The Village Green a new artwork by artist Joanne Behan will be unveiled on Friday 19^th June.

The project was supported by the ‘Building Peace through the Arts – Re-Imaging Communities’ programme which is funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the European Union’s Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (PEACE III) managed by the Special EU Programmes Body and the International Fund for Ireland. The programme supports arts projects that promote a shared future and build positive relations within and between communities with the enabling community groups to employ artists.

This Redhill project aims to create a public artwork of excellence which captures the convivial memories of the Redhills on the Green. The Village Green is reflective of the past, present and future of Redhills and holds all of these ‘memories at its core’. The village green is a hub for social gatherings for the entire community.

Roisin McDonough, chief Executive of The Arts Council of Northern Ireland said:

‘Building Peace Through the Arts  is focused on using the arts to bring together communities. We are delighted to be unveiling many impressive projects, which are the culmination of community engagement, passion and dialogue. The lasting legacy of this project is much more than the wonderful artwork it produced, but also the coming together of people. We hope the people of Redhills take pleasure in what they have collectively achieved.’

The sculpture is a bronze representation of a child running and playing with bunting at the annual carnival. It is an uplifting, and happy image, representing  of hope for a bright future that is inclusive and reflective of the whole community, it crosses all barriers of age, diversity and religion.   We can relate to the image of a child playing on the village green as children have done for generations and will do for future generations.

Joanne Behan , artist said:

 ‘I was very impressed with the strong sense of community in Redhills, this made my job of consulting and hosting workshops during stage one and two of this project very enjoyable.  During this stage of the project 79 children and adults participated in workshops and attended meetings.  More recently I have worked with 18 children and 7 adults discussing and refining my plans for the public art work. The themes of peace, reconciliation and building healthy communities that are central to this programme were incorporated in my work with the community.’

John Kelly, Chair of the BPTTA steering committee (who guided this project from the application stage two years ago) said:

 ‘We have enjoyed working with artist Joanne Behan during both stages of the project.   Our community has learned a lot about public art through this process and we appreciate the value of this work in building and maintaining a healthy society in Redhills.   Last year a number of us visited public art in Belfast, created as a result of the initial Re-Imaging project, this provided inspiration as to what we could achieve in Redhills.’

Building Peace through the Arts, Redhills is a partnership between the steering committee, Cavan County Council and our funders the Arts Council Northern Ireland.  John said ‘We are very proud of our beautiful village in Redhills and we are confident that this new piece of public art will enhance our community and be a reminder to future generations of how working together can achieve results.’

The Village Green, by artist Joanne Behan will be launched on Friday 19 June at 7pm at the Village Green, Redhills by Heather Humphreys, Minister for Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht and everyone is welcome to join us on the day.  

ENDS

For more information contact:   catrionaoreilly@cavancoco.ie, www.cavanarts.ie, 049 4378548 - Please include logo lock up attached.

Notes for editors:

• The Building Peace through the Arts – Re-Imaging Communities Programme fund is £3.1275 million spread over two years (2013-2015).  The aim is to address signs of sectarianism and racism within NI and the border counties by using arts projects to promote the ethos of a shared future and build positive relations within and between communities.
• The programme has a group of funders who support building tolerance and a shared future for all in Northern Ireland and the Border Counties and they are:
  • The European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, PEACE III funding, which is aided by the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister and by the Department of the Environment, Culture and Local Government in Dáil Éireann and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body www.seupb.eu
  • The Arts Council of Northern Ireland, who lead the project and administer the funding
  • The International Fund for Ireland
• For further information on the Re-Imaging Communities Programme call: 028 9038 5200 or visit www.artscouncil-ni.org

This project is commissioned by Building Peace through the Arts Steering Committee Redhills supported by Cavan County Council and funded through the Arts Council Northern Ireland.