It has been far too long since this blog post, was updated. Although only one of us got Covid 19, from which she has happily recovered, or at least she has not reduced her commitment to making art, but avoidance strategies are energy sapping and we all found it difficult not to have been able to meet in person. Like everyone else, too, we find it hard to be enthusiastic in front of a screen all the time. But we have been extremely busy – finishing off all the work we began last September in Ballinglen, and dreaming up new schemes for a busy line up of exhibitions, panel discussions and a big project for 2022/3. So this blog will be devoted to giving an outline of our immediate plans for this Summer and Autumn. Therry’s documentary Dawn to Dusk will be screened nationally (May 26 and May 30) by Bealtaine, followed, on the first occasion, by a discussion with film-curator, Grainne Humphreys and artist, Aideen Barry. It will also be screened at the Nenagh Arts Centre (see Nenagh Arts Centre for dates) and as part of our exhibition The Age of Reason/Unreason at the South Tipperary Arts Centre, Clonmel. We chose this title to evoke thoughts about those delicate balances between reason and instinct/emotion in creativity, between youth (the age of reason,) and age (often seen as second childhood), reason versus play and the threat of loss of reason. Is it possible that if we were to think differently about memory loss and senility, we might find it more productive and less frightening? More details here: https://bealtaine.ie/bealtaine-event/na-cailleacha-exhibition-and-symposium/ The Clonmel show opens on May 7th, although it will have to be virtual for the first few days. To coincide with the exhibition, STAC is hosting a virtual symposium, with the same title on May 29th at which members of Na Cailleacha will be joined by Professor Rose Ann Kenny, School of Gerontology, Trinity College, Dublin, poet and writer, Grace Wells and theatre director Medb Lambert. In June, the exhibition, with some additions, will travel to Ballinglen in County Mayo, and thence to Wexford Arts Centre (August), where we hope to work with local artists Caoimhe Dunne and Aileen Lambert. We are planning a second residency at Ballinglen in June (June 18 – July 2) to explore themes of identity, self-image and visibility through making life-sized, alter-ego dolls, and a series of layered drawings on acetate. Through the Mayo County Arts Office we will be holding a trans-Atlantic discussion with the Guerilla Girls and a community workshop on doll-making. That will bring us up to Autumn, when we will show a body of work at Damer House, Roscrea and we are in discussion with Garter Lane in Waterford and County Kerry’s pending new arts venue, the Kenmare Butter Market about events in their spaces. We hope to work with local artists and local communities throughout this process, and we are not forgetting our mission to promote the work of women artists, to agitate for housing with studio provision for artists, irrespective of gender, and general recognition of the importance of the arts and creativity for healthy ageing, indeed for healthy living for all age groups. For that reason, play will be a key concept in our work, no matter how serious our ambitions and themes, and we would also like to work across generations in pursuit of these goals.
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