A program of free events presenting contemporary visual arts practices took place in the exhibition space at the Johnston Central Library and Farnham Center throughout Spring 2010. The events will run fortnightly on Saturday mornings beginning February 6th. The events were designed not only for the visual arts community but also for the broader arts community and for all members of the public with an interest in what the visual arts has to offer and how visual arts practice is developing in Ireland.
The Open Art program was devised and delivered by Visual Artist Yvonne Cullivan with the support of Cavan County Council Arts Office, Johnston Central Library and the Arts Council. Open Arts aims to make visible the diversity of contemporary Visual Arts practices in Ireland by creating a forum for sharing through presentation, talks, workshops and discussion across the areas of Arts in Health, Arts in Education, Curatorship, Collaborative Practice and Studio Practice.
Click here to view the artists website
Andy Parsons
6th February 2010
Andy Parsons completed a B.A. in Painting at Winchester School of Art in 1989 and an M.A. in Painting at Manchester Metropolitan University in 1990. He recently moved to Sligo after a number of years living and working in London.
His work includes drawing,painting, printmaking, sculpture and Artists Books. He has had numerous solo shows in London and Tokyo and shown in group exhibitions such as the Jerwood Drawing Prize. Recent ...projects include a visual essay for Circa magazine and a number of installations based on the work of Caspar David Friedrich. In 2009 he undertook an innovative educational project for the Model Niland in Sligo converting a disused pharmacy into a studio and project space and creating work collaboratively with local young people.
He initiated an Artists book publishing venture Floating World in 2003. The books have been showed around the world and are in the collection of galleries and Museums including The British Museum and Tate Modern. I recently curated a survey of Floating Worlds work entitled Reading Room at Sligo Art Gallery. The show included giant book shelves and a sofa as well as a 'making room' in the gallery for members of the public to come in and make their own work
His current show is at S-I-B Gallery in Tokyo, Japan, until January 2010, the work for this show was created during a residency at the Gallery supported by The Arts Council Travel and Training Awards.
Andy will talk about his current show in Tokyo, the 'Wolf on Arm' project with Young Model and his recent work with Floating World Artist's Books. After the talk, he will lead an informal session where participants can view the Floating World collection and make a quick book of their own.
He is currently Artist in residence with Cavan County Council Arts Office. As part of his residency he is working with the community developing artists studio space on Bullock Lane, Cavan town (pictured above). Click on image above to access the artists website.
Karen Downey
20th February 2010
Karen Downey is Associate Curator with Belfast Exposed Photography. In 2009 she was commissioner and curator for Northern Ireland's presentation at the 53rd Venice Biennale. She curated a solo exhibition of work by video and installation artist Susan MacWilliam, accompanied by a major publication. The exhibition attracted over 52,000 visitors and significant press coverage. Karen will discuss the process of delivering the Bien...nale project, from concept to realisation, focusing on the following areas: the proposal and selection process, concept development and support for new work, exhibition and publication planning and design and devising an effective marketing strategy. She will also screen extracts from the work MacWilliam produced for Venice.
Image above "Remote Viewing" by Susan MacWilliam, Northern Ireland at the 53rd Venice Biennale. Click on image above to access the artists website.
Helene Hugel and Siobhan Clancy
6th March 2010
Helium is a new multidisciplinary Arts and Health company for children committed to nurturing and honoring creativity as a natural resource fundamental to a child's well-being. Helium strives to develop new and innovative forms of practice on both an artistic and a clinical level. Helene Hugel is Helium's director, a social entrepreneur and a puppeteer / performer who regards the healthcare setting as a platform to develop new ...work for and with children. Helene will reflect upon and share the journey of expanding her practice as an artist and as an entrepreneur.
Siobhán Clancy is a visual artist and a member of Helium's team of artists. Siobhán is interested in creating interactive arts experiences. A primary concern is how to make arts more accessible and relevant to the experience of the audience, often by inviting them to actively engage in an aspect of the process of creation. She regularly delivers workshops in academic (e.g. NUI Maynooth, St Patrick’s College Drumcondra, Trinity College Dublin) and informal education settings (e.g. the Digital Hub, Cinemagic, CDYSB). She has also collaborated on long term participatory arts and media initiatives with youth-at-risk and adult community groups including Foróige, Irish Youth Media Development, Comhairle na nÓg, Focus Ireland, NCBI (National Council for the Blind of Ireland). In 2008, Siobhán was co-awarded an Arts Council Artist-in-the- Community Scheme bursary, which is managed by Create. She also received the Marian Rollins Heritage and Education Award 2008 from the Heritage Council and INTO. For the Open Art program, she will illustrate her experience while working as artist-in-residence with children in a hospital on Helium's Puppet Portal Project. Click on image above to access the artists website.
Aideen Barry
20th March 2010
Aideen Barry's work encompasses a broad range of media, including performance, film, musical composition, sound art, drawing and animation. Aideen will talk about her practice, including her recent diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, her residencies at The Banff Centre Canada, Seidisfjorder Iceland and her astronaut training and residency at the NASA Kennedy Space Centre. Her talks are very informal and she welcomes al...l age groups to attend. Aideen also invites a small group of visual artists, who would like to learn about her approach to funding and project applications, to speak with her after her presentation. Aideen will give examples of her own proposals to these artists and will donate copies of her proposals to the County Library as a resource for Visual Artists. Click on image above to access the artists website.
CREATE ireland
27th March 2010
Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts will present an overview of the supports and resources available for artists and communities at an additional event to the Open Art program in Cavan. The mission of Create is to provide advice and support services to artists and arts organisations working collaboratively with communities of place and/or interest. Create provides a broad range of services for artists ...and arts organisations that support and develop collaborative arts as a specific field of contemporary arts practice. These services include Professional Development, Learning Development and Projects and Initiatives.The presentation will also provide information for artists and communities interested in applying to the Arts Council's Artist-in-the-Community Scheme, clarifying the application procedures and assessment criteria. There will be an opportunity for discussion and questions from artists and communities attending the event. Click on image above to access the organisations website.
Jole Bartoli
April 10th 2010
Jole Bortoli is the Director and founder of Art to Heart, an organisation that works with both children and adults within the Arts and in educational and community settings. Art to Heart believes in the capacity of the Arts to creatively enhance everyone's learning potential and development. Jole regularly works in Dublin with The Ark, a Cultural Centre for Children, with Larkin Community College, a secondary school in the heart of Dublin and as a Youth Program Facilitator with the Sanctuary, a centre for spirituality. She also runs workshops and training programmes in her workshop in County Clare. Jole will share how her practice has evolved and transformed over the years from Artist and Facilitator to Director of her own company. Alongside the presentation there will be a short group workshop based on storymaking, storypainting and storytelling.
Ben Geoghan
126 Artspace & Studios
Ben Geoghegan lives and works as a Visual Artist in Galway. Ben's presentation will focus on the relationship between the creative individual and the collective or institution. He will present both an overview and review of Visual Art initiatives he has been involved with over the past six years. This will include a short, insightful history of the foundation of the hugely successful 126, an Artist-led gallery space that began in a living room, made the Arts pages of the Irish Times and has been operating in Galway since 2005. Ben will also explore aspects of his current involvement with Artspace Studios and how both of these initiatives have and do mingle with his artistic practice. After his presentation, Ben will guide a workshop for attendees wishing to work in collaboration. Click on image above to access the organisations website.
About the Artist
Yvonne Cullivan is a Visual Artist currently based in County Leitrim,
though originally from Cavan. Through observation and documentation, her
work bears witness to the cyclical processes of transformation and
acclimatization. Processes engage a variety of media including photography,
drawing, video, printmaking and audio, often involving public participation.
She has exhibited nationally and internationally in solo and group
exhibitions, including Iontas Small Works, Claremorris Open, Galway Arts
Centre, Leitrim Sculpture Center, The Dock, The Graphics Studio, 411
Galleries, China and Galerie du Faouedic, France. She has undertaken
residencies and projects in association with Craigavon Borough Council, The
Ark Cultural Centre for Children, Kid’s Own Publishing Partnership and
Leitrim, Cavan and Roscommon County Councils, The Tyrone Guthrie Centre and
Masia Can Serrat, Spain. She has also worked as a part-time Lecturer at NCAD
and as Program and Research Coordinator of Practice.ie with Kids' Own
Publishing Partnership.