unravelling developments 2004 – 2006 developments 2004_2006.pdf · unravelling developments 2004...

UNRAVELLINGDEVELOPMENTS

2004 – 2006

a new public art series commissioned by the sligo local authorities

IMAGE PLANTATION – SITE 36, DARA McGRATH, 2004

MESSAGE FROM DECLAN BREEMAYOR. SLIGO BOROUGH COUNCIL

On behalf of the Members of Sligo BoroughCouncil I am delighted to announce the launchof our new series of public art commissions,entitled Unravelling Developments.

The commissions, ten in all, will highlight theunprecedented level of capital investment inthe infrastructure of the Borough and Countyfunded by the Department of Environment,Heritage and Local Government.

MESSAGE FROM MARGARET GORMLEYCATHAOIRLEACH. SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

Public art commissions, by their nature, involvepeople from all walks of life. The conceptbelongs to the artist, but the process requiresbringing together the efforts of officials andlocal communities. Knowledge is exchangedbetween the artist, officials and local people.The result is a rich convergence.

On behalf of the Members of Sligo CountyCouncil I would like to thank everyone who willcontribute to this series of commissions and Ilook forward to seeing developments unravel!

MESSAGE FROM HUBERT KEARNSSLIGO COUNTY MANAGER

The shift of pace in the level of developmentcurrently taking place in Sligo is evident toall. There is a palpable sense of excitementabout this regeneration and an anticipation ofbetter times to come. We are fortunate that inaddition to the capital investment in infra-structure and Housing, the Department ofEnvironment, Heritage and Local Governmentthrough the Per Cent for Art Scheme allowsthe Local Authorities to commission originalwork from contemporary artists.

In a time of rapid change it is important totake time to reflect on the effects of change onour lives, personally, socially and environ-mentally. I look forward to seeing how theartists, engaged in their various commissions,reflect and interpret the developments takingplace around us.

UNRAVELLING DEVELOPMENTS 2004 – 2006

UNRAVELLINGDEVELOPMENTS2004 – 2006

Public Art is full of the unexpected because itinvolves so many variables from the physical/environmental to community and socialissues. It is a process of discovery, negotiation,democracy and compromise. Every commissionis different and throws up its own challenges.Never a dull moment!

I began working for Sligo County Council inJuly 1999 as Public Art Co-ordinator. Thiswas the first position of its kind in any localauthority in the Republic and it was set up aspart of a pilot public art programme with anumber of key objectives. The programme isvery well documented, so I will not dwell onit here except to say that it did achieve it’sprincipal objective which was that the SligoLocal Authorities would a adopt a policy toimplement the Per Cent for Art Scheme on anongoing basis.

The pilot programme was a very rewardingexperience for me professionally and personallybut it was not without its challenges. As withthe introduction of any new service, there wasa steep learning curve for all concerned. PublicArt involves an incredible array of people fromartists to engineers, planners, to other publicbodies and the general public. Essentially myrole is to liaise between the artists andcommunities – the artists and the localauthorities – and the local authorities and thecommunities. In my experience, the artistsappreciate my role in facilitating access tolocal authority expertise and to communities.In turn I am able to facilitate connectionsbetween local people and artists.

My job has evolved since the conclusion of thepilot phase. With the adoption of a policy bythe Local Authorities, it became possible toaccess significant levels of funding from the PerCent for Art Scheme and to plan for a series ofcommissions to be rolled out over a number ofyears. In 2004 the first Public Art Plan wasintroduced by the Sligo Local Authorities. Allof this was achieved with the support anddirection of the Public Art Steering Group.


PUBLIC ARTCREATING CONNECTIONSMARY McDONAGH. PUBLIC ART OFFICER

Now that the Public Art Plan and the mecha-nisms to implement it are firmly in place, thepracticalities of integrating and mainstreamingpublic art commissioning as part of theservices provided by the local authority hasfurther redefined my role which is reflected inthe change of job title to Public Art Officer.

Much has been learned from the pilotprogramme and this new series reflects ourcareful evaluation of the pilot and theresulting policy directions. A curator has beenintroduced for this series and I wish to thankJoe Lee for his commitment to all of theartists and their proposals and also to theLocal Authority as commissioners in order toensure a successful outcome for all.MMcD 05.05


Unravelling Developments is an apt title forthe current Sligo public art commission series2004—2006 as change and development arepossibly the most striking features of contem-porary Irish life.

I believe it is important at this time that artistsare given opportunities to reflect on or engagewith the idea of change as it affects culture,landscape and the built environment. I amconfident that this panel of artists will achievea wide-ranging exploration of the theme acrossthe commissioning series.

The artist’s involved work in a variety ofdisciplines including, writing, music compos-ition, new media, and the visual arts. Theywill engage with a wide and varied publicduring the course of making and presentingtheir work for Unravelling Developments.

Already a number of innovative projects havebegun. The composer Ian Wilson is writing andrecording new music that will be presented tothe public at locations in Sligo town through aseries of listening posts. These have beendesigned and produced in collaboration withsecond year Industrial Design students fromthe Institute of Technology Sligo.

The writer Jack Harte has produced a CD,Lament for the Birds which includes some ofhis Sligo short stories and songs performed byCarmel Gunning. He will also complete anovel that reflects on the past and present inrural Sligo. He has engaged with a variety ofwriters groups around the county.

The photographic artist Dara McGrath hascompleted a new portfolio of work based on thedevelopment and the planning process inEnniscrone and West Sligo. Dara’s work has beenpresented to the public on billboards, newspaperadvertisements and in a free publication. He isalso engaging with the public through talks inEnniscrone Library and local schools.


CURATORIALSTATEMENTJOE LEE

Joe Lee is a visual artist anddigital media producer/director.He has extensive experience ofworking on public art projectsin community contexts. He hasboth documented and producedvideo/DVD work on accessprogrammes for a number ofnational cultural institutionsand is a recent award winnerfor his video installation workat EV+A 2003.

The Dutch artist Carlo Kroon hopes to engagewith both the residents of Caltragh housingestate and the Parks Section of the BoroughCouncil. He hopes that out of these collabora-tions and his own responses to the site apermanent sculpture will be realised in the area.

The artist Christine Mackey will collaboratewith the Parks Section of the Borough Counciland local residents on the redevelopment ofthe Doorly Park area.

Grace Weir is producing a film/DVD on theGreenfort. She has a special interest in therelationship between art and science and thework of contemporary French philosopherDeleuze who had explored ideas aroundnarrative and rhizomatic structures. Grace hasconsulted widely in the area and her work willexplore the many readings Greenfort has forthe people of Sligo.

While all of these projects don’t literally dealwith the theme of change or the new they do inone way or another break new ground whetherthat is in the area of new collaborations in theproduction or presentation of work as in thecases of Ian Wilson, Christine Mackey andCarlo Kroon. (Kroon will also explore using newmaterials in the production of his work) DaraMcGrath, Grace Weir and Jack Harte deal withthe theme directly. Change is central to thesubject of Harte’s book. Grace Weir’s work isinformed by science and contemporaryphilosophy, while Dara McGrath continues hisexploration of the new Ireland in his Sligo work.

In the current series six artists remain to becommissioned as more capital projects comeon stream. They are Alberto Duman, StephenHurrell, John Langan, Nevin LaHarte, HelenO’Leary and Paul Chidester. We look forwardto working with them and documenting theircommissions in a concluding publication tothis series.JL 05.05


Following the adoption of policy by the SligoLocal Authorities on the application of the PerCent for Art scheme in 2002 a new Public ArtSteering Group was established. The role of theSteering Group is to oversee and assist thedevelopment of the Public Art Plan and thecommissions series and to nominate and appointthe selectors of the artists and their proposals.Members of the Steering Group and the selectorsare listed below.

PUBLIC ART STEERING GROUPCOUNCILLOR DECLAN BREESLIGO BOROUGH COUNCIL

MR DAMIEN BRENNANSENIOR EXECUTIVE. NORTH WEST TOURISM AUTHORITY

MS LIZZIE BYRNEARTIST AND LECTURER. INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, SLIGO

MR PAT DOYLEEXECUTIVE ENGINEER. SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

MR PAT FORKANDIRECTOR OF SERVICES. SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

SHAUN HANNIGANDIRECTOR. LETTERKENNY ARTS CENTRE

COUNCILLOR JOE LEONARDSLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

MR EOIN MacNAMEEWRITER

MS MARY McAULIFFEARTS OFFICER. SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

MS MARY McDONAGHPUBLIC ART OFFICER. SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

MR GERRY McEVOYCOMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE

MR SEAN MARTINSENIOR EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT. SLIGO BOROUGH COUNCIL

MR DONAL TINNEYCOUNTY LIBRARIAN. SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

MS SUZANNE WOODSVISUAL ARTIST

STEERINGGROUP ANDSELECTORS PANEL


SELECTORS FOR THE SERIESCOUNCILLOR DECLAN BREESLIGO BOROUGH COUNCIL

COUNCILLOR JOE LEONARDSLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

HELENA GOREYARTIST AND CURATOR. ARTS COUNCIL COLLECTION

HUGH MULLHOLLANDDIRECTOR. ORMEAU BATHS GALLERY, BELFAST

JOHN MC HUGHSENIOR ENGINEER. SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL

ROSELEEN HOLLANDCOMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE

MELANIE SCOTTARTS OFFICER. NORTH TIPPERARY COUNTY COUNCIL

NIALL HENRYARTISTIC DIRECTOR. BLUE RAINCOAT THEATRE COMPANY

PANEL OF ARTISTSPAUL CHIDESTER & HELEN O’LEARY

ALBERTO DUMAN

JACK HARTE

STEPHEN HURRELL

CARLO KROON

NEVAN LaHART

CHRISTINE MACKEY

DARA McGRATH

GRACE WEIR

IAN WILSON


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe realisation of any public art project is acomplex undertaking that involves a wide rangeof individuals. I therefore wish to acknowledgeand thank everyone associated with the currentseries for their help, support and enthusiasm.public arts officer 05.05

Val Baynes (Enniscrone Area Engineer), PadraigWeir (Foreman), and Margaret Cowley, SeanMorrison, Dermot McBain, Joe Feeney, JohnHogan, Michael Duffy, Joe Kelly, John Weir,Peter Naughton (Enniscrone Area Roads Team).Ray O’Grady, Patrick Clerkin, MihaelaDavidescu, Fionnuala Meagher, Tommy Banks,Francis Kivlehan, Damien Willis, EibhlínNicEochaidh, Denise Clarke, Alice Clarke,Pauline Brennan, Feeneys, David Roberts, BarryMcGuinness, Kathryn Keane, second yearIndustrial Design students and staff Institute ofTechnology, Sligo, Declan Bray, Nola Gibbons,Pat Doyle, Seamus Concannon, KathleenMcTiernan, Margot Soden, David Dunne, SeanMartin, Marian O’Callaghan, Bridie Conway,Des McGarry, Margaret McConnell, EmerConnolly, Micheal Condren, Hugh Glynn, MarieLeydon, Marie-Louise Blaney, Linda Hayden,MCR Community Centre, Tracy Walsh, TomBrennan, Annette Moloney, Anna Jones, MichaelCarty, Siobhan Ryan, Michael MacDonagh, BernieFlynn, Kathleen Kane, Terry Rooney, KevinColreavy, Northside Resource Centre, DorothyClarke, Rhona Feely, Sarah Leavy, Mary McAuliffe.The Public Art Steering Group and the selectors.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS BY THE SLIGO LOCALAUTHORITIES ON PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONING

• Placing Art; Pilot Public Art Programme launch booklet, 2000.

• Placing Art; Pilot Public Art Programmecatalogue, 2000.

• Placing Art; Pilot Public Art Programmevideo, 2001.

• A report on the evaluation of the pilot publicart programme, Placing Art by the Public ArtSteering Group, report, 2002.

• A report by the Public Art Strategy Group onthe future application of the Per Cent for ArtScheme by the Sligo Local Authorities, SligoCounty Council and Sligo Borough Council,report, 2002.

• Placing Art; A Colloquium on Public Art inRural, Coastal and Small Urban Environmentscolloquium papers, 2002.

• Art Best Placed, Sligo Local Authorities, PublicArt Plan, 2004—2006.

For further information please contact;Public Art Officer, Arts OfficeSligo County Council, Market Yard, Sligot 071 9140986. e [email protected]


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jack harte In the Wake of the BaggerFunded by the Per Cent for Art Scheme from anew Sligo County Council social and affordablehousing scheme in Dromore West.

jack harte was born near Easkey in Co. Sligo. When hewas nine years old his family moved to Lanesboro, Co.Longford. Jack has maintained close ties to Sligo over theyears. As an arts activist in the 1980s, he founded the IrishWriters’ Union and the Irish Writers’ Centre. His firstcollection of stories Murphy in the Underworld waspublished in 1986 followed by Homage (1992), Birds andother Tails (1996), Birds and Selected Stories – Bulgariantranslation (2001), and From Under Gogol’s Nose (2004).One of his stories has been made into a film in Bulgaria.

Jack Harte is writing a novel based on his childhoodexperience of having to leave Co Sligo as an economicmigrant which will be published in 2005. He has produceda CD of his stories and songs entitled Lament for The Birds,featuring songs by Sligo singer Carmel Gunning. The CDwas launched in Dromore West in October 2004. All localpeople were invited and copies of the CD were madeavailable free of charge to those who attended. He has alsogiven readings and talks to a number of active retirementand writing groups in the county.


PHOTOGRAPH BY PAT PIDGEON

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carlo kroon CaltraghFunded by the Per Cent for Art Scheme from anew Sligo Borough Council social and affordablehousing scheme.

carlo kroon is a visual artist and environmental designerfrom the Netherlands. He has a substantial track record inpublic art projects carried out in contemporary builtenvironments. Carlo often makes public sculptures whichinclude various types of metal, neon light and LED lightsources. He has completed two projects in Donegal andKerry and is currently working on a proposal associatedwith the Luas project in Dublin.

Carlo Kroon hopes to develop a public sculptural piece incollaboration with the residents of the new community atCaltragh Housing Estate and the Parks Section of theBorough Council. A number of site visits have been madeand a meeting of introduction with the whole communitytook place on 9 November 2004. This project has linkedwith the outreach programme at the Model Arts and NilandGallery and workshops with the community will take placeas the project progresses.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOE LEE

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christine mackey Doorly ParkFunded by the Per Cent for Art Scheme from aSligo Borough Council remedial works schemeto Garavogue Villas.

christine mackey is a multidisciplinary visual artist fromCounty Kilkenny. In 2005 she was awarded the Fire StationArts Studios community award which is working togetherwith a Per Cent for Art Scheme project for Dublin CityCouncil. In 2003, Christine won the Exhibition Awardfrom (EV+A) Limerick. She recently completed a residencyin Costa Rica with an exhibition at Teor/e Tica, San Jose.She has an impressive track record in public art commis-sions and working collaboratively with communities. Shesuccessfully completed a public art project in RacecourseView, Sligo in 2002.

Christine Mackey is working on a proposal based aroundthe existing foot-path in Doorly Park. To walk is to giveourselves time and space. So the main question for herwork process is how to utilise this function in the devel-opment of a proposed art work, which does not impede onthe landscape or the space of the walkers. A close collabora-tion is required with both the Parks section of the BoroughCouncil, and local residents.

DRAWING BY CHRISTINE MacKEY

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dara mcgrath PlantationsFunded by the Per Cent for Art Scheme from anew Sligo County Council social and affordablehousing scheme in Enniscrone.

dara mcgrath is a graduate of Dun Laoghaire Instituteof Art, Design and Technology. In 1999 he was awarded aYoung European Artist Award. He won the prestigious AIBArtist of Promise Award in 2003 for his photographicseries By the Way which explored marginal areas aroundthe nation’s new motorway networks.

Dara McGrath explored the nature of planning anddevelopment in the Enniscrone and West Sligo area. Hemonitored developments at 200 sites and took over 600photographs. Three distinct spaces are depicted, the newlybuilt housing estate, the town and the landscape. His workon this project goes beyond the making of the photographshe also initiated and supervised the production of apublication, newspaper advertisements and the making andinstallation of four large billboard images outsideEnniscrone. He is also engaging with the public in talksabout this work and his career as a photographic artist atEnniscrone Public Library and local schools.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DARA McGRATH

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grace weir GreenfortFunded by the Per Cent for Art Scheme from anew Sligo Borough Council social housing scheme,City View on Connaughton Road.

grace weir studied at the National College of Art andDesign and Trinity College, Dublin. In 1991 she wasselected for a PS1 residency at the Institute for Art andUrban Resources, New York. In 2000 she had a soloexhibition at the RHA, Dublin. In 2001 she representedIreland at the Venice Biennale. She has shown extensivelyin Ireland (including the Model Arts & Niland Gallery),Europe, and in the USA.

Grace Weir is producing a film/DVD on the Greenfort.She is interested in exploring the idea of place and multiplenarratives. Grace has consulted widely in the area and thiswork will explore the multiple readings a particular sitecan have for its local people. There is a certain mysteryabout the site, it has always been a bit inaccessible orseeming remote but there exists a common bond betweenlocals in the idea that it is a place of importance withoutalways knowing why. She hopes to shoot the film in Julyand complete the remaining work on the project before theend of October 2005.

IMAGE BY GRACE WEIR

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ian wilson Pieces of ElsewhereFunded by the Per Cent for Art Scheme from aSligo Borough Council Water Supply Scheme atKilsellagh.

ian wilson is a highly respected composer living inCounty Leitrim. He has written over seventy piecesincluding an opera, concertos, orchestral pieces, stringquartets, piano trios and many other chamber and vocalworks. He is a member of Aosdana and his music has beenperformed and broadcast on six continents. The premiereof his latest orchestral work was given by the NationalSymphony Orchestra under Gerhard Markson during theirBeethovenFest in May 2005.

Ian Wilson is developing a series of new musical composi-tions that will be heard in public spaces around Sligotown. A CD of this work will also be produced and madeavailable. This project involves a collaboration withsecond year Industrial Design Students at the Institute ofTechnology in Sligo. As part of their project work for thisyear, the students are designing the listening posts to besited around Sligo town. The music will be recorded inJune and it is hoped the project will be ready for publicpresentation in summer 2005.

PHOTOGRAPH OF BARRY McGUINNESS (INDUSTRIAL DESIGN STUDENT, SIT) BY DECLAN BRAY

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ARTS OFFICE, SLIGO COUNTY COUNCILMARKET YARD, SLIGOT 071 9140986. F 071 9140990E [email protected]

IT IS IMPORTANT AT THIS TIME THAT ARTISTS ARE GIVENOPPORTUNITIES TO REFLECT ON OR ENGAGE WITH THEIDEA OF CHANGE AS IT AFFECTS CULTURE, LANDSCAPEAND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT.JOE LEE. CURATOR, UNRAVELLING DEVELOPMENTS 2004 – 2006

UNRAVELLINGDEVELOPMENTS2004 – 2006

unravelling developments 2004 – 2006 developments 2004_2006.pdf · unravelling developments 2004...

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