Visual Artists' News Sheet | January – February 2018
Regional Focus Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon
Collective Ambition Paul King Visual Artist and co-founder of SHORE Collective
Art Market
techniques and expertise in the gallery space with schools, arts organisations and the general public, through a series of talks, gallery tours and workshops, which animate the work on show and enChristine Donnelly courage open participation. Concluding our 2017 gallery programme, paintCreative Development Officer at Armagher Rayleen Clancy presents her current exhibition, Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre ‘The Fall of Innocence’, which challenges our thoughts on human desire for happiness in a tempestuous world. Meanwhile, the Belfast-based illustration agency UsFolk is exhibiting a collection of contemporary work by Irish and international illustrators in the foyer of the gallery. Both of these exhibitions run until 20 January 2018. Looking forward to spring next year, the gallery will launch a new programme, which includes an exciting line-up of photographic exhibitions. The first of these will be ‘The Citizens Wallpaper’ project by photojournalist Martin Nangle. This project engages communities in a visual representation of their traditions and cultures to produce an ever-expanding dialogue, while reflecting diversity in a positive and respectful way. ‘The Citizens Wallpaper’ commenced in 2012 and will conclude in 2021. On completion, the illustrated narrative will comprise a 65-metre-long canvas reflecting on contemporary culture, tradition, citizenship and identity from the Atlantic Ocean to the Irish Sea. A second project by Nangle called ‘Divided Cities’ will be exhibited in the Foyer Gallery, exploring city life as being fragmented through segregation or security barriers. The projMartin Nangle, image from the 'Citizens Wallpaper' project ect commences in Belfast in 1973 and continues to the present, contrasting the experiences in Jerusalem (1990– THE MARKET PLACE GALLERY at the Market 91), Nicosia (2015–16) and Berlin (in 1989, at the Place Theatre and Arts Centre is a driving force fall of the wall). It documents everyday lives after within the area’s ever-increasing arts infrastructure. ruptures in the social fabric, and investigates how The gallery forms the central hub for the delivery ordinary people positively transform their enviof a thriving annual arts programme at the heart ronment under exceptional circumstances. Nangle of the historic city of Armagh. To capitalise on the exhibits in the gallery from 2 February – 2 March rich cultural diversity happening across the region, 2018. the Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre opened International photographer Kim Haughton will in March 2000. The venue is operated and funded present her solo exhibition, ‘Portrait of A Century’, by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Bor- from 12 March to 5 May. This show will be a visuough Council and is well-placed within the city to al time capsule, made up of people who are united serve the whole community. through a shared language, culture and nationhood. The building has a unique design and was nom- Each image in the series represents the birth year inated for the Stirling Prize for Architecture. The of the sitter, collectively spanning a hundred-year venue comprises a 400-seat auditorium, a 120-seat time-period from 1916 to 2015. Next year will also flexible workspace and meeting rooms. We serve see the return of the annual ‘Art and Craft’ exhibithe local artistic community as well as audiences, tion (18 May – 14 July), which will feature work artists and performers from further afield. We fea- by guest artist and ceramist Caroline Getty. Getty ture an ever-changing programme of arts and crafts combines ceramics with soft materials, such as paworkshops for all ages, alongside a range of artistic per and fabric, to create unique, three-dimensional and cultural events, including successful partner- sculptural forms. Partnering with Northern Ireships with the John Hewitt International Sum- land’s first Linen Biennale, Getty’s new works will mer School, William Kennedy International Piping incorporate raw and worked linen within the ceFestival, as well as Armagh’s Georgian Festival and ramic form, symbolising Northern Ireland’s strong Home of St Patrick Festival. cultural ties to the linen industry. Using cool tones, The venue forms the central hub for the deliv- Getty’s objects feel cold and fraught, as if depicting ery of a thriving, multidisciplinary exhibition pro- past memories, with stronger colours representing gramme across the foyer and two exceptional gal- clarity and a more positive future outlook. lery spaces. Both national and international artists For further information on exhibitions, preview have exhibited at the gallery over the past 17 years, openings, arts workshops and events visit our webincluding: Armagh’s renowned painter J.B. Vallely; site or contact the box office. international sculptor Kevin Francis Gray; painter Brian Ballard; mixed-media artist Rita Duffy; and marketplacearmagh.com the illustrious potter Jack Doherty – to name a few. We encourage artists to share their inspirations,
SHORE COLLECTIVE – formerly known as North Armagh Artists Collective (NAAC) – was originally founded by artists Julie McGowan, Jonny McKerr and myself in 2010. The name-change happened in November 2017. We formed the artist-led initiative because we knew of talented artists living and working in the local area. Currently there are 14 professional artists in SHORE Collective, with five artists-in-residence in our studio spaces. Most of our artists are from Lurgan while others are from Craigavon, Banbridge, Portadown and Belfast. There was no studio provision for artists in the Armagh area at the time, so we created our own. We received funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in 2011 under their ‘Start-Up’ programme and we presently keep our collective going through annual membership fees. We are now in our third premises. Our last studio space was a three-year residence at Oxford Island Nature Reserve in Lurgan, at the southerly shore of Lough Neagh. During this time, we were interviewed by Anne Marie McAleese for her programme ‘Your Place and Mine’ on BBC Radio Ulster after she saw our work. When our residency at Oxford Island Nature Reserve ended, we searched the Armagh area to find a suitable and affordable new space. We checked out several buildings until we finally heard about Mount Zion House – a former convent dating from 1865. The managers of the building were very keen for us to move in and have been extremely helpful. We relocated to Mount Zion House in October 2017 and several other community organisations now work in the building. We currently have four large, shared studio spaces, a common room and a kitchen. Not everyone within the group needs or wants a permanent studio space, so our common room functions as a workspace for short-term projects when necessary. We also have a very long corridor space leading to our studio, which we have turned into a walkway gallery. Like many artist collectives, we experience a lack of funding, studio space and access to equipment. We are a diverse group of multi-disciplinary artists working across a range of mediums in the collective, including: textiles, painting, drawing, ceramics, installation, conceptual art, performance, audio, photography and moving image. SHORE Collective offers artists at all stages of their career the opportunity to develop their individual practices, engage with a wider audience and showcase their work as a strong, creative collective, both locally and internationally. One of our membership conditions
is that artists organise at least one exhibition per year, which all of our members can take part in. To date, we have exhibited in a range of galleries and arts centres such as: Millennium Court Arts Centre, Portadown; The Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre, Armagh; The Waterfront, Belfast; Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart; Ards Arts Centre, Newtownards; Down Arts Centre, Downpatrick; and Ranfurly Arts Centre, Dungannon. With support from the collective, each member works on their own professional development. Three of our members – Kathryn Nelson, Sandra Turley and Julie McGowan – were recently selected to exhibit in the International Paper and Fibre Biennial in Taiwan in 2017. They received financial assistance by ACNI to attend the event. As an artist-led initiative, SHORE Collective works closely with local groups to deliver a diverse community arts programme. These arts workshops are delivered either from our studio in Mount Zion House, or in the context of local clubs, community centres, schools, residential homes, businesses, council-run programmes, festivals, events, pop-up initiatives or galleries. As a highly experienced team of professional artists with a wealth of facilitation experience, we work with participants to help increase their skills and confidence, using art as a learning tool. We deliver workshops for children, young people and adults of all ages, with different backgrounds and abilities, across a wide range of traditional and modern art forms such as: drawing, painting, illustration, collage, animation, digital art, shadow puppetry, crafts, prop-making, ceramics, textiles and printmaking. Some workshops are paid and some we do for free, depending on the situation. Some of the money we make from the sale of artworks goes towards the collective’s running costs. As a large artist collective based outside Northern Ireland’s major cities, our main ambition is to secure regular ACNI funding that will sustain us into the future. We have been running for seven years and have no plans to stop any time soon. We would also like to be able to work on larger projects, relating both to our individual practices, and to our local community arts projects. shorecollectiveni.com
SHORE Collective; L–R: Ann Feely, Carol Coney, Dwyer McKerr, Sandra Turley, Dermot Burns, Ciara Campbell, Kathryn Nelson, Paul King. Not pictured: Julie McGowan, Wendy Roberts, Ciaran Maginnis, Carol Willey, Chris Dummigan, Joanna Breen
