Visual Artists' News Sheet | November – December 2018
Organisation
Top: The Circe Pavilion in Liberty Park, Dublin 1, part of the ‘Treeline Project’, 2017, curated by Oonagh Young and Mary Cremin and designed by Donal Colfer Architects; photograph by Ste Murray
Dominic Hawgood, 'Under the Influence', detail of Reconstruction of “The Anointing Water 1.0”; photograph by Dominic Hawgood
Bottom: Amy Stevens, 'Restless Nature', 2011; L–R: Strategic Calm, Shifting Ground and Riding the Fault Line; photograph by Denis Mortell
ly special. That exhibition later toured to The Dock in Carrick-on-Shannon. ‘TimecolouredPlace’ (2011) included commissioned works made by economicthoughtprojects (ETP) and Henderson Six, with poetry by Patrick Chapman. Other significant artists who have shown in the gallery include: Alan Phelan, Caoimhe Kilfeather, Amy Stephens, Vittorio Santoro, Dennis McNulty, David Beattie (who also curated ‘Tool Use’), Dominic Hawgood (PhotoIreland Festival), Ursula Burke, Tamsin Snow and Sarah Tynan, to name a few. More recently, the ‘Treeline Project’ (also co-curated with Mary Cremin and funded by the Arts Council’s ‘Making Great Art’ award), anchored the gallery more firmly in the locality by proposing: a tree-planting project for the street; projecting the entire book of Joyce’s Ulysses on a loop; and building a pavilion (designed by Donal Colfer Architects) in Liberty Park, which was activated through a series of artistic projects and events. This project aimed to highlight cultural aspects of Dublin’s north city centre (Monto) and to alter a generally accepted and often very negative narrative attributed to the area. PEM: This was one of several projects that you initiated to foster connections with local communities. Can you discuss other examples? OY: Local children have always been curious about the gallery and I got to know some of them a little bit over time. It came to my attention that these kids were quite excluded, so to create awareness that this is their territory, I developed a project that materialised into a comic entitled BUZZ. The process entailed me meeting with several children in a local school and recording their insights on day-to-day life. I then
commissioned two illustrators to depict the stories directly from the audio files. This meant the children were anonymous, which gave them the freedom to tell their stories; to say whatever they wished. I held an exhibition of the children’s own work of city centre landmarks in the gallery to officially launch the comic and I feel this had a significant impact upon how the gallery was perceived. Because a lot of the children live around here, they now have a connection to the space. Being a member of The Monto Arts group has been very important. Working closely with Sheena Barrett in The Lab, Helen Carey of Fire Station Artists’ Studios and Talbot Studios means there is a local support structure which is vital when running a space alone. We recently did a project called ‘Print n Run’ in the gallery this summer, as part of the Crinniú na nÓg festival, whereby artist Katherine Maguire facilitated the gathering of slogans from local children who were invited to screen-print their favourite statements onto T-shirts. PEM: Let’s discuss your curatorial strategy. I’m sensing that your methodology is quite intuitive? OY: I have approximately six shows a year and am generally on the lookout for interesting recent graduates or unrepresented mid-career artists who may have new work they want to explore or who have not shown for a long time. Obviously, there is a desire for artists to make new work and this provides a context and incentive in which to do this. I don’t strive to fill the space constantly, as I continue to work as a designer in order to fund the gallery. This means that there is space in the schedule to include other art forms and I would like to think that people can be surprised by what takes place in the gallery.
PEM: Would you say that the two strands of your work influence one another and if so, how does this manifest? OY: Absolutely; it is a symbiotic relationship. I’ve had the pleasure of working as a designer on many artists books and working with all the major art institutions in Dublin. This has helped me make many connections which have assisted in the programming and promotion of the artists I have shown in the gallery. On a more direct level, correlations can be made between blank walls and blank pages, where some sense of cohesion and/or continuity is required in an overall approach and layout. Ultimately when it comes to an exhibition or a book, it’s crucial to think about the whole picture. While a book can never replace the presence of an artwork, my aim as a designer is to reflect the essence of an artists’ practice in print form. PEM: What’s next for the gallery? OY: I am in the process of assembling a comprehensive website that will function as an archive and provide an overview of the diversity of projects. I’m looking forward to solo shows by Colin Crotty (17 October – 16 November) and Brian Fay (22 November – 22 December) before the end of the year.
Pádraic E. Moore is a writer, curator and art historian currently based in Brussels and Dublin. padraicmoore.com
Oonagh Young is a Curator/Director of Oonagh Young Gallery and Graphic Designer/Director of Design HQ. oonaghyoung.com
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