We are falling behind with our blog and it’s entirely my fault. I have been pulled in many different directions recently. But I have been thinking about it as we all struggle to keep going in a lockdown, some alone, limited to brief visits from a designated person, trying to support loved ones who are ill, trying to remain efficient in the supermarket when the goalposts have changed so much, most of all trying to make work collectively and apart without access to libraries, galleries and in parts of the country where the broadband connections make connectedness itself difficult. That’s probably why when I walked past the wonderful railings at Kevin Street Garda Station today and paused, as I frequently do, to read the quotations from Irish writers (inspiring, even if only a few women in a sea of men) that I was so taken with Samuel Beckett’s sardonic comment in Krapp’s Last Tape: “{P}erhaps my best years are gone… but I wouldn’t want them back. Not with the fire in me now.” Of course Beckett had Na Cailleacha in mind, sixty odd years ago, or at least he intuited that we were coming because those lines sum up exactly where we find ourselves and the new energies that collaboration has given to us.
But no matter how much Joe Biden and Kamala Harris bring in the way of healing and re-unification to a divided society, they will need help from every corner of the known world to restore decency and a true sense of equality.
That is why it’s good that Patricia has resumed her work about listening. Extremists sometimes become extreme in their views because they have failed to find anyone to talk to them about the issues that drive them wild. Art can either deal with issues like that or take us out of that mindset altogether. Gerda, Barbara, Helen and Carole, each in very different ways, re-state the values of the long view of existence, showing time and perseverance as valuable elements in the story of us and our planet, exploring sounds and forms that have been there since the beginning, like the sound of water thrashing around in the sea hole at Downpatrick Head. Maria is continuing with her oak gall inks and oak instruments and we are moving our collective print portfolio along despite the challenge of not being able to work together or visit the print studios. As some of you know, Therry has been working with co-curators in Barcelona on their annual Homeland programme of short films, and has now, in conjunction with Nenagh Arts Centre launched this year’s Homeland, Part 1, Ireland. (https://watch.eventive.org/nenagharts/play/5f9aa83aef33c0030f7c133) If you would like to connect to the launch of the Festival on 12 November at 7.30 (Spanish Time) please use the following Zoom link, http://borderline.cagebcn.com Passcode 058132 and Meeting ID 936 0337 7516 We are delighted to congratulate Helen on winning a bursary from the Arts Council this year and are wondering if a perception that she is one of the oldest artists to receive one is actually true? Do beliefs about ageism in the granting of funds to older artists stand up to scrutiny, and what about gender bias? We intend to do a bit of research into this and would be delighted to hear from any of you who feel that you have something to say here. One of the issues that came up during the American election process and, indeed, in responses to the lockdown at home, has been an emphasis on the word ‘entitlement’; entitlement to go where we like, irrespective of the danger it might put others in, entitlement to carry guns, entitlement not to wear masks and so on, entitlement to bursaries.... That is something we certainly mean to explore over the coming months. We will keep you posted. In the meantime, we have just booked ourselves in for a return visit to Ballinglen for 2021 (Covid permitting) where we are planning work around a single issue programme. Thanks, as always, to Anouk, for keeping us up to date on Instagram, despite isolation and broadband problems. Stay safe until the next blog and please think about those who are enduring domestic violence during this lockdown.
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