the mountain of political debate and analysis spawned by 40+ years of civil conflict.

In September of 2011 I spent a week driving along and across the Irish border, beginning on the north coast near Derry and ending at the shores of the Irish Sea near Warrenpoint. I explored as many border roads as time allowed, often tracing and re-tracing my journeys down everything from four-lane motorways to gravel tracks. At each actual border crossing I selected a spot with a view across the landscape. I observed and recorded the details of what I could actually see and hear in a notebook. These factual observations ranged from the smallest detail to the most general aspect. I did not attempt to interpret what I saw and I did not analyse the significance of any specific detail. The task was simply to, as accurately as possible, put down what I could perceive in front of me. In this sense, the project might be viewed as one with its roots firmly in traditional art practice: the discipline of observing and representing. I see it as allied to that tradition but also informed by the dematerialised practices flowing from 1970s conceptual art.

The resulting pages of text were combined with Google Maps samples of the precise area that each recording was made at, in order to create double page spreads of text and image. I was interested in how this software’s accuracy begins to break down when pushed to maximum magnification. Images of the Irish border, sourced in such a way, are generally lacking in detail: they are at times almost abstract with just a few lines and colours as generic indicators of roads, rivers and the like. I was interested in this contrast between the fullness of the text and the emptiness of the images and I conceived of this relationship as suggesting a third dimension of the work, one only perceived on a

mental level, one that failed to conflate the textural and map realities in any functional manner.

The project was developed from No-one’s not from everywhere, a book and exhibition series that I developed from 2004 – 2007. Initially, I hoped that the particular methodology I developed then was one I could apply again in this new project. In the former, I refined a process of interviewing, sampling and reconceiving textual material obtained through extensive interviews ‘in the field’. The idea was to further develop this for Which is The: 49 Views by extending the process to a wider public in the context of the border hinterland of Northern Ireland.

In 2007, I placed advertisements in a several key media contexts in Ireland. I was seeking responses to my invitation to record stories about the border in everyday life, the contradictions and ironies of living in such a divided landscape. But the responses failed to materialise. I then printed a flier / card and spent a week driving around the border hinterland, visiting libraries and public institutions of one sort of another, depositing cards for people to take away. Again, this resulted in very little feedback.

At this point in the project I realised I was approaching things in the wrong way. I needed to reach people more directly as, clearly, the activity of soliciting material second-hand was failing to achieve anything. I decided to work more directly ‘on the street’ as it were. After some research through friends and colleagues in Ireland, I commissioned two Spanish PhD students to spend several days interviewing people on the streets of Belfast and Dublin. The brief was to discuss the border and its significance from the point of view of them being ‘foreign’ and unfamiliar with the nuances of Irish politics. I reasoned that people might be less guarded with those they perceived as being other to the conflicting identities of Irish culture. In the end, several hours of material was collected in this way, much of it extraordinary in its own way, but it was not suitable for this project and I decided to keep it for a later one.

By late 2009 I increasingly I felt that the project was going to fail and that I would default on the Arts Council of England award I had received to research and develop it. Other projects had come along and the Border Book, as it was then titled, slipped into the background of my concerns.

A year or so later, while on a week-long retreat deep in the English countryside, I began experimenting with writing the landscape. Rather than taking photographs of places, I focused my attention on a specific view and began to write clear, simple, objective observations of what I could perceive. In some way, I was reacting against the promiscuity of the contemporary photograph, which can now be recorded in such a diversity of informal ways through new developments in technology and social media software. More accurately, I was interested in

questioning the mediation of looking, of observation, which has so proliferated through these new photographic techniques. I wanted a more grounded relationship to looking: I wanted to produce a work that made different demands of the viewer / reader, a work that would allow him / her to enter into a description of clearly perceived sights and sounds without the aid of literal visual representation.

The practice of meditation that I was engaged in on the retreat also enabled me to slow down and simply observe my surroundings without the buzzy mental chatter that normally accompanies observation in day-to-day life. This experience enabled me to realise a new methodological approach to the project, one that, while paradoxically giving up on the socially engaged aspect, enabled me to more closely involve myself in the actual process and place of the work itself.

In 2010 I met Stephen Foster, Director of the John Hansard Gallery in Southampton, to discuss possible projects in relation to the idea of borders in conflict. Initially, I conceived of an exhibition deriving from this work but it soon became apparent that the final form would be a publication. The John Hansard Gallery has, over many years, produced a fine collection of both catalogues and artists’ books and I was more than happy to have the work published by them. I worked with Danny Aldred, a graphic artist, to refine my ideas for the final form of the book.

I was particularly interested in Danny’s work with the text and books as well as his openness to discussion and collaboration as to how the work might take shape.

In the course of my research for this work I also became interested in how many, in fact most, of the border roads, no matter how small, are available to view on Google’s Street View software. It is possible to travel long distances along these roads through the wild Irish countryside, telescoping along in the somewhat jittery manner that Street View facilitates. It is as if you are a ghost haunting these backroads, unseen by those who live there, lost in a virtual memory bank of endless imagery that appears on-screen, not quite as photographs, not quite as video. Votography maybe, or Photideo perhaps.

Through this project I have developed a love for the border landscapes I explored in transit from north to south and North to South. It is perhaps more than a little ironic that the very thing that was the source of so much conflict that clouded my earlier life in Ireland has now become such a place of possibility for me.

Nick Stewart is an Irish artist who lives in London. He is currently Programme Leader, MA Fine Art , Winchester School of Art. www.nickstewart.org.uk www.dannyaldred.com

24

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

residency

Joanna Hopkins, still from What We See, courtesy of Fergus Jordan, Catherine Devlin, Joanna Hopkins

Joanna Hopkins, from What We See interactive installation

Questioning Viewership JOANNA HOPKINS, 2012 WINNER OF THE VAI / DAS RESIDENCY AWARD, DISCUSSES HER EXPERIENCE OF THE RESIDENCY AND THE WORK SHE CREATED USING THE FACILITIES at DIGITAL ART STUDIOS, BELFAST.

Joanna Hopkins, still from What We See, courtesy of Fergus Jordan, Catherine Devlin, Joanna Hopkins

DAS Studio Manager Angela Halliday also gave an informative and inspiring workshop on Digital Installation Skills. Both Angela and Studio Assistant Catherine Devlin offered help, information and advice on all the equipment and editing facilities at DAS. They were extremely helpful and supportive, answering any questions I had, and with troubleshooting in relation to project ideas and execution.

They were also extremely forthcoming with baked goods such as

Like most artists I know, I’m an avid reader of Visual Artists Ireland’s

now?” While instruction videos, comment feeds and information

scones and doughnuts, which is always a welcome addition to any

weekly ebulletins, and I first saw the new Visual Artists Ireland and

boards are relevant and useful, this residency reminded me just how

residency.

Digital Art Studios Residency Award advertised through this. At first,

beneficial person-to-person teaching was – especially in relation to

The residency concluded with a week-long exhibition by all

I wasn’t sure if there was a catch amongst the list of benefits: a free

immediate discussion on troubleshooting and problems. DAS also

residents and an artist talk on the final evening, organised by the staff

studio space, free camera and equipment hire and the potential for an

limits each workshop to a small number of participants, resulting in

at Digital Art Studios. My fellow residents and I – photographer

exhibition. Would I end up at a crossroads somewhere between

very productive, time-efficient one-on-one learning.

Fergus Jordan and visual artists Ailise O’Neill and Andrew Martin –

Belfast and Limerick handing over the deeds to my soul? I applied for

Other workshops included Digital SLR filmmaking techniques

created an exhibition space within the DAS studios and workshops

the residency via a simple online process and was delighted when I

with Jennifer Atcheson. This was a huge benefit to my practice and

showcasing the video, photographic and installation work we had

was awarded the residency for October 2012 – January 2013. (I

featured hands on and first person tutorials on the Canon 5D MKII,

each developed through our residencies.

promptly remembered I’d actually sold my soul a few years ago for a

which I had never used before. Very quickly I got hooked on to the

I exhibited my finished piece of interactive video installation,

doughnut, so it all worked out well in the end.)

quality of image and feel of these cameras for filmmaking. DAS also

What We See. This installation consists of an invisible screen, a special

My application for the residency outlined my intention to

has a range of high quality lenses for shooting with which give a

pair of glasses to view the screen and a replica of the set it was filmed

develop and create a short film as part of my current work practice

clear, filmic image, attractive depths of field and greater scope for

in. The viewer is invited to place themselves within the film set of the

exploring the theme of augmented reality. Through video, installation

image control.

video, by sitting in the set and watching the screen through the

and interactive work, I had been exploring augmented reality

As a DAS resident I was also able to hire out the cameras and

glasses. The sound is created in stereo headphones, left to right, to

technology and associated research about how the advance of this

equipment from DAS’s candy store of filming and recording

induce the sense that the person on the screen is speaking into your

technology affects the way we are developing, changing and learning

equipment for free for certain periods of time. I’ll admit that I became

ear on your corresponding side. By viewing themselves mirrored in

as a society. I saw the VAI / DAS residency as an opportunity to

a little weak at the knees when I realised I was able to rent out the

the artwork, viewers are invited to question the validity of their own

continue to develop work exploring how new technologies are

professional Canon 5D MKII to complete my long awaited work,

‘viewing’ – ie the ways by which they see things and the ways in

changing the way people think, act and perceive both themselves and

without having to completely drain my meagre self-funded project

which they believe what they see. The work aims to question ideals

the world around them. My proposed film would form part of an

budget.

of viewership. The film / installation set incorporated visual clues

interactive installation that I was developing. The equipment and

The workshop room at DAS was also available to rent for free

facilities awarded by the residency would allow me to develop

and that is where I filmed my video piece What We See. This enabled

relating to my ongoing research interests and inspirations for this project: posters of the film They Live 1 and the television series Black

professional, high quality pieces of work for public exhibition.

me to work with studio lighting and external sound recording for the

Mirror 2 and copies of the books Psychology for Dummies 3 and Life on the

I started the VAI / DAS residency in the middle of October 2012,

first time. I also hired actors – on a limited budget – and developed

Screen 4.

and right away there was an abundance of workshops that were

my skills as director, camerawoman and sound and lighting manager,

available to residency members free of charge. I decided it was in my

working within a controlled studio environment.

Being awarded the DAS and VAI Residency has had a hugely beneficial impact of the quality of work I am now able to create. As a

best interests to sign up for each and every one. The most beneficial

The DAS studios are packed with studio lights, an abundance of

result of this residency and the work I researched and produced here,

aspect of the residency was the availability of numerous and diverse

tripods to suit every job, a professional-level Sony HVR-A1E and

I will have my first solo exhibition at Catalyst Arts Project Space (27

workshops, through which I learned new skills and upgraded my

Canon XF305, Canon 5Ds, various high quality lenses, sound

May – 9 June 2013). I have also been offered a second residency in

existing skills.

recording equipment and last but not least massive boxes of various

Belfast, via a joint venture between PS2 Belfast and New Lodge Arts.

Ben Jones ran the first workshop, on Adobe Final Cut Pro. Having only worked in Premier Pro before, I had some familiarity with the

wires, connections and adapters that would make the Studio Manager and Assistant weep when I uttered the phrase “do you have…?”

I would like to thank Noel Kelly, Visual Artists Ireland, Angela Halliday, Catherine Devlin and the Board Members of DAS, for

basics, but through this workshop I realised my working methodology

Even if you are not a resident of DAS, the organisation offers

allowing me the opportunity to avail of this residency and the

in video editing systems was a little too ‘organic’ and caused problems

extremely competitive rental rates on all their equipment, workstation

assistance that was offered to me throughout. I also wish the future

and inconsistencies when it came to exporting high quality videos.

and studio hire. I intend to avail of this after my residency. If you

recipients of this valuable Residency Award the same professional

Each DAS residency comes equipped with individual workstations,

become a member of DAS, you are offered further reductions on the

development it has benefitted me.

featuring a lovely big, shiny iMac loaded with Final Cut Pro and the

rental costs of equipment. Other workshops I completed through the

Joanne Hopkins is is a visual artist who works in video,

entire Adobe Creative Suite. I was able to play around and hone my

residency included a Flash Animation workshop with Barry Cullen

installation and interactive art. Her current practice explores the

skills on Final Cut Pro and various exporting systems, so that I could

and an Adobe Illustrator Skills Workshop with Wendy Williamson.

ideas of changing psychology around digital technology and

strengthen my grasp on producing more professional video and film

Through these design-based workshops and the time afforded to me

augmented reality devices. She currently lives and works in

projects.

through this residency, I was also able to complete the administration

Belfast.

When I have a question or query, usually my most trusted resource is the web – or my dad of course. The benefits of the former is that its first response to every question isn’t “What have you broken

and design side of my main art project work, by completing and publishing my website (www.joannahopkins.com).

Notes 1. They Live, Sci Fi Action, DVD, 1988, director John Carpenter, USA 2. Black Mirror, TV mini series, 2011, producer Charles Brooker,UK 3. Adam Cash, Psychology for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, 2002 4. Sherry Turkle, Life on the Screen, Simon & Schuster, 1995

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

25

Institution profile

VAI Valerie Earley residency award

Exploring Hidden Histories MARGO MCNULTY DISCUSSES HER ONE-WEEK RESIDENCY, UTILISING THE PRINT FACILITIES AT THE TYRONE GUTHRIE CENTRE, CO MONAGHAN DURING AUGUST 2012.

Visual Artists Ireland Valerie Earley

Residency Award 2013 Margo McNulty, Bulb, photoetching, 15 x 25cm

Margo McNulty, Cans, photoetching, 30 x 21cm

During August 2012 I undertook a one-week residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, principally to utilise their printmaking facilities, which had recently been re-furbished. In terms of general ambience, the location and setting of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre is a vital ingredient in the residency experience they offer. It is sufficiently removed from normal urban distractions that it immediately creates a sense of purpose. The surrounding woods and pathways are ideal for long walks and reflection and the lake is perfect for swimming.

My first residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre took place about seven or eight years ago. Last year, I was delighted to learn that they had converted one of the studios into a print studio. As I work primarily as a printmaker and had an exhibition coming up in September 2012, Tyrone Guthrie seemed to be the ideal place to go to complete the series of works that I had begun for the exhibition.

Before the residency, I had completed the preliminary stage of exposing and developing 12 photographic plates, ready for print. On arrival, I was very impressed with the 54-inch Rochat printing press, which is recognised as the best available. The size of the press means that it is ideal for printmakers who want to make larger prints.

Unlike some workspaces I have seen before, thought had clearly been invested in how to make this studio particularly printmakerfriendly. The space and layout was clearly designed by a printmaker – with a large table and tray for soaking the paper. In addition, the studio was located away from the main house and I had 24-hour access. This enabled me to work at my pace and rhythm and not have to adapt to a rigid 9am – 6pm timetable.

Although the studio provided some materials, I supplied my own paper, inks and blotting paper. This meant that I was able to seamlessly continue the work I had started in my studio with minimal disruption. As an artist, this is one of the biggest challenges – maintaining continuity and flow. During the course of the week, I managed to proof 12 plates, and 10 of these were successful. The facilities played a large part in this and exceeded my expectations.

During my week in the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, I worked on 12 new pieces of work, of which 10 were successfully completed. These works were made in preparation for a joint exhibition in Aras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet with Geraldine O’Reilly (13 April – 3 May). The show will tour various venues later in the year.

The photo-etchings were a continuation of a series of work, which I began some years ago. This suite of work is called the Still Life Series. These photo-etchings are close-ups – microscopic portals to the past – based on photographs taken of my grandmother’s house in Achill Island, which has been unoccupied since its thriving period between the 1960s and the 1980s. My work deals with hidden history, memory and place, and with aspects of everyday life and experience.

I often revisit these themes and I am influenced by geography, agrarian culture and certain traditions inherent in Irish culture. This recent body of work concerns itself with episodes of chance, the intersection of personal and public histories and how these histories and meanings can be embedded in material objects. Professor Luke Gibbons, NUI Maynooth, writing in the catalogue essay for the show at Aras Inis Gluaire, captured, I think, the essence of my work with the following observations, “Close-ups convey intimacy, but may also be too close for comfort, as interiors become ‘congested districts of loss and what might have been… In other images, paint awaits a finishing touch as abandoned tins are left on the shelf, and thin coatings peel off damp walls. Progress has come unstuck, discarded machines succumbing to rust and corrosion, extinct species once they no longer work. Objects that connected their users to systems and grids – a tap, a light bulb, and a dust-encrusted fan – seem out of place when deprived of human company. We cannot even recognise labour-saving devices that cannot save themselves, discarded by the very labour they almost made redundant.”

The technical facilities of the print studio were conducive to a very rich and positive working environment. However, the ingredient that really joined it all together was the warmth and interaction with other artists and writers – engendered by the common purpose shared by all. Over the course of the week, I found that I developed friendships and shared experiences and information with artists and writers I had not met before. The various elements of the centre created an environment of openness, fun and generosity of spirit.

I met artists who showed great interest in my work and I discovered that some of the ideas and themes that underpinned the body of my work resonated with other artists and writers. This stimulated rich exchanges and debates, which lasted into the early hours. It was truly uplifting from a personal point of view. The tone of the exchanges was always founded on mutual interest, curiosity and goodwill rather than competitive rivalry. This was not only fulfilling, but also validating both personally and professionally.

After the residency, I have maintained contact with a number of the people I met and I am currently working with one of the writers on a joint project – combining words and images. In addition, the experience encouraged me to reapply for a bursary from Roscommon County Council for 2013. Fortunately, I was successful and I am planning to return to the centre this summer for two weeks, which I am really looking forward to. Although the group of artists and writers will be different, I know that the experience will be rewarding, inspiring and fulfilling.

Margo McNulty is from Achill, Co Mayo. She graduated from NCAD with an MA in Fine Art. In addition to working as an artist, she lectures part time in Athlone Institute of Technology.

She is currently living in the Midlands. www.margomcnulty.com

The Valerie Early Residency Award is a commemoration of our late friend and colleague Valerie Earley, who worked with Visual Artists Ireland as Membership Manager for over 17 years.We wanted to provide a lasting memory of Valerie and hope that this award is one way that Valerie’s care for our artist members will continue into the future.

Applications are now sought for the 2013 inaugural Visual Artists Ireland Valerie Earley Residency Award.

The award provides for a two-week retreat at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. It includes two weeks selfcatering accommodation plus a studio.

The Tyrone Guthrie Centre is set“in a tranquil, beautiful setting amid the lakes and drumlins of County Monaghan. With the advice and encouragement of his family Sir Tyrone Guthrie bequeathed his family home and estate to the State with the proviso that it be used for the benefit of artists. It was an inspired decision and one that has positively reshaped the cultural landscape of Ireland forever.”

This award is open to all VAI Members. For further details on the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, and to apply, go to: www.tyroneguthrie.ie/information-forartists/application-information In your application clearly state: your name; VAI membership number; the validity date that is marked on your membership card (NB applications will only be accepted with validation of up to date membership of Visual Artists Ireland) and that you are applying for the Valerie Early Residency Award.

All applications should be made directly to the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. No applications directly to Visual Artists Ireland will be accepted. The application process is subject to the standard terms and conditions of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre.

CLOSING DATE: Friday 28 June 2013

26

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

professional development

Aideen Barry, Possession, 2011, single channel video with sound., stopmotion performative work

Elaine Leader, installation, Monster Truck Gallery

A Hungry Ear Kati Kivinen, a Helsinki-based curator, discusses her experience of working on Visual artists ireland's Professional Development Programme in dublin and Belfast.

Visual Artists Ireland’s Professional Development Programme facilitated Kati Kivinen, curator for temporary exhibitions at KIASMA, Helsinki meeting with the following artists and institutions in Dublin and Belfast (13 – 16 February 2013). Artists: Colin Martin, Catherine Barragay, Monica de Bath, Rosalind Murrary, Elaine Leader, Fiona Hackett, Tadhg McGrath, Anne Marie Curran, Aideen Barry, Anna Macleod, Grace Weir, Christine Mackey, Sinead Breathneach Cashell, Tonya McMullan, Mary McIntyre, Aisling O’Beirne, Mike Hogg, Dan Shipsides, Shiro Masuyama, Fiona Woods, Seoidin O’Sullivan and Aoife Desmond. Institutions (Dublin): Visual Artists Ireland, The Science Gallery, Temple Bar Gallery & Studios. Institutions (Belfast): DAS (Digital Art Studios), MAC (Metropolitan Art Centre), PS Squared, Golden Thread, Flax Art. The Peer Review / Critique (Dublin and Belfast) artists were selfselected and paid a fee to participate after responding to advertisements and information in the Visual Artists' News Sheet and online. In addition, Visual Artists Ireland drew up a long-list of artists whose practices focused on environmental and ecological concerns, relating to Kati Kivinen’s work towards an exhibition exploring these themes.

The curator made a shortlist from this selection and VAI facilitated invitations to meet with Kati Kivinen individually.

Jason Oakley: Tell me about some of your current research and curatorial concerns.

Kati Kivinen: At the moment, my current interests in terms of curation and in research cross over quite nicely. Right now I’m in the process of making last adjustments to my research work on the spatialisation of moving image and narrative in recent Finnish video installation art. At the same time I’m working on an exhibition on Finnish filmmaker and visual artist Mika Taanila, whose exhibition will open at Kiasma (www.kiasma.fi) in November of this year. The exhibition is concentrating on fairly recent works, most of them being either film-installations or fairly large scale video installations.

and such. After the intense half-week programme with Visual Artists Ireland my knowledge has improved a lot!

JO: Have you facilitated similar peer review type events before?

KK: Yes, but in a less structured form. In Helsinki, the Helsinki International Artist Programme (www.hiap.fi) runs a peer-to-peer review programme, which I try to attend when possible. Also Sinne Gallery (www.sinne.proartibus.fi) run by the Pro Artibus Foundation (www.proartibus.webbhuset.fi) has an interesting talks programme, where I have participated in discussions. Otherwise, this kind of peer review process is not so common in Finland – in its public form at least; it is confined to art education contexts.

Sinéad Bhreathnach, Attic Sandcastles, interactive installation

JO: And you are also working on a PhD in moving image work by Finnish artists...

KK: The plan is to get this fairly long research project to an end during this year. The outcome will be an online publication published by the Central Art Archives of the Finnish National Gallery.

Unfortunately, the work is only in Finnish, so not very easily accessible for foreign readers. But, I think it shall be of use for the Finnish art research scene, since we do not have yet much research work on Finnish video art. And I’m also introducing a lot of continental research on the phenomena of gallery film to the field of Finnish art history.

JO: Did these interests crop in the peer reviews and meetings with artists you conducted for VAI's Professional Development programme?

KK: Yes. I’m always keen to see and hear more of moving image practices by visual artists, so different kinds of practices in this field would always be of interest to me. And I was happy that I met many artists whose work related to these interests of mine.

JO: How familiar are you with contemporary Irish artists and institutions?

KK: I must admit – not too familiar at all. In 2001 and 2002 I did travel a bit in Ireland, but mainly in Dublin and in Cork, so my knowledge of institutions in Ireland limited. But there are certain projects and institutions whose programme I try to follow – like eva International in Limerick and Temple Bar Gallery & Studios in Dublin. My familiarity with Irish contemporary artists has been, in recent years, fairly dependent on different international exhibitions – biennials

Monica de Bath, PLOT 2 - Untitled, 35 x 35cm, watercolour

JO: Prior to conducting the peer reviews, what were you thoughts in terms of what you could offer artists?

KK: I’m not sure if I thought that I had so much to offer, besides a hungry ear and to come up with comments and questions that I hope might stimulate some of the current and ongoing processes of the artists that I met. Of course, I also have a bit different background to offer – my experience of the Northern European art context. When looking at the works by Irish artists, I hoped that at times my viewpoint would offer something new or distinct to the discussion. I did not come to the process with a heavy theory load – for me, curating is first and foremost an activity directed and inspired by the art that I see and encounter.

JO: How did you structure the sessions?

KK: Since we had many participants in all of the sessions, I ended up structuring them so that after a brief introduction on my own

Colin Martin, The Pier, 2013, HD Video, 7 mins

practice and my home base at Kiasma, we moved straight into the individual artist presentations, which were either quite general or focused on a certain projects-in-progress. I wanted to keep the sessions as informal and convivial as possible and I encouraged all the participants to take actively part into discussions – as these kinds of sessions are too rare to waste on simply one person commenting on someone’s practice.

JO: Were there any key themes that arose during the discussions?

Did any parallels emerge in term of your experience of working with Finnish and other international artists?

KK: Since the discussions were mostly based on the artists’ specific projects and works, I can’t say that I found any particular overarching themes or concerns. But, thinking of the relationship between for example Irish and Finnish contemporary art, I think I could draw at least two parallels. Firstly, the work of artists is still – despite the current economic situation – fairly well supported by the public side in Ireland and Finland, when compared to many other countries in the world, and even in Europe. And artists in Ireland and Finland seem to have a freedom about what they decide to do – their practices are not directed by the art market. The other thing to which I paid attention was the way in which issues relating to the environment and nature are something of a shared concern amongst Irish and Finnish artists. I guess that is an issue that unites two nations with strong agrarian backgrounds.

JO: Drawing on your experience with artists support and development organisations such as FRAME, the Finnish Fund for Art Exchange (www.frame-fund.fi) and AV-arkki, the Distribution Centre for Finnish Media Art (www.av-arkki.fi), how do you think Visual Artists Ireland's Professional Development programme and our overall activities compare to these initiatives?

KK: There is quite a big difference with how VAI and, for example, FRAME promote artists. FRAME doesn’t work in the area of the professional development of artists – as that field is in Finland mostly covered by artists’ unions. A key feature in FRAME’s promotion work has been the tailored visitors' programmes – for foreign museum professionals and curators coming for research visits to Finland. I think that that is still a fairly good way to do it, but I must admit that you probably get deeper into many artists’ practices with the peer review sessions that VAI organises, as it can be a more conversational model to work with. And I think it is highly important that VAI organises such review sessions, as these opportunities are actually quite rare for artists, once they’ve graduated from art school and are now working full-time on their practice. They also bring artists together in a nice way to discuss with each other their practice and works in progress – something that does not happen every day, unless you are overtly sociable or have a studio in an active and open studio complex.

JO: Overall, how does the VAI’s professional development programme compare internationally? And do you have any recommendations on how VAI and individual artists could further develop their international contacts?

KK: The curatorial research trips that I have attended before, have been following more the kind of model of tailored visitor’s programme similar to the one of FRAME. The peer review programmes I have encountered, have been in the context of education or artists residency programmes. I think that the model that VAI is working with is very good, as it offers a curator – who has the time and the energy – to focus a bit more on artists and their individual practice. I’d presume that the VAI model could be a bit time-consuming for some curators with busy travel schedules, but I found it very convenient myself. I feel that the VAI model gave me a deep insight into the practice of the artists that I met during the peer review sessions in Dublin and in Belfast. www.kiasma.fi

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

27

Project Profile

Growing Connectivity Anne Mullee interviews Barcelona-based Mariana Cánepa Luna & Max Andrews – who work together as ‘Latitudes’ – about their ongoing #OpenCurating project.

MA: Most of the works in the show were existing pieces, loaned for the occasion. The new productions were with the five partner organisations, including us. In that way, there was separation between what was ‘hardware’: the artwork, and what was ‘software’: the newspapers we produced, or the interviews that the organisation StoryCorps were doing. We also organised events with a view to re-articulating the more static content.

From this experience we became more interested in the effect of the Internet on art practice, curating and institutions, in both a technological and a behavioural way. And, generally, how the internet has made curators rethink what they’re doing, in terms of making interfaces between a collection and an audience.

AM: Indeed, several of your #OpenCurating interviews have been with collecting institutions, such as the Walker Art Centre in Minneapolis, which is also concerned with exploring audience engagement through its internet presence...

MA: The interviews cut across almost every institutional department.

They address the idea of what a curator might be in the context of communications and the archive – in the same way that being a journalist today is not just about writing news stories, it’s being a witness, researcher, communicator and community representative.

MCL: And this is the case with all scales of institutions. Our latest interview was with the Dia Art Foundation in New York, which has a narrower collection compared to, for example, the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, and it is less ‘historical’ than the Walker Art Centre. We started the series with the Walker, because we knew this institution and we were interested in the recent redevelopment of its website.

There were questions that could have been asked across the whole museum. This was why for the Walker interview we involved three people, representing different aspects of their mission.

Effectively, their new website is a kind of newspaper that generates content as much as representing its collection and programmes.

MA: With #OpenCurating we are not definitively championing the idea that every museum needs to be much more participatory, or that everyone needs to be thinking about opening up their research. We have a kind of healthy scepticism about participation – there is an expectation that there’s a demand for this, but is it always necessarily the right thing to do?

Latitudes’ newsroom at 'The Last Newspaper', New Museum, New York. 2010, photo by Latitudes

Latitudes speaking at ‘Within the Public Realm’ , Hugh Lane, Dublin, March 2013

In early March, Dublin played host to curators Mariana Cánepa Luna and Max Andrews, aka Barcelona-based partnership Latitudes. The pair were in town as part of Dublin’s cultural twinning with the Catalan city. During their visit, they spoke to MAVIS 1 students about some recent projects, participated in the Hugh Lane’s ‘Within the Public Realm’ (12 March 2013) curatorial seminar on public art (alongside organiser Amanda Ralph, curator Aisling Prior and artist Sean Lynch), visited CCA Derry and conducted studio visits arranged

by Firestation Artists’ Studios and Temple Bar Gallery and Studios.

Since initiating their curatorial office in 2005, Cánepa Luna and Andrews have worked all over the world researching and devising projects, including #OpenCurating – which comprises a series of research interviews investigating what they describe as the “increasing expectation of participation and transparency” demanded of curatorial practice in the wake of Web 2.0. 2 Anne Mullee: How did the #OpenCurating project come about?

Max Andrews: It grew out of a project we made in 2010 in the New Museum in New York called 'The Last Newspaper', where we were invited as a partner organisation. It was an exhibition about artists working with the newspaper as a format and more generally about the artist-as-editor and artist-as-journalist in the context of how the internet has more or less destroyed the original business model of news-making as printed news. So we were in the museum galleries making a weekly newspaper, 12 pages every week for 10 weeks, reporting for the exhibition itself as a kind of micro community as well as covering the exhibition as if it was something to be reported on.

Latitudes’ newsroom at 'The Last Newspaper', New Museum, New York. 2010, photo by Latitudes

Mariana Cánepa Luna: We are interested in inclusion: the plural voice, as well as the singular voice. We also dedicated pages to what new initiatives are taking place online or in print and what kind of agencies are involved, ie: How are these changes evolving? How do we analyse them? From there, it seemed natural to look into how curating is also being changed by the internet.

MA: While the internet hasn’t quite changed art practice to the degree that it has impacted on the music industry or newspapers, for example, one of the things that came to our attention was the relationship between a collection, an exhibition and a catalogue.

With the newspaper, we were making a different kind of choral catalogue for the show – where normally you would have a curator writing a single channel of information.

AM: Do you think that there’s a hierarchy of documentation in terms of the print review, as opposed to online writing, being seen as the mark of success?

MCL: I certainly think so, but I’m hoping it will change. Art bloggers provide a different point of view, in my opinion. Print or online, it’s not that one is better than the other, they are just different. In print, institutions can edit a catalogue and supervise who will write about what, and the language is very academic or historical. We involved the kind of people that you might expect would write for catalogues – art curators, art writers, etc – but also visitors and museum guards, for example. Both the language and the temporality of the publication were very different from a regular exhibition catalogue.

AM: How do you feel that this affected the artists and their practice represented in 'The Last Newspaper' exhibition? Did they engage with your process during the show?

AM: So there can be a tension between creating a more open ‘space’ and mediating what’s already there in terms of collections?

MA: Yes. Collections can be mediated in many different ways. Art can be presented as artefact and vice versa. For example, a letter from a museum director to a collector, or a drawing made by an artist during the planning of an installation could be treated as kinds of conceptual art objects.

MCL: We’re interested in what is being told, and in what way it’s being told – in who tells the story.

MA: A website can say far more than “come and see our show”. It can acknowledge different audiences and levels of engagement – physical and non-physical. You might be able to follow an institution’s programme without ever having been there.

AM: From your findings so far, with #OpenCurating, what do you both envisage as the next steps for curating?

MCL & MA: Trying to understand what ‘old rules’ and behaviours the internet has broken and continues to break – for better or for worse – is a fundamental challenge. More and more is being expected of public art institutions and their curators, directors, educators, editors, archivists, communications specialists, etc in terms of defining their core purpose, their ongoing relationship to their collections and working out to what degree they are concerned with listening to audiences and growing their ‘connectivity’.

AM: When you come back to Ireland, what research might you want to undertake?

MCL & MA: It’s difficult to say, as there is nothing specific lined up as of yet. But there were certainly artists we met during our visit to Dublin whose work we think is really engaging, and we’d hope to find a way to collaborate in the future. It has been unusual for us to have being doing such an extended phase of research for #OpenCurating, and we’re naturally keen to remain involved in exhibition making and artistic programming. www.lttds.org/projects/opencurating Notes 1. MAVIS – MA Visual Arts Practices is a Master of Arts programme for critics, curators and art-makers, offered by the Institute of Art, Design & Technology, IADT (www.mavis.ie) 2 . www.lttds.org/projects/opencurating

28

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

institution profile

Stephan Riebel This is Dedicated to the day after tommorrow. commissioned for Culture Night 2012, Drogheda. A NeXus Arts project.

Gee Vaucher Our Father, in ‘Lost for Words – A Retrospective’ , NeXus Arts at Droichead Arts Centre, 2012

Engagement & Innovation NeXus Arts, an independent artist-led curatorial project based in Drogheda, outline their activities to date and their future plans.

NeXus Arts aims to promote artistic, intellectual and cultural exchange through an ambitious programme of curatorial activity including exhibitions, international exchange, publications and social engagement. We have developed curatorial strands using challenging concepts treated as time-sensitive transmissions, seeing the artist-run approach as vital to our identity. NeXus Arts believes strongly in the premise of producing exhibitions in diverse locations whilst catalysing a critical dialogue with the wider visual art world and other communities. We have been developing our practice, taking inspiration from like-minded organisations around the world such as Latitudes (Barcelona), Nucleo (Belgium) and Matt Roberts Arts (London), while focusing intensely on producing a consistent programme within a multi-disciplinary environment.

Since its inception in 2009 by Els Borghart and Declan Kelly, NeXus Arts has brought thought-provoking exhibitions and innovative artistic events to Drogheda. In early 2011, artist Brian Hegarty joined our team as a co-curator. The concept of three curators working as one has really developed into a major strength. There is a complementary sensibility within the group resulting in an energy and a wellspring of inspiration when we curate an exhibition and plan our projects. Coming from very different backgrounds, we see this as an addition to our approach.

Borghart is originally from Belgium and obtained an MA in Fine Art and also a post MA in Cultural Policy and Arts Management, while Hegarty, originally from Dublin, is a Fine Art graduate of DIT. His own work is part of several national collections. Kelly is a Fine Art graduate who also works as a teacher and is closely involved with the local community, particularly with youth groups.

NeXus Arts boasts an impressive list of projects since its inception in 2009 and has greatly contributed to the visual arts scene in the North East. Each project abides by an our mission statement, which we believe is the core of our identity: NeXus Arts is an artist-led, not-forprofit and independent curatorial team that aspires to present inspired contemporary visual arts. NeXus Arts aims to facilitate innovative, engaging and thought-provoking work by both emerging and established artists. NeXus Arts wants to produce shows at diverse locations whilst catalysing a critical dialogue with the wider visual arts community of Ireland and beyond.

We have curated exhibitions that were included in the Festival Plus Programme of Drogheda Arts Festival. Having worked in association with the Festival over the last three years, NeXus Arts has been commissioned to curate an exhibition and site specific installation for this year’s Festival. We have also collaborated with Droichead Arts Centre, presented an open submission project for Culture Night and

worked with emerging and established artists, both national and international, including German text artist Stefan Riebel, Northern Irish artist Fiona Finnegan and Irish artists Adrian and Shane and Kitty Rogers.

Projects The following exhibitions and projects were critical in our development as curators and thus enabled us to apply for the Arts Council’s Curator in Residence Award. We felt that these projects presented content that expanded on the local arts scene and offered something distinctive to a town with a rich background in visual art. They also illustrated our vision, key concepts and approach.

The first of the NeXus Arts Project was launched in January 2010. We secured the use of eight empty shop units to showcase the work of six artists, and all of the selected artists created work in response to the space they were to exhibit in. This element of site-specificity was important to the project, as the artists not only showcased work, but also collectively created a dialogue with the town itself. NeXus Arts organised three of these projects over the course of 2010 and 2011 and doing so helped us to develop collective concepts and curatorial vision.

These projects were supported by Create Louth, the Drogheda Borough Council and in turn local businesses, which allowed us the use of their properties. Droichead Arts Centre and Highlanes Gallery also played a part in the early development of NeXus Arts by offering sage advice and acting as a soundboard for ideas and any issues we encountered.

Fast forward through the next couple of years and, after a haul of successful exhibitions, events and screenings, we approached 2012 with a cohesive identity and approach to our curation. 2012 kicked off with a major project for NeXus Arts: the exhibition ‘Lost for Words – A Retrospective’ by Gee Vaucher, an iconic visual artist and former member of the legendary anarcho-punk band, Crass. In collaboration with Droichead Arts Centre, the retrospective surveyed the last 40 years and was complemented by an artist’s talk, the screening of the film There is no authority but yourself, a screen print workshop and a performance by Gee’s co-conspirator Penny Rimbaud. This was the first time internationally renowned artist Vaucher exhibited in Ireland. It was a successful project both artistically and in terms of public response and engagement.

NeXus Arts has also participated in Culture Night since 2010 and we were delighted to present a piece by Berlin-based text artist Stephan Riebel on a large billboard for the 2012 Culture Night. This piece was developed with the idea of bringing art to alternative spaces or, better yet, using a commercial space to engage the public in a challenging and

thought provoking piece of work, not unlike the work of Les Levine in the 1970s. The work itself comprised a number of textual propositions realised as modest poetic interventions that were at once poignant, ironic and whimsical. The billboard piece was placed on a busy junction in Drogheda, thus creating a dialogue between the site of its display, the audience and the empty space of possibility that the text evoked. The piece was visually dominant and public, allowing for casual and accidental observation subverting the original commercial advertising space into an art piece. These factors were all well considered by our team when we decided to exhibit the work.

What’s Next For NeXus? Having developed an ambitious programme for 2013 as part of the funding application, the Artist in Residence Award granted by the Arts Council to NeXus Arts enables us, as a curatorial trio, to carry out this year-long programme of exhibitions and happenings while in residence at Droichead Arts Centre.

The first project is for Drogheda Arts Festival (3 – 6 May 2013) and involves NeXus Arts curating the work of internationally established artist Erica il Cane. In early May, the artist will come to Drogheda to create a fantastical mural that will envelop some of the external walls of Droichead Arts Centre. This will be accompanied by an exhibition of the artist’s work in the gallery of the arts centre. Erica il Cane has exhibited across the world and this is the first time he will show in Ireland, coming straight from South America to work with NeXus Arts in Drogheda.

From that, NeXus Arts will make a special project for Culture Night 2013 (Friday 20 September), where we will invite London-based Irish artist Alan Magee to install a site-specific exhibition in Drogheda.

NeXus Arts and Highlanes Gallery will partner on this project. We plan to site the exhibition in the former Methodist Church in the heart of Drogheda, just across the road from the Municipal Art Gallery, Highlanes. As with many of NeXus Arts’ projects, the exhibition and installation will have a short and intense window and run for nine days.

Nexus Arts: Declan Kelly, Els Borghart, Brian Hegarty.

To keep up to date with NeXus Arts projects and once-off events through 2013, visit www.nexusarts.eu.

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

29

seminar

Periodical Review #2, Installation view. Photo: Florence Gourret.

Johnny Fitzsimmons, Hypostasis (detail), ongoing (2012), watercolour, photo by Florence Gourret

More Than a Second Glance Jonathan Carroll reports on ‘Dialogues on 'contemporary art, discourse & collaboration’, a panel discussion (24 Jan 2013) held at Pallas Projects / Studios, Dublin in response to The exhibition ‘Periodical Review #2’ On a bitterly cold January night (24 Jan 2013) – and an extremely busy one for the Dublin art world with multiple openings and talks at venues including Goethe, Project Arts Centre and IMMA – Pallas managed to pack out the room for the talk ‘Dialogues on contemporary art, discourse & collaboration’. The event was held in conjunction with ‘Periodical Review #2’, their annual all-Ireland ‘review’ of the year’s shows and projects (8 December 2012 – 26 January 2013). 1 The discussion was enthusiastically chaired by Katherine Waugh, despite starting with regrets from Eamonn Maxwell (stuck in traffic somewhere in the Midlands) and Mark Cullen, apologies from Gavin Murphy for his jetlag, and Pádraic E Moore and Waugh explaining that they were recovering from colds. There was more than enough fruitful talk about the 20 artists’ works featured in the exhibition, which surrounded the assembled audience and speakers.

Indeed, it was literally a case of art making room for talk; much of the work on display was temporarily displaced to accommodate the event – all very metaphorically apt for a discussion that was predominantly focussed on the mechanics of the selectors’ choices and curatorial decisions, rather than the works themselves. Perhaps, if some of the artists involved in the show had been invited to join the panel in place of the absent curators, the balance of discussion might have been different.

Katherine Waugh’s contributions more than made up for the absent speakers. Waugh seemed prepared for at least 10 talks – her excitement and curiosity were backed up with seeminglyinexhaustible experience and perspectives on curating, derived from her ongoing research at Goldsmiths College, London. Gavin Murphy, representing Pallas Studios, gave a good account of how the exhibition came about and outlined the reasoning behind the methods of selection. For example, Pallas had decided early in the year which outside curators they wished to work with – this allowed the curators to keep a critical eye open throughout the year, the Pallas exhibition brief and specifics of the actual space on offer in mind.

Murphy explained that the impetus behind the show was a dissatisfaction with the range of end of year reviews available in the print-media in Ireland and internationally. As such, Pallas styled ‘Periodical Review #2’ as a “discursive action”, describing the exhibition layout as “magazine-like”. We can take from this that the intention was not only a wish to add another viewpoint, but to add depth to the review process by making works physically present to audiences, so that they could literally view again particular works, rather than rely on textual descriptions and opinion. Thus, it could be said that judgment was suspended – apart from that implicit in the selection of works – on the institution’s part, with the show acting as the beginning of a conversation amongst the exhibition’s audience about the works. Moreover, in typifying their review as magazinelike, Pallas side-stepped any expectations that they had attempted a definitive, un-challengeable appraisal.

Nonetheless, Waugh did at one point in the discussion take on the role of devil’s advocate, pointing out to Murphy and Moore that their exhibition mainly represented works previously shown in Dublin. So how, Waugh asked, could the show be a representative overview of art shown in Ireland in 2012? The curators acknowledged that the majority of work had been previously shown in the city, but stressed that often work had been selected on the basis of being seen elsewhere in the country and that they had taken steps to ensure a regional spread in terms of where the artists were based. Murphy explained that the selectors undertook regional visits to Cavan,

Orla Galligan, Panic Buttons, 2012, found materials and mixed media. photo by Florence Gourret

Limerick, Waterford, Wexford, Galway and elsewhere. Moreover, Eamonn Maxwell had been specifically invited as a selector as he works outside of Dublin – as Director of Lismore Castle Arts, Waterford.

Moore spoke of balancing his selection of artists by proposing a mix of works selected from shows and studio visits, therefore including some wildcards who had not technically had the opportunity to show in 2012. He also mentioned that there were two student artists represented in the exhibition so, in his view, the exhibition was not just a show of ‘big names’ from Dublin. Moore also reminded us of the limitations of an entity like Pallas running a show like this: limitations of budget, time and logistics, effecting just how much of the country they could cover and in what depth.

This latter point prompted Waugh to ask a ‘chicken or egg’ question about studio visits: did the artists in the show request studio visits, or did the selectors seek them out? Inevitably, the conversation then turned to the worry that a curator requesting a studio visit could lead to certain expectations that a showing of the artist’s work was to follow. Waugh suggested that curators should in this case try working somehow anonymously. Moore thought this could be a useful strategy in Ireland’s small and inter-connected art world, so that curators wouldn’t feel inhibited by their choices or expressions of interest in particular artists being misinterpreted or overemphasised.

This discussion was billed in part as an exploration of the role of dialogue, collaboration and generosity in contemporary Irish artists practices – explicitly in their work and as part of the conditions of support that make their lives as artists possible.2 In relation to this, Waugh referenced some apposite quotes about curating and the

Liam O’Callaghan, Bit Symphony, 2011, courtesy the artist and Rubicon Gallery, photo by Florence Gourret

discursive from Liam Gillick and Andrew Hunt along with thoughts on the differences in curating the periphery and the centre as well as the idea of ‘minor curating’.

Moore responded to these observations, explaining that he saw the curatorial frame of making an exhibition show as discursive, viewing the bringing of artists’ works to exhibition as the beginning of a conversation, rather than the end or conclusion of a process.

While Murphy restated the significance of the format of the show – modelled as a physical embodiment of a magazine-type survey or review of the year.

There were no financial rewards attached to this survey exhibition – no ‘best in show award’ – but it should be noted that many of the works had sold. This is of course a reward in itself and made ‘Periodical Review #2’ a valuable platform for artists, during what continues to be a difficult time financially. It reflects well on Pallas that they were able to attract these sales, especially as it wasn’t possible for them to offer a budget for delivery or transportation of works to the venue.

The exhibition was accompanied by a well-designed leaflet, featuring good quality illustrations of some of the works on show, along with texts from each curator relating to where they came across each of the works chosen for the show. This was particularly revealing as it countered the suggestion of a Dublin bias in the show.

Eamonn Maxwell, for example, chose work by Sean Lynch that he had seen in Belfast, which had also been shown at the RHA in Dublin.

He also selected Damien Flood’s work after seeing it in Bray and Isabel Nolan’s work from her show at The Model, Sligo. And one of the most enjoyable and brightest works in the exhibition (which had to be partially removed to make way for the talk) was Orla Galligan’s Panic Buttons, chosen by Mark Cullen from the exhibition ‘trans-art’ in Cavan.

One of the weak points of the talk was the lack of discussion on the subject of collaboration between institutions, which had been tipped as one of the contexts of artists’ supports to be addressed. But this was mainly due to time constraints, as some admittedlyinteresting sideline issues were discussed at length. For example, a member of the audience asked the panel whether a disservice was being done to some of the works by being included in a group review context like this, when they had been made for more installation or stand-alone contexts. A discussion followed about the absence of work made in opposition to – and critical of – conventional ‘white cube’ gallery contexts and indeed wider art-world systems. Murphy saw Pallas as well placed to present such work, viewing their endeavour as one existing between large institutions and grass roots practice and sharing to some extent the precariousness faced by many artists – in that they have to make regular funding applications and their success was never guaranteed.

To close – and returning to the subject of institutions and collaboration – during the talk, one idea that came to my mind was a multi-venue supported online opening calendar similar to Theatre Forum Ireland’s ‘Opening Night Clash Diary’. Such a facility would offer, very graphically, a demonstration of how healthy the arts scene in Ireland continues to be, despite the economic challenges it faces: a strength clearly evidenced in ‘Periodical Review #2’ which offered a very strong exhibition of the diverse range of artists’ works, exhibitions and projects presented in 2012.

Jonathan Carroll Notes 1. ‘Periodical Review #2’ (8 Dec 2012 – 26 Jan 2013) was the second exhibition of its kind presented at Pallas Projects / Studios, Dublin and featured works by Aideen Barry, Brendan Earley, Aleanna Egan, Johnny Fitzsimmons, Damien Flood, Orla Galligan, Aoibheann Greenan, Allan Hughes, Ronnie Hughes, Sally Anne Kelly & Kevin Gaffney, Sean Lynch, Isabel Nolan, Liam O’Callaghan, Helen O’Dea, Mark O’Kelly, Niamh O’Malley, Garrett Phelan, Amy Stephens, Mark Swords 2. Press materials for the show noted that the talk would “discuss work from around the country, hoping to elucidate dialogues and movements, parallels and divergence within Irish contemporary art practice… the role of discourse, collaboration, improvisation and generosity – from independent initiatives through to individual practitioners and to the museum – and how institutions negotiate and support the interaction and dialogue between established and emerging generations of artists”

30

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

regional contacts: VAI northern Ireland manager

regional contacts: VAI west of ireland representative

A Moving Target

Ups & Downs

VAI’s Northern Ireland Manager Feargal O’Malley REPORTS on Seacourt Print Workshop’s recent move and expansion.

AIDEEN BARRY OFFERS AN OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATE OF VISUAL ARTS RESOURCES, INSTUTIONS & SUPPORT ACROSS THE WEST OF IRELAND.

With the current economic climate hanging around a lot longer than everybody hoped for, most arts organisations are barely holding ground. Becoming more cost effective with every decision has become the mantra of necessity. Many have walked closer towards the bright light of closure than they would have wanted to, barely holding on to their small and part-time staff as it is. Battening down the hatches waiting for the economy to recover is the norm; commercial ventures are far and few between. The holy grail of philanthropy (buzz word alert) usually falls at the feet of the people with enough money to stay comfortably afloat and have a large enough profile to produce the biggest applause. The thought of expansion would be ludicrous for most in this situation, but it takes an organisation with eye on the bigger picture to find not only a way to survive, but also a way to thrive – step forward Seacourt Print Workshop in Bangor, Co Down.

Seacourt Print Workshop is an internationally recognised fine-art printmaking resource that focuses on professional development, education and research into safer print processes. Seacourt Print Workshop has recently moved and is now based in the Centre for Contemporary Printmaking. The facility is 10,000 square feet and offers access to the widest range of printmaking techniques in the whole of Ireland. The move to new premises is due to increased membership and growth in their education programme. The new space also has a dedicated education area, which is another first for workshops in Ireland.

Robert Peters, Director of Seacourt Print Workshop for over seven years, is a charming and industrious figure, constantly pushing ahead, spinning seven plates as he goes. It could be argued that, pound for pound, he might just be the hardest-working man in the arts. Under his directorship, with a committed board behind him, Seacourt has consistently pursued connections with other spaces. The workshop has constantly made sure that it’s a moving target, making education a fundamental part of its future. Robert Peters, commented, “moving to a new space will enable Seacourt Print Workshop to increase all aspects of its activities. With public funding shrinking it is essential for arts organisations to become increasingly self-sufficient. By increasing membership and service delivery within the Centre for Contemporary Printmaking, we hope to best place Seacourt Print Workshop in relation to the challenges ahead”.

Printing is a strange animal, something that most contemporary artists would consider a secondary medium. Many younger artists have rejected it out of haste and some said to me recently that they consider it a process bound art form, out of step with the times and without any real conceptual rigour.

Yet in my experience, it can draw you in and grip hold of you, calling you back for more.

I recenly had the great fortune to take part in a day-long salt etch course at Seacourt Print Workshop, alongside some heavyweight painters. To say I was nervous would be a gross understatement, but I was immediately put at ease by the wonderful tutor Penny Brewill, who waltzed us through the printing process. It is a beautiful, almost therapeutic, thing to watch a master at work, to see the joyful recursive loop of a successful print, noiselessly gliding out of a monolith press. You can take your conceptual rigour and… I jest!

To promote printmaking, Seacourt has worked with non-arts organisations such as Armagh Planetarium and with galleries such as the FE McWilliam Gallery in Banbridge. Rianne Coulter, Director of the FE McWilliams, stated, “Seacourt Print Workshop is an exemplary organisation that provides support and facilities for its members and a welcoming learning environment for people of all ages and abilities. Robert Peters and his team are efficient, innovative, open minded and a pleasure to work with.

They have created a unique environment at Seacourt that encourages creativity and experimentation”.

This year, the studio artists will be working with the Ulster Museum on a project entitled ‘Deep Time’. The artists will engage with the museum’s fossil and geology collections creating new work for an exhibition in July through to the end of September. This will provide potential audiences of 6,000 people per month for participating artists.

Seacourt has had to adapt to the shifting needs and concerns of artists and audiences in and outside of Northern Ireland, altering its mode of operating to become a centre for new ideas in a radically changing world. The Centre for Contemporary Printmaking is perfectly placed to become a catalyst for the exchange of ideas within print and creative expressions among the best of contemporary art talents, generating greater interest in and awareness of contemporary print in Northern Ireland, and giving hope and direction to other organisations in difficult years ahead.

Feargal O'Malley

over the past 10 years, the West of Ireland has seen an unprecedented expansion in the visual arts, which is made evident in several ways: the increased number of professional artists; the proliferation of galleries, artist-led organisations and exhibitions; the development of printed projects, residencies, off site and site specific projects, public art and commission awards; and clear developments in local authority and regional arts policy provision.

Various arts organisations, institutions and local authority councils have played crucial roles in this development, as has the expansion of art galleries, alternate and artist-run spaces, and the growth of art departments in colleges and specialised courses both in undergrad and postgraduate courses in the visual arts. These factors have combined and recombined in complex ways, producing a dynamic and vibrant visual art infrastructure. Wider developments in these postgraduate courses were marked by a recent symposium at the Burren College of Art (BCA) (3 April 2013) entitled ‘The PhD and the Studio: Sharing the Experience’. BCA, as well as Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD), have recently been championing the notion of the practice-led PhD. This is an interesting move that has led, indirectly, to a greater number of artists undertaking postgraduate courses and remaining in the west of Ireland. This trend marks a significant shift; Traditionally, graduates from the BA courses at GMIT, LIT and IT Sligo would have generally moved out of the area to undertake post-degree study, contributing to a cultural ‘brain drain’.

There is a new confidence in the visual arts with an emboldened sense of ownership and cultural identity. Some recent projects that demonstrate this include programmes like The Shed in Galway, a project space that acts as a kind of curatorial hybrid space. Established in a decommissioned storage shed on the former industrial city central docks, The Shed has run a programme authored by arts bodies based in the city on a rotational basis. Adapt Galway, for example, an advocate and lobbying group set up by members of Lorg Printmakers, Tulca, Artspace and Engage Studios, has run a successful campaign of public awareness and collaboration, while brokering partnerships with local businesses and publicly funded events to run a successful one year temporary programme at The Shed. They have now been invited to run a new programme for 2013 / 2014. This kind of strategy – getting the visual arts into the public consciousness – will help position the arts as a focal point in public planning and developmental expansion of the city long into the future.

More examples of infrastructural expansion in Galway include the recent move by 126 to a new location on Merchant’s road. Not only is the collective moving to larger premises, they are also expanding to incorporate studio provision. This is a very exciting time for the organisation, though it has not always been plane sailing. This move comes after a collective decision to reassess costs such as rent, while also preempting proposed cuts in funding, which will be hitting the entire sector over the next few years. While this non-for profit artist-run space adapts to meet the current economic climate, it does come with a health warning to the city planners that concrete plans regarding provision for the arts are essential.

Recently, the arts community in the city learned of a staggering loss to the city’s cultural heritage when a collection of rare works including paintings by John Lavery, Jack Yeats, William Farrell and Paul Henry, donated to the public in 1989 by estate of the late philanthropist Peter Daly, was returned to his trust after spending 23 years in storage. Some of the works were temporarily shown in the Bank of Ireland premises on Eyre Square in 1989 but have since been hidden away due to the lack of a municipal public art gallery in the city. What is truly tragic is that the works have since gone on auction at Christie’s and the collection has now been broken up; it will never be shown in its entirety to the intended public audience.

Galway City Council took the decision to return the collection due to the high maintenance and insurance costs. This came as a sharp blow to the arts community, many of whom had systematically lobbied for a space to cater for such a collection that could equally meet the needs of contemporary art practices.

Indeed, there is an onus on the City Council to recognise the vital role that artists and the arts community on the ground have played in developing the city, while balancing this with provision for their legacy and cultural heritage in the future.

In the next article I’ll be looking at residencies and asking, “what is a good residency and what types of residencies are available in the West?,” as well as examining plans for a new type of thematic and self directed project, ‘Rockets of Desire’, initiated by artists Ben Geoghegan and Denise McDonagh, that is intended to be up and running for 2014.

Aideen Barry

THE ARTIST’S OVERCOAT 16 MARCH – 8 JUNE 2013

EXPLORING THE STUDIO AND COLLECTIONS OF F.E. MCWILLIAM

F.E. MCWILLIAM GALLERY & STUDIO 200 Newry Road Banbridge Co. Down Northern Ireland BT32 3NB T: +44 (0)28 4062 3322 W: www.femcwilliam.com E: info@femcwilliam.com F.E. McWILLIAM GALLERY & STUDIO

The Visual Artists’News Sheet

May – June 2013

31

Project Profile

Photo of Small Worlds participants by Susanne Stich

Photo by Susanne Stich

Photo by Susanne Stich

Agency & Child-AdultConnectedness Susanne Stich discusses Small Worlds – moving image arts workshops for children, WHICH SHE rUNS at Void,Derry SINCE 2011 The idea for Small Worlds, a programme of moving image arts workshops for the primary school age group, evolved out of my PhD research and practice entitled Visibilities of Childhood in Moving Image, Emphasizing Children’s Agency and Child-Adult Connectedness (2010, University of Ulster). In the PhD, the idea that the camera can take on the function of an ally for the child, while also serving as an advocate of their agency and ‘otherness’, was key. In other words, the idea that “[children] want and… act, and they should therefore be understood as agents as well as subjects” was central.1 I was also interested in childhood’s “transgressive capacities, [which] offer important counterpoints to the striations of adult society” .2 Drawing on perspectives from cultural geography, visual anthropology, sociology and psychoanalysis, I made three short films: Lily’s Image, funded by NI Screen, which screened widely at festivals and on RTÉ television; Child Agent, which followed a boy in his everyday world over three years from ages four to seven; and Insider, which re-visited my childhood dolls’ house and was motivated by the principles of ‘memory work’ as proposed, for example, by Annette Kuhn.3 Besides a theoretical framework, the accompanying thesis also included case studies of works by Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Miranda July and Jane Campion. Both the films I studied and the children I worked with myself illustrated to me time and again that children are “active in [their] own right, not simply imitatively, but as … agent[s] in [their] own construction and as naturally an agent as any adult, in the sense of agency that concerns the initiation of action by choice”.4 While the PhD was focused on adult-generated moving image works engaging with childhood, I met with many children during the process of making the films, and I finished the project with an acute sense of what the camera can do for children – regardless of their background and what they want or need to communicate. I had facilitated primary school visits to Void, Derry since 2009. These visits were connected to Void’s own Comix outreach programme, which is based around specially created comic books by cartoonist Nick Brennan coinciding with each new exhibition.

Finishing my PhD, I wanted to explore the possibility of taking some of my ideas further, and I approached Void with a proposal for moving image arts workshops. In the process, I went back to some of my early research. Wendy Ewald’s Literacy through Photography 5 work and the BBC series My Life as a Child 6 are two initiatives which – via teaching children basic aspects of visual communication and camera use before the children go on to take pictures and / or videos of their everyday worlds – have yielded fascinating results regarding the complexity of the child’s gaze.

Given the logistical context of Small Worlds, as part of a gallery outreach programme, it was essential to come up with a concept that would provide a platform for children to explore their worlds while staying either in the Void’s galleries or the classroom-type space.

In parallel, the importance of objects for children and the complex relationships they have with them, had been a recurring theme in my PhD. I related it to DW Winnicott’s theory of transitional objects, which centres on children’s “first possessions… that belong at once to

the child and to the outside world, and which occupy an intermediate position between fantasy and reality, the place of imagination”.7 Objects loomed large in the conversations I had both with children and adults about the theme of childhood, but also in my own films and the films I discussed in case studies – hence the idea and the name for Small Worlds were born.

The brief was simple and proved effective from the start. Children were invited to bring in a favourite object, which they wanted to feature in their video. Looking at clips from different genres, ranging from the opening sequence of classic feature To Kill A Mockingbird 8 to Japanese artist Hiraki Sawa’s Going Places, Sitting Down – which previously showed at Void,9 children were introduced to different approaches of filming objects and creating stories around them.

The use of small point and shoot video cameras made the recording simple and intuitive. Workshops usually took the form of four two-hour sessions and were offered separately for six to eight and nine to eleven year-olds. Group sizes were kept small with a maximum of eight to ten children. This ensured that every child had access to a camera and allowed me to engage with each individual, both of which were key objectives of Small Worlds. Over the four sessions, the children developed narratives around their chosen objects. In the early stages they used storyboards to explore their ideas. Some then went on to create backgrounds for their recordings, combining magazine cuttings and their own drawings on large sheets, which they stuck on to the gallery walls. Once the videos had been recorded, children were offered the opportunity to do some basic editing. The workshops were usually followed by a showcase for parents and children, partly edited by the children and partly by myself.

Rather than promoting seamless, Hollywood-inspired imagery, the Small Worlds project is all about highlighting the children’s role as creators of their videos and communicators of their own, seemingly ‘small’ worlds. The context of the art gallery helps in this regard.

Although visual literacy is a factor, the children’s own presence is at the centre of Small Worlds, and this has been manifested in different ways. Sometimes, for example, it was simply the visibility of their hands as they move their object(s) during recording. In other cases it took the form of a live voiceover – or the agency implied by the children’s elaborate drawings and collage work.

Drawing on the results and conclusions of my PhD I feel strongly about offering a platform that is open rather than prescriptive.

Therefore, apart from the basic brief, the children participating in Small Worlds are free to work in whatever way they feel comfortable.

In the workshops run to date I have encountered numerous captivating responses to the brief. Some children were really into the performance aspect of recording, taking on different roles or putting on accents while others explored stop motion. Some children used tripods while others explored the freedom a handheld camera gave them. Others simply wanted to tell a story from beginning to end, while others enjoyed creating atmospheres around their object, exploring colour, music, framing etc.

The key idea behind Small Worlds is to support each child in creating a very personal take on their object. The more diversely children go about creating these interpretations, the more Small Worlds comes into its own. There are no syllabus-related constraints.

Working this way, children’s individual interests, preoccupations and talents shine through without being formally judged or assessed. The small group size combines well with this approach and there is time for individual needs to be expressed and followed up on.

Regardless of whether children have their own camera at home or whether they have never had access to a digital camera before (I have encountered both scenarios), Small Worlds offers a platform where the individual child not only has access to a camera, but is in charge of what she wants to record and how. It is this simple premise that creates a fun-filled, motivated and also relaxed atmosphere.

Having run a series of pilot workshops in 2011, which proved to be a great success, in 2012 Void’s primary outreach programme was awarded funding from the Ireland Fund’s Promising Ireland campaign. This funding, which went towards equipment, has given a tremendous boost to Small Worlds. Testimonies from children and parents have been enthusiastic and there is currently a waiting list for workshops. With another showcase in the pipeline during Derry’s City of Culture year, Small Worlds is gaining public attention.

I hope to consolidate the programme further and give more children the opportunity to explore through video how their ‘small worlds’ are really quite infinite and full of possibilities. For me as an artist, Small Worlds is a continuous source of inspiration as I work alongside different groups of children. Considering my interests in children’s agency and child-adult connectedness as related to recent models of practice-based research, the workshops provide a wonderful opportunity for “observant participation” as opposed to “participant observation”.10 In other words, witnessing the children being more or less in charge of cameras and stories, impacts on my own work and has proved to be mutually inspiring rather than a one-way-street of simply facilitating children’s video-making.

Susanne Stich is an artist, educator and writer. She is also a member of the curatorial board at Void (www.derryvoid.com).

Samples of her film work can be seen on vimeo www.vimeo.com/user3405274

Notes 1. Karen Lury, The child in film and television: introduction, Screen, Autumn 2005, 308 2. Owain Jones, 'True geography… quickly forgotten, giving away to an adult-imagined universe.

Approaching the otherness of childhood', Children’s Geographies, May 2008, 202 3. Annette Kuhn, Family Secrets. Acts of Memory and Imagination, Verso,London, New York, 2002 (first published 1995) 4. Allison James,Chris Jenks and Alan Prout,Theorizing Childhood, Polity Press,Cambridge, 1998, 207 5. www.literacythroughphotography.wordpress.com/wendy-ewald and Wendy Ewald, I wanna take me a picture. Teaching photography and writing to children, Beacon Press, Boston, 2001 6. My Life of As a Child BBC Two Series (aired 2007), aimed at adults, made entirely by children aged between 7 – 11 who were given a camera and recorded their life over several months 7. Annette Kuhn, Thresholds: film as film and the aesthetic experience, Screen,winter 2005, 401 8. To Kill A Mockingbird, Directed by Robert Mulligan, 1962 and starringGregory Peck 9. Sawa Hiraki,Going Places Sitting Down, 2004, three-channel video projection exhibited at the Voi Derry (16 March – 16 April 2010) 10. JD Dewsbury in Performative, Non-representational, and Affect-based Research: Seven Injunctions.

The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research in Human Geography. Eds Dydia DeLyser, Linda McDowell, Stuart Aitken et al, Sage Publications, London, 2009

32

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

huMour

May – June 2013

VAi ProfeSSionAl deVeloPMenT

Artoons

W N NO Ki O

bO

The foibles, ironies and occassional foolishness of the artworld, captured with clarity, economy and due respect by Pablo helguela's Artoons.

VAI professIonAl deVelopment training & events G

for information or to register visit: northern ireland www.visualartists.org.uk/services/professionaldevelopment/current republic of ireland www.visualartists.ie/education/register-for-our-events/

SPring / SuMMer

SuMMer Briefing SeSSionS

Dubli N Writing About Your Work with Kerry McCall In partnership with Crafts Council of Ireland Thurs 18 April (10.30 – 16.30) @ VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2 Spaces : 10. ˆ 80 / ˆ 40 (VAI & CCoI Members) Copyrighting for publicity and marketing purposes; writing an artist's statement.

What You Need to Know about insurance – with O’Driscoll O’Neill insurances Tues 2 Jul (14.00 –15.00) @ VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2

installation Skills for Visual Artists – Traditional Media with Gillian Fitzpatrick Thurs 25 April (10.30 – 15.00) @ VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2 Spaces: 10 ˆ 80 / ˆ 40 (VAI members) This workshop is aimed at artists with an interest in developing installation skills and knowledge. installation Skills for Visual Artists – Digital Media with Angela halliday Wed 1 May (10.30 – 16.30) @VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2 Spaces: 10. ˆ 80 / ˆ 40 (VAI members) Issues relating to exhibiting media-based installations, including best practices, planning, equipment and technical concerns.

A Year in the Field: a Public Art Case Study with Christine Mackey, Artist and hans Visser (biodiversity Officer, Fingal County Council) With assistance from Fingal County Council Wed 8 May (15.00 – 17.00) @ VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2 Spaces: 20 -–25. ˆ 20 / ˆ 10 (VAI Members) The first in a series of talks discussing public art projects.

Anthologies of Artoons – Artoons 1,2 & 3 – are available from Jorge Pinto Books www.pintobooks.com. further information on author and artist Pablo helguera can be found at www. pablohelguera.net

The Arts Council’s

ARTIST IN THE COMMUNITY SCHEME managed by Create

Twice yearly, the Arts Council offers grants to enable artists and communities of place / or interest to work together on projects.

The scheme is open to artists from any of the following artform disciplines: architecture, circus, street art and spectacle, dance, film, literature (Irish and English language), music, opera, theatre, visual arts and traditional arts. The projects can take place in a diverse range of social and community contexts eg. arts and health, arts in prisons, arts and older people, arts and cultural diversity.

For queries and further information contact Katherine Atkinson E: support@create-ireland.ie T: 01-4736600 Full details on how to apply on the Create website:

www.create-ireland.ie

Presenting Your Work & Your Practice Speakers include: Mark Garry, Cliona harmey and Jonathan Carroll Thurs 16 May (14.00 – 17.00) @ VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2 Spaces: 25. ˆ 20 / ˆ 10 (VAI members) Speakers will discuss their experience of presenting their work and their practices in a range of contexts.

Self-Assessment & Filing Online – ROS with Gaby Smyth In partnership with the Crafts Council of Ireland Thurs 6 June (10.30 – 14.00) @ VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2 Spaces: 12. ˆ 60 / ˆ 30 (VAI & CCoI Members) This session will focus on Revenue Online Services and filing your taxes online. belFAST Projects & Proposals Clinic with Marianne O'Kane- boal and Peter Richards Wed 24 April (10.30 – 16.30) @ Digital Artists Studios, Hill Street, Belfast Spaces: 10. £40 / £20 (VAI members) Opportunity for artists to gain one-to-one feedback on projects and issues that they are working on within their collaborative practice.

health & Safety for Visual Artists @ VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2 Arts Council Funding briefing @ VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2

AuTuMn / WinTer Dubli N & GA lWAY Web & Social Media Marketing Clinic with Mary Carty In partnership with Crafts Council of Ireland Sat 12 Oct (10.00 - 14.00) @VAI, Dame Court, Dublin 2 Documenting Your Work with Tim Durham In partnership with the Crafts Council Thurs 12 Sept (10.00 - 17.00) @ Galway venue tbc Other upcoming events include: Costing & Pricing your Work; Sustaining a Performance Art Practice with Nigel Rolfe and curator T bC; live Art Masterclass with Nigel Rolfe; Artists’ Agreements & the Artists’ Charter with Alex Davis; Facilitation Skills with Niamh O’Connor; Developing Proposals; Public Art Case Study 2; Producing Artists’ Digital Film; Producing Artists' Celluloid Film. belFAST upcoming events include (in partenership with belfast exposed): Support Session for Artists working with Groups with Niamh O’Connor; Publishing & Distributing Artists’ books ; Documenting your Work.

P rTnerShiP WiTh VAi PA Visual artists ireland works in partnership with a range of organisations at regional level. We welcome approaches and expressions of interest from artists' studios, galleries and local authority Arts officers who might wish to partner on training events.

ArTiSTS & TuTor T S PA Tor P nel Visual Artists ireland has an ongoing open submission process for artists and arts professionals interested in being part of an available panel of tutors contributing to the VAi Professional development Training Programme.

To register on the PdT Artists Panel: www.visualartists.ie/education-2/current-programme

CONTACT Monica flynn / Professional development officer Visual Artists ireland T: +353 (0)1 672 9488 e: monica@visualartists.ie

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

Opportunities commissions Commissions VETERAN M EMOR IAL COMM ISSION Ennis Civic Trust and Ennis Town Council in association with the Irish Vietnam Veterans Memorial Project wishes to commission a memorial sculpture dedicated to Irish men and women who served in allied military service in South East Asia during the period 1959 –1975, including the Vietnam War. The brief for the artwork has been devised in conjunction with The Irish Vietnam Veterans Memorial Project, who is funding the erection of this sculpture in Ennis. The value of the commission is €120,000.

Deadline 24 May Website www.clarelibrary.ie GAELSCOIL EISCIR RIADA Ennis Gaelscoil Eiscir Riada, situated in Griffeen Valley, Lucan, Co Dublin, wish to commission a site-specific public artwork under the Per Cent for Art Scheme, funded by the Department of Education and Science. The artwork will be permanent and site specific, situated in or / and around the buildings and environs.

The selection process will take the form of a two-stage open competition. It is open to all professional artists. Selection will be based on the information supplied, establishing the competence of the artists to carry out this commission.

No designs or detailed proposals are required at Stage 1. The total budget for the commission is €28,000. Artists are invited to express their interest in being considered for this project at the first stage of this commission. Artists may do this by completing the application form and submitting a CV along with details and images of recent work. The material submitted should show the artists ability to deliver and ability to work with groups, especially children.

Deadline 16 May

Opportunities Ireopportunities ireland land SEACOURT PR INT R ESIDENCY As part of an ongoing programme researching non toxic approaches to printmaking, Seacourt Print Studios are seeking two artist printmakers, with at least two years professional experience, who have worked in one or more of the following techniques: ferric chloride etching, copper sulphate etching, water based screen printing, waterless lithography, traditional lithography. he residencies will last for six consecutive weeks. (Commencement date negotiable from 1 Jul 2013 but the residency must be completed before 13 Dec 2013). Artist Stipend: £1,500 sterling. This stipend will be divided into equal installments paid at agreed intervals over the duration of the residency. The residency

33

and aim to improve skills and encour-

we are organising our first symposium

€40. Six Hours, Eight Books with Sandra

does not include accommodation or

age participation while introducing oth-

in a series of bi-annual events. In doing

Landers takes place on 18 May, 10am –

travel expenses.

ers to new skills or reviving traditional

this, we wish to be reflexive (not least

5pm and is €60.

Deadline

skills that advertise what is available

about the use of the term trans-art), and

Website

4pm 24 May

in the local area. The age of the partici-

invite researchers, artist-researchers,

www.dingleprintstudio.wordpress.com

Email

pants will vary from adult, teenagers to

artists, and others, to explore some of

Email

info@seacourt-ni.org.uk

primary children with the aim that they

these acts of translation. We are seeking

meithealeitseala@gmail.com

Telephone

will showcase at the Summer Jamm in

proposals from researchers, artists, art-

0044 (0) 28 9146 0595

Strabane on the 7 and 8 Jun.

ist-researchers, curators and academics

life draw ing

Address Seacourt Print Workshop, Unit 20 Dun-

Website

for short papers or alternative forms of

Life Drawing Workshops will take place

www.strabanedc.com/council/services/

presentation such as performance-lec-

at the Belfast Waterfront on 4,18, and 25

lop Industrial Units, 8 Balloo Road, Ban-

tenders

tures. Submissions might relate to the

May from 11am – 4pm. £80 for series.

following as a point of departure and as

Workshops must be booked as a series.

BALLI NA ARTS C ENTR E

a possible structure for the symposium:

All workshops are for ages 18+ and for

LIMERICK PR INTMAK ERS

Applications are invited for the 2014

modes of communication and exchange

all levels of ability. Lunch and materials

Artists are invited to submit work to

visual arts exhibition programme at Bal-

(trans-actions, trans-missions); forms

are provided.

Limerick Printmakers Open Submis-

lina Arts Centre in Co Mayo. Individual

and paradigms through which artis-

Website

sion Print Show 2013. The Open Sub-

and group submissions across all media

tic research operates (trans-scriptions,

www.waterfront.co.uk

mission Print Show has been an annual

trans-disciplinarities); spaces in which

Address

event at Limerick Printmakers Studio &

are welcome. Applicants should provide the following: up to 10 visual represen-

knowledge is formed, produced and dis-

Belfast Waterfront, 2 Lanyon Pl, Belfast,

Gallery for the last nine years and has

tative examples of their work (photo-

seminated (trans-locations); the deeper

Antrim BT1 3WH

consistently attracted work from the

graphs, slides, digital images on CD will

consequences of changing something to

best printmakers both nationally and

all be accepted); current CV and artist’s

something else (trans-gressions, trans-

hack the oceans

internationally. Each year artists from

statement; any other supporting mate-

formations, trans-lations).

Life During this three-day workshop,

around the world are asked to submit

Deadline

participants will build a floating buoy

up to three works for the selection, all

rial (press cuttings, details of previous exhibitions etc). An external, indepen-

15 May

and integrate electronics to sense and

of which have an element of printmak-

dent panel will assess applications. Sub-

Website

interact with the ocean, to reevaluate

ing in it. The exhibition is open to art-

missions will not be accepted by email.

www.transart.org

our relation towards this extensive, yet

ists working in all areas of print eg digi-

(Please enclose stamped, self-addressed

tal print or mixed media works with an

envelope for the return of visuals).

DUNDALK PR IDE

hands on experience building the plat-

element of print as well as traditional

Deadline

The annual Dundalk Pride Art Exhibi-

form, which will be the carrier for our

forms. 3D works as well as installations

4pm 21 June

tion at the County Museum Dundalk,

experimental add-ons. They can be ki-

are encouraged provided a detailed pro-

Email

Co Louth is now accepting submissions.

netic, electronic and / or sound based. We

posal is included in the application. This

ballinaartscentre@eircom.net

This year’s title is ‘Identify’.

will provide motors, drivers, sensors and

year’s selector for our annual open sub-

Contact

arduinos to work with and assist you to

mission is renowned Irish artist Charles

Website www.ballinaartscentre.com

Rachel

realise your concepts. The goal is to end

Harper.

Telephone

Email

up with a collaboratively developed art

Website

096 73593

communityartdundalk@gmail.com

piece to deploy and perform along Dub-

www.limerickprintmakers.com

Address

gor, Co. Down, BT19 7QY

ART IST IN PR ISON SC HEME

almost unknown habitat. You will gain

lin’s waterside. This workshop is led by

Visual Art 2014, Ballina Arts Centre, Bar-

linenhall arts centr e

Sebastian Muellauer, a native German

rett Street, Ballina, Co Mayo

The ‘Drawing on the Back of an Enve-

/ Austrian creator working in the inter-

lope’ is an exhibition devised by visual

section of design, technology, nature

This jointly-funded scheme, offered by the Arts Council offers in partnership

now wak es the sea

artist and curator Ian Wieczorek. The

and human intervention, and founder

with the Department of Justice, Equality

Established by Kinsale Arts Festival in

expression ‘drawn up on the back of an

of the AutonomousSystemLaboratory.

and Law Reform, allows artists to work

2011 and previously known as Mani-

envelope’ describes the act of pinning

with prisoners in one of the country’s

fest, the new identity of the annual

down the spark of an idea. The act of

Takes place on Sun – Tue 14 May, from 10am – 4.30pm. Bring your own laptop

prison / detention centres for a period

exhibition and award, ‘Now Wakes the

drawing is generally seen as a first step

(Mac, Pc or Linux). Limited to 12 partici-

of up to 10 days. It complements an ex-

Sea’, marks its expansion to include art-

in the process of making visual art, and

pants. Cost: €65 (online booking man-

isting arts and education programme

ists and panel members from the UK

it can also be an end in itself. Artists are

datory and nonrefundable).

within the prison system. All applicants

and a commitment to promoting the

invited to make a drawing on the back

Website

are carefully considered As opportu-

work and profile of selected artists at

of an envelope – something inspiring,

www.hacklab.recyclism.com/category/

nities arise within the prison system,

international level. ‘Now Wakes the Sea’

something playful, something inven-

workshops

or as specific proposals are made, an

invites submissions from visual artists

tive – as part of a celebration of the act

Address

appropriate short listed artist may be

in Ireland and the UK who have not yet

of drawing. The exhibition takes place

Recyclism Hacklab, Dunlop / Oriel

called on to undertake a project within

had a major solo show. Artists will be

at the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar,

House, Corner of Westland Row & Fe-

a particular prison or detention centre.

selected by a renowned panel compris-

Co Mayo, from Sat 18 – Sat 25 May, and

nian St, Dublin 2

The fee payable to an artist is €2,000

ing Tessa Fitzjohn (Guest Curator, UK),

is presented in association with the

(€2,4000 where the artist lives over

Ceri Hand (Ceri Hand Gallery, London),

Linenhall’s National Drawing Day pro-

darkroom courses

80km from the prison / detention cen-

Daphne Wright (Artist Ireland / UK.),

gramme. See website for submission

Darkroom courses at Block T will start

tre). The scheme is available to artists

Janice Hough (IMMA), and Trish Bren-

details.

soon. These courses include: Introduc-

living in the Republic of Ireland.

nan (CIT College of Art and Design). Se-

Deadline

tion to 35mm SLR film cameras; Intro-

Deadline

lected artists will exhibit their work at

5pm 13 May

duction to the Black and White Dark-

Ongoing

Kinsale Arts Festival from the 6 – 14 Jul.

Email

room; Intermediate Black and White

Contact

The winner of the Now Wakes Award

linenhall@anu.ie

Darkroom Techniques; Advanced Dark-

Veronica Hoen

will be offered a solo show at the CIT

Telephone

room Printing 1. The Darkroom has a

Email

Wandesford Quay Gallery in Co Cork,

094 9023733

range of enlargers enabling printing

vmhoen@ipsedu.ie

with promotional support provided by both organisations.

stra bane arts facilli tators

Deadline

Strabane District Council has received

3 June

IFI

Email

funding

under

Reconciliation

C ourses/Traincourses / training / ing/ Workshops workshops

from 5 x 4, 120 to 35mm films. Maximum of six students per class. Each student will have the use of an enlarger for the duration of the course. Lecturers are experienced photographers / printers.

through Riverine delivered by Donegal

ana@kinsaleartsfestival.com

MEITHEAL EITSEÁLA

Email

County Council and are looking to de-

Website

MeithealEitseála / West Kerry Fine Art

darkroom@blockt.ie

velop a music, performance and visual

www.kinsaleartsfestival.com

Print Studio is offering a series of spring

arts and crafts showcase that will engage

workshops at the studio on John Street,

PHYSICAL COMP UTING During this Master class participants

As part of an ongoing process of develop-

Dingle, Co Kerry. A Simple Fold-Up Album with John and Carol Pratt takes

ing a research community and network,

places on 11 May, 10am – 1pm and is

ware and software design while at the

groups of people from the Strabane and

trans -art

Lifford areas. Arts / crafts workshops would take in traditional / visual arts

will become familiar with basic hard-

34

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

May – June 2013

opportunities same time gaining hands-on experience

range of social and community contexts

professional recognition. The successful

Deadline

making interactive art projects, digital

including: arts and health; arts in pris-

recipient of the award will be required

17 May

art performances, installations, interac-

ons; arts and older people; arts and cul-

to create a new body of work during the

Email

tive events using moving images and

tural diversity. The aim of the scheme is

period Nov 2013 – Nov 2014, which will

mpigott@killarneytc.ie or morgan.

sound. The workshop covers the basis

to encourage meaningful collaboration

be exhibited at Wexford Arts Centre

pierce@killarneytc.ie

of physical computing using Arduino,

between communities of place and / or

during Dec 2014. Artists practicing any

Telephone

pure data and processing. Participants

interest and artists. The scheme is man-

visual art form are eligible to apply for

064 6631023

will be able to control sound and visu-

aged by Create the national develop-

the award. Applicants must have resided

Address

als in pure data or processing by using a

ment agency for collaborative arts in so-

in Ireland for a minimum 12-month pe-

The Secretary, Killarney Arts, Town

variety of sensors (distance sensor, light

cial and community contexts. For more

riod and cannot be currently enrolled in

Hall, Killarney

sensor, temperature sensor, potentiom-

information see website below.

an undergraduate programme. Submis-

eter, etc). Each participant will have use

Deadline

sions must be emails. For submission

of a starter kit (Arduino, bread boards,

24 June

details please see website.

basic tools and sensors) for the day.

Contact

Deadline

This course is run by Benjamin Gaulon,

Katherine Atkinson

4pm 16 May

SZP ILMAN AWARD

an artist and lecturer at the National

Email

Email

After its first 10 years, the Szpilman

College of Art and Design. Since 2005,

support@create-ireland.ie

emergingvisualartistaward@gmail.

Award goes into its next decade with

Benjamin has been exploring circuit

Website

com

the new golden challenge cup! Mem-

bending and hardware hacking. He has

www.create-ireland.ie

Telephone

bers of the jury – Bernd Euler, Lise Har-

also been running similar workshops in

Telephone

53 9123764

lev, Leonard Kahlcke, Patrick Koch, Tina

Europe and the US. He has created the

014736600

studios / space

Applications for medium / long-term desk space / studios at Pallas Projects/ Studios now open. Compact but well-ap-

funding / awards / bursaries

square feet in size plus additional floor space. Cost: €180 p/m plus ESB (€200 in total p/m). These affordable studio spaces are available to Dublin based artists, working in contemporary visual arts,

EAMONN K ELLY ARTS BURSARY

Tina Schott, and Michał Sznajder – are

Website

WEXFORD EMERGING V ISUAL ART IST

This financial award for the Develop-

glad to announce the Szpilman Award

www.hacklab.recyclism.com

Wexford County Council and Wexford

ment and Promotion of the Arts is

2013, still the one and only award for

Arts Centre are pleased to announce

being offered by Killarney Arts (a sub-

ephemeral works worldwide. The Szpil-

ART IST IN THE COMM UNITY SC HEME

a call for submissions for their annual

committee of Killarney Town Council)

man Award is awarded to works that ex-

Twice yearly, the Arts Council offers

Emerging Visual Artist Award. The

for the ninth successive year in honour

ist only for a moment or a short period

grants to enable artists and communi-

award is a partnership initiative be-

of Eamonn Kelly, best known as a Se-

of time. The purpose of the award is to

ties of place /or interest to work togeth-

tween Wexford County Council, Wex-

anchaí (Storyteller). Applications are

promote such works whose forms con-

er on contemporary collaborative arts

ford Arts Centre and the Arts Council.

welcome from artists involved in areas

sist of ephemeral situations. There is no

projects. The scheme is open to artists

The initiative supports promising vi-

such as music and song, theatre, visual

participation fee.

from any of the following artform disci-

sual artists in Ireland with an award of

arts, writing, dance, sculpture and all art

Deadline

plines: architecture, circus, street art and

€5,000 and a solo exhibition at Wexford

forms. The bursary is open to artists and

30 September

spectacle, dance, film, literature (Irish

Arts Centre. This award is aimed at rec-

arts students including students in leav-

Website

and English language), music, opera,

ognising and supporting the develop-

ing certificate. Applicants must reside

www.award.szpilman.de

theatre, visual arts and traditional arts.

ment of committed emerging artists in

in or be natives of the Killarney postal

The projects can take place in a diverse

kick-starting their career and achieving

area.

Lost Boys The Ar�ist’s Eye

pointed studio in partitioned space, 68 to ceiling storage cupboards beside the

Kohlmann, Miná Minov, Claus Richter,

Recyclism Hacklab in 2011.

pallas proj ects

for periods from six months to three years. Studio members can also avail of a webpage on the Pallas Projects website, which also hosts current and archived info on our internationally recognised exhibition programme. Studio members will also have subsidised access to our project space. Apply via email using the subject line Expression of Interest and include your full name, contact phone, your CV, a one-page statement / bio with a maximum of six images in PDF or word document format.

Email info@pallasprojects.org Website www.pallasprojects.org

weldtech ltd Est. 1979

Serving the artist community of Ireland for over 30 years A: Unit 3, Slaney drive, dublin Industrial estate, Glasnevin, dublin 11 t: 01 8309977 w: weldtech.ie e: darrin@weldtech.ie

The Territories of Youth Eleanor Antin, Doug DuBois, Douglas Gordon, David Haines, Richard Hughes, Julien Nguyen, Alex Rose, Collier Schorr, Steven Shearer, Gillian Wearing

Photographic Portraits of Artists from the collection of the Galleria civica di Modena

Until 7 July 2013 Admission Free / Suggested Donation €5 Lewis Glucksman Gallery University College Cork Tel + 353 21 4901844

Gallery opening hours: Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 5pm Sunday: 2 - 5pm

www.glucksman.org

Closed Mondays

Áiléar Lewis Glucksman, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh, Éire Lewis Glucksman Gallery, University College Cork, Ireland

A day of engaged sharing, networking and information provision

Friday June 28th 2013 National College of Art & Design 100 Thomas St, Dublin 8

The Get Together gives practicing artists and those involved in the contemporary art world the opportunity to hear from and engage in discussion with invited international and local speakers about a number of key concerns and opportunities.

This day-long event comprises four strands that will run simultaneously: Short Information Briefings, Art Writing, Current Trends in Academia and Cultural Corridors. The Common Room Cafe will provide a social space throughout the day and over the lunch break for taking time out, networking and gaining information. A Speed Curating event will also take place, for artists and curators to meet in quick-fire sessions. The day will culminate with a wine reception where discussions from the day can be continued in an informal way.

There will also be a prize draw for an original work by Nathalie du Pasquier entitled Sligo (5).

Tickets Early Bird (before May 1st): Current Members of VAI, AICA Ireland Members and VAI Student Members: €20

Non-Members of VAI: €40 Standard Rate:

Pay online at: www.visualartists.ie Or call: 01 672 9488

Current Members of VAI, AICA Ireland Members and VAI Student Members: €25 Non-Members of VAI: €50

Bronze Art, Fine art Foundry

DesignGoat and Derek Wilson explain the design process through re-interpreting iconic objects from A History of Ireland in 100 Objects – in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy.

St. Columba Artist: Niall Bruton St Columb’s Park, Derry.

For your next project contact: David O’Brien or Ciaran Patterson Unit 3, Gaelic St, Dublin 3, Ireland.

Tel: 353-1-8552452 Fax: 353-1-8552453 Email: bronzeartireland@hotmail.com Join us on Facebook

www.bronzeart.ie

Living with Design, Patrick Scott.

Photographer Lois Crighton.

LIVING WITH DESIGN 19 of Ireland’s established designers and makers select their object of inspiration from everyday life – in partnership with The Malthouse Design Centre.

Accept no compromise in the quality of your work, come work with the specialists.Best quality guaranteed everytime at competitive prices.

“We all Contain Things”, Derek Wilson.

Photographer Rory Moore.

DESIGN INTELLIGENCE

24 May – 9 July 2013

MAKING THINGS BETTER

THE MALTHOUSE DESIGN CENTRE

IDEATE Festival National Craft Gallery, Castle Yard, Kilkenny, Ireland T + 353 (0) 56 779 6147 E info@nationalcraftgallery.ie W www.nationalcraftgallery.ie

5 - 6 July 2013

A new multi-disciplinary mini-festival event that explores and celebrates craft, design and creativity through experimentation and collaboration. Featuring a fusion of music, making, film screenings and talks.

Celebrating the legacy of Kilkenny Design Workshops (KDW) by looking forward into the 21st Century.

@KDW_21C

/KDW21C

www.craftinireland.com/kdw21c

I knOw yoU is part of the programme of visual arts events celebrating Ireland’s Presidency of the European Union and has received dedicated financial support from the Department for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Dublin and is supported by the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.

An exhibition by a new generation of young European artists

19 April – 1 September IMMA @ NCH Earlsfort Terrace Dublin 2 Free Admission www.imma.ie 01 612 9900 info@imma.ie

ALSO SHOWING TINO SEHGAL: THIS SITUATION UNTIL 19 MAY

CALL F OR E NTRY clarem

orris open

exhibition

COE ’13

15th Sep. - 6th Oct.

SPECIAL ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATE FOR VAI MEMBERS €28 (INC P&P)!

T. 01 6766711 www.irishartsreview.com

Substantial Prize Fund New Painting Award Entry Form: www.coearts.org Deadline - 7th June Adjudicator; Mr. Andrew Wilson, Curator of Modern and Contemporary British Art at Tate Britain.

eva International 2014

Biennial of Visual Art

Curated by Bassam El Baroni

Limerick City

Open Call for Proposals

www.eva.ie info@eva.ie

Launches May 2013

droichead arts centre presents:

Erica il Cane 4th May – 22 June 2013 In association with NeXus Arts & Drogheda Arts Festival Commission.

Internationally renowned Italian artist creates a large mural accompanied by an exhibition.

The Boyne Valley in the Albert Kahn Collection 27th June – 31st August An exhibition displaying the world’s first colour photographs of Ireland and the Boyne Valley.

A: Stockwell Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth Gallery Opening Hours: Tues – Sat, 10am – 5pm W: www.droichead.com E: info@droichead.com T: 041 9833 946

irish bronze Dedicated to the faithful reproduction of the sculptor’s vision

T: 01 454 2032 E: irishbronze@eircom.net W: www.irishbronze.ie

from context to exhibition

Willie Malone: casting sculpture for over two decades Kilmainham Art Foundry Ltd. t/a Irish Bronze, Inchicore Rd and Griffith College, Dublin 8

A group show from Create’s Learning Development Programme 2013, with partners NCAD and The LAB.

The European Learning Network Symposium, a linked event, takes place on 29 May with international speakers including Joshua Sofaer, Dr Susanne Burns and Aaron Wright, Live Art Development Agency and a virtual keynote speech from Grant Kester. The aim of the one day symposium is to explore cross-European learning networks and the development needs of artists working in context across Europe. The partners are Create, Dublin City Council Arts Office, m-cult (Finland), Live Arts Development Agency (UK) and Tate Liverpool (www.create-ireland.ie/european-learning-network).

Images courtesy Paola Bernardelli and the Irish Photo Archive

26 April – 1 June 2013 Preview 25 April 6 – 8pm, with artist and filmmaker Karen Guthrie

Sara Greavu And your feet unable to find the ground: Crisis, Re-enactment and Wolfe Tone at Fort Dunree

the LAb A: Foley Street, Dublin 1 t: 01 222 5455 e: artsoffice@dublincity.ie W: www.thelab.ie

Artlink Fort Dunree Inishowen Co. Donegal T: 074 93 63469 W: www.artlink.ie

Closing event and publication launch Wednesday, 8th May at 7pm

for directions see:www. fortdunree.com/findus.html

An Artlink Fort Dunree Residency commission

Culturefox.ie is the definitive online guide to Irish cultural events, giving you complete information about cultural activities both here and abroad.

To find out what’s on near you right now, visit Culturefox.ie on your computer or mobile phone.

Download the FREE App available now for:

iPhone | Android | Blackberry

Fire Station Artists’ Studios, dublin Two Residential Studios available in 2014 Closing Date for Applications: Wednesday 28 August, 1pm.

Fire Station Artists’ Studios offers city centre subsidised residential studios for professional visual artists. Two residencies will be offered from March 2014.

The studios are let from a period of between one year and two years nine months. International artists may apply for shorter periods. Resident artists have free access to high end computers, software, WiFi, technical expertise & support and also subsidised access to digital equipment.

This is a competitive selection process.

Apply online: www.firestation.ie/studios email: artadmin@firestation.ie or phone +353 1 806 9010 www.firestation.ie