Place & Identity
Place & Identity was our first large-scale public art programme, consisting of six residencies and two temporary projects. It took place from 2008 to 2010 and included literature, music, performing arts and photography. This was the first time that per cent for art project budgets were pooled and the commissions took place across the whole county.
Residencies
Talking Books, Dermot Bolger
As part of his residency, novelist and poet Dermot Bolger wrote a supernatural thriller New Town Soul, aimed at teenagers, inspired by his imaginative interpretation of the experience of life today in Blackrock. During his residency, Dermot also organised ‘Talking Books’, a series of intimate public conversations with leading Irish writers about the art of writing and the everyday practices, routines and difficulties involved with creating a sustained piece of literature. These were held in association with the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Library Service and took place in Deansgrange Library. To co-incide with these, Bolger published four free pamphlets, containing extracts from the work in progress.
'Iman, Noel Bowler
Over the course of a year Noel Bowler undertook an extensive body of photographic work in the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland in Clonskeagh and within the wider Islamic Community. Noel was welcomed into the very heart of the Islamic Community in Ireland and immersed himself in the culture and day-to-day running of this centre. Using portraiture and environmental images, he presented an unprecedented series of images that explore the private acts of worship, the intimacy of the family home and the beauty of Islamic Architecture in an attempt to document the character of Islam within an Irish context.
Portraits, Gary Coyle
Over the past fifteen years artist Gary Coyle has made a series of works about Dún Laoghaire, incorporating a variety of media, including drawing, photography and writing. For this commission Coyle made a series of 9 large portrait drawings in charcoal of people from Dún Laoghaire of various ages and from all walks of life.
Double Trio, Ian Wilson
Double Trio was written during the summer and autumn of 2008 as the main focus of composer Ian Wilson’s one-year residency in the Glencullen area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County. Ian interviewed a number of people from area and composed a piece of music inspired by these conversations. A number of performances took place in the area in April 2009 with three classical and three improvising musicians. A CD recording of the work qas made and 1,000 CDs were distributed for free.
Signatures, The Public Communications Group
Signatures was a collaborative public art project by The Public Communications Group – visual artist: Brian Maguire; multimedia artist: Dominic Thorpe and graphic designer: Brian O’Connor. The project investigated ideas of national identity by collecting the stories and experiences of a number of people from varying cultural backgrounds, some of whom were born in Ireland and others who have recently come to live here. The stories were presented using commercial advertising poster sites and national commercial radio; the artists also published a book documenting the project.
Transition, Dublin Youth Dance Company
Transition was a dance project involving transition-year students from Rockford Manor Secondary School, senior members of Dublin Youth Dance Company and Artistic Director Mariam Ribon. They worked together over a period of several month to develop a dance performance, through ongoing workshops and rehearsals. Performances of the work took place in Cabinteely Park in May 2009.
Once-off Projects
Seachange, Patricia Mckenna
Patricia McKenna created a temporary artwork which lasted for a day on Sandycove beach in September 2008. It consisted of brightly coloured gelatine pieces, loosely based on fish, bird and seaweed forms,that were placed on the beach at low tide and gradually dissolved and drifted out to sea, leaving no trace of the work. The artist also created a video piece arising from the installation.
50 Ways to Leave Dún Laoghaire, Carpet Theatre
This was an original movement-based theatre piece created by Ciarán Taylor with Carpet Theatre. It was a site specific performance which took place in the Dún Laoghaire Ferry Terminal inspired by the characters that pass through there every day. 50 Ways to Leave Dún Laoghaire brought the audience to the ferry terminal to catch a phantom ferry and combined theatre, movement and live music.
Gallery
