Artbeat June - Dec 2010 - West Cork Arts Centre

Exhibitions
Performances
Education
Arts News
Guide to the Arts in West Cork
June - December 2010
Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Untitled,
oil on canvas, 2009

Take a bow!
The arts really matter to us in Ireland; they are a big part of people’s lives, the
country’s single most popular pursuit. Our artists interpret our past, define who
we are today, and imagine our future. We can all take pride in the enormous
reputation our artists have earned around the world.
The arts play a vital role in our economy, and smart investment of taxpayers’
money in the arts is repaid many times over. The dividends come in the form of
a high value, creative economy driven by a flexible, educated, innovative work
force, and in a cultural tourism industry worth a2.4 billion directly a year.
The Arts Council is the Irish Government agency for funding and developing
the arts. Arts Council funding from the taxpayer, through the Department of
Tourism, Culture and Sport, for 2010 is a69.15 million, that’s less than a1 a
week for every household.
So, at the end of your next inspirational encounter with the arts, don’t forget
the role you played and take a bow yourself!
Find out what’s on at
www.events.artscouncil.ie
You can find out more about the arts here:
www.artscouncil.ie

Welcome to our latest edition of Artbeat.
Half-way through the year and we
already have much to celebrate – in April,
President Mary McAleese visited the
Arts for Health project in Skibbereen
Community Hospital, commending
the work of bringing the arts to the
community hospitals and day care
centres in our region. She was also guest
of honour at the Conferring of Awards
for the BA in Visual Arts degree on
Sherkin Island – a programme which has
gone from strength to strength with the
intake of a new group of twenty students
embarking on their degree course in
September.
We have an exciting programme lined
up for the remainder of 2010 beginning
with West Cork Artists 2010, celebrating
the work of the many artists who live and
work in our community.
We are again delighted to work with the
Sound and Vision strand of Skibbereen
Arts Festival (18 – 31 July www.
skibbereenartfestival.com) and we will
present a new film by Laura Gannon,
photographic work by Eoin O’Conaill
and young people from Oileán Chléire
and two new documentary films by
Katherine Waugh and Fergus Daly at
WCAC.
We follow with solo exhibitions by Irish
painter Sinéad Ni Mhaonaigh, American
sculptor Ellen Driscoll and French
photographer Gilles Perrin. On 15 July
at 7.00pm, we will host the launch by
Karl Wallace, Director Siamsa Tíre, of the
new book Micka by Beara based author
Frances Kay published by Picador.
We also invite our friends and supporters
to join us on a tour to the wonderful
Lismore Castle, Co. Waterford on
Tuesday 6 July to view the Gerard Byrne
exhibition.
We are participating in Culture Night on
Friday 24 September (www.culturenight.
ie), when arts and cultural organisations
across Ireland open their doors until late
with hundreds of free events, tours, talks
and performances for you, your family and
friends to enjoy.
Earlier this year, we were delighted to
receive full planning for our new building for
the arts for West Cork. Work is continuing
on the development plans and we hope
to invite tenders for its construction in the
Autumn.
We are also continuing to fundraise,
the main event this Summer is the Jim
O’Driscoll Memorial Group Art Auction
of work by leading figures in Irish Art
at the Warren Gallery, Mary Ann’s,
Castletownshend on Wednesday 11
August.
West Cork Arts Centre would like to thank
you for your ongoing interest and support,
for your participation in our programmes
and your attendance at events and we look
forward to seeing you all here more and
more.
For details of the above and further
information on our programmes see
www.westcorkartscentre.com and join us
on Facebook to receive regular updates on
what’s happening at the Arts Centre.
Image below shows President Mary McAleese
speaking to an Arts for Health participant at
Skibbereen Hospital during her recent visit.
Photo: Garry Minihane

West Cork Artists 2010
26 June - 17 July
A group exhibition by artists
living and working in West
Cork.

West Cork Arts Centre’s annual Summer
Show, West Cork Artists, opens this
year on Friday 25 June at 7.00pm. This
popular exhibition in the Art Centre’s
visual arts programme includes work by
artists from all over the West Cork region.
The range of work on show is, as
always, eclectic with paintings, drawings,
photographs, prints and sculpture all
included.
Exhibiting artists include Sarah
Iremonger, Marie Cullen, Julia Penney,
Gert J van Maanen, Wendy Dison, Anne
Marie McInerney, Susan Montgomery,
Sara Hodson, John Philip Murray, Ann
Marie O’Donovan, Linda Sebeo Cohu,
David Seeger, Alison Trim, John Simpson
and Dee Pieters along with many others.
Image left: Julia Penney, Kettle and Montbresia, (detail); Below, clockwise from left: Marie Cullen, Red Bog; Sarah Iremonger,
Emerson Series - Mahon Falls 2010 (detail); Wendy Dison, The Ploughman (detail) and Gert J van Maanen, Rockmen Good
Morning.

Sound and Vision
A major component of the Skibbereen
Arts Festival (18 - 31 July) is Sound
and Vision. This strand includes sound
and image in all its manifestations; the
spoken word, music, sound installations,
radio, the natural environment, art film
and live sound-based events. Art Trail
locations include WCAC, Skibbereen
Town Hall, Abbeystrewry Church and
a series of unoccupied shops and
businesses around Skibbereen, which
will be transformed into temporary
galleries for the Festival.
From Monday 26 to Saturday 31 July
(from 10.00am - 1.30pm) WCAC will
screen The Art of Time by Katherine
Waugh and Fergus Daly, a film which
captures some of today’s most exciting
24 July - 21 August
developments in the art of time,
exploring how leading international
practitioners in architecture, video
art, film, theatre and philosophy are
challenging traditional temporal ideas,
questioning the nature of memory and
perception today, and inventing new and
radical notions of time.
Also during that week, from 1.30pm -
5.00pm WCAC will screen Experimental
Conversations: Making and Unmaking
the Moving-Image by Fergus Daly, a
full-length documentary examining major
concepts and practices in contemporary
image-making and featuring leading
European filmmakers, artists and
critics alongside some of Ireland’s most
renowned artists.

From 24 July to 21 August West Cork
Arts Centre presents a new film by
Laura Gannon entitled World/Interior.
Moving through the interior of an empty
house, the camera pans walls that are
cracking and blistering with damp and
moves through semi-empty rooms,
most containing large mirrors which
give multiple views of the spaces being
filmed. The audio is inspired by the
soundtrack of the film The Dead by John
Huston, which provides a choreography
that accompanies the probing camera
movements. Laura Gannon works
predominantly in 16mm and digital film,
drawing and photography. Her work
explores human relations, the unspoken,
personal histories and events that have
taken place in site-specific spaces.
Oileán is a photographic project by 12
young people from Cape Clear Island and
documentary photographer Eoin O’Conaill
who has been working with the group for
the past five months.
The exhibition includes work from each of
the young participants, exploring different
aspects of their daily lives on the island,
each giving an insight into the experience
of living and growing up on Oileán
Chléire.
For WCAC Eoin O’Conaill has produced
a series of landscape images and
portraits taken on the island during his
time there.
Is togra grianghrafadóireachta é Oileán
ag 12 daoine óga ó Oileán Chléire agus
grianghrafadóir doiciméadach Eóin Ó
Conaill atá tar éis bheith ag obair leis an
ngrúpa le cúig mí anuas.
Mar chuid den taispeántas, deineann
obair ó gach rannpháirteach, iniúchadh
ar gnéithe éagsúla dár saol laethúil
ar an oileán, an turas farantóireachta
ar scoil, teaghlaigh, caithimh aimsire
agus an tírdhreach, gach ceann ag
tabhairt léargas ar an dtaithí atá acu ar
maireachtáil agus fás aníos i gCléire.
Tá Eóin Ó Conaill tar éis sraith íomhánna
tírdhreacha agus portráidí a cuir i láthair
a thógadh i gCléire i rith a ama ann.
Cuireann na híomhánna seo an pobal
agus timpeallacht éagsúil Chléire i láthair,
ó portráidí cónaitheoirí áitiúla, daoine
óga agus daoine nua tagtha san phobal,
deineann na híomhánna seo iarracht
dearcadh nua a gabháil den áit agus
pobal uathúil.
WCAC projects for Sound and Vision
open at the Arts Centre on Saturday 24
July at 3.00pm.
Image left: Laura Gannon, World/Interior (still); below, from left: Eoin O’Conaill, image from Oileán and Katherine Waugh and
Fergus Daly, The Art of Time (still)

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY PROGRAMME
Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh
Paintings
28 Aug - 25 Sept
An exhibition of paintings
exploring line-based imagery
and abstract elements by
this Wicklow-based artist.

Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh deals with space
and non-spaces in the form of abstract
images which she describes as portraying
a void. Her paintings allude to the
idea of a contemplative place, between
where a journey begins or ends. She
views the artistic process, and a picture
in the making, as a space of possibility
and of transformative potential. She places
the viewer at the edges and borders of
undefined space merging the performative
with the philosophical. These intelligent
explorations of the fundamentals
of abstraction expand and transcend the
basics.
Ní Mhaonaigh uses rich, creamy coats of
oil paint to create sumptuous surfaces.
Austere yet richly coloured, scraped and
layered - the paintings have a deceptive
simplicity. She is judicious in her palette,
using colour sparingly, finding an edgy
balance between austerity and lushness.
As art historian and curator Pádraic
E.Moore has written, “the gutsy, even
aggressive application of colour is
countered by the sensitive and delicately
tentative scoring of the paint in all its
precise and potent hues. Rare is it to see
paint being worked so sensually and yet
often so brutally. The juicy colours push
and pull, and the eye is caught in an
impossible impasse. Are we gazing onto
boundless unlimited and infinite space,
or are we peering into claustrophobically
constraining, sealed and hermetic compartments
from which nothing can leak?
Can we, simultaneously, do both?”
This new body of work explores the
line-based imagery that’s inherent in her
work alongside non-linear, abstract elements
to embody ideas about the division
between different aspects of her process
and between two opposing states: consciousness
and the subconscious.
Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh was born in 1977.
She completed her BA Fine Art at Dublin
Institute of Technology in 2001 and is currently
working towards her MPhil at DIT.
Recent exhibitions include Paintings,
Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaoise and
New Work, Sligo Art Gallery in 2010;
Paintings , Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin; Futures,
Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin,
and solo exhibitions at Wexford Arts
Centre and Galway Arts Centre in 2009;
Her work is in the collections of The Arts
Council of Ireland, Office of Public Works,
Dublin Institute of Technology, Boyle Civic
Collection and The Mermaid Arts Centre,
amongst others and private collections in
Ireland, UK and the USA.
Image left: Untitled, oil on canvas, 2009
Image right: Untitled, oil on canvas, 2009

Ellen Driscoll
1 Oct- 20 Nov
Fastforwardfossil (Part 3)
Drawing, photography and sculpture
by this American artist.

Ellen Driscoll’s recent studio practice
continues an investigation in sculpture
and drawing of the architecture and
landscapes that result from natural
resource harvesting and consumption.
The drawings were made at Sirius Art
Centre, Cobh after she was given access
to the oil refinery at Whitegate near Cork.
The worlds in the drawings are drained
of colour, and yet filled with the flux, fluid,
and spillage of a chaotic, dystopic future.
In one drawing a lone devil’s poker grows
in the dense industrial infrastructure. In
another, a shrunken abandoned mansion
nests inside a structure used to oversee
the loading of oil onto the barges that sail
out from the refinery.
The sculptural landscapes are direct
responses to the drawings. Made from
thousands of plastic milk and water bottles
harvested from the recycling bags
of urban streets, the landscapes employ
the translucent plastic as a signifier for
ghostliness, fluidity, and transformation.
Using the fact that the plastic bottles
once contained our purest drinks, milk
and water, as a departure point, the landscapes
extend themselves from the
intimate local daily act of quenching thirst
to the unseen counterweight on the other
side of the world: the oil rigs of the North
Sea, the North Pacific subtropical gyre,
the rogue fire on the Nigerian pipeline,
the Himalayas of discarded e-waste in
Asia.
Ellen Driscoll lives and works in New
York, USA. She is Professor of Sculpture
at the Rhode Island School of Design,
USA and in 2009 was awarded a residency
at Sirius Art Centre, Cobh, Co. Cork.
Recent solo exhibitions include Fastforwardfossil
(Part 1) at Frederieke Taylor
Gallery, New York, and Fastforwardfossil
(Part 2), SmackMellon, Brooklyn, New
York in 2009; Hunter Gatherer, Long
Island University Humanities Gallery,
Brooklyn in 2007. Recent group exhibitions
include Near Everywhere, curated
by Ellen Driscoll, at GASP, Boston, USA,
browser, inter-actor, co-author, producer,
nomad, curated by Lauren Ewing, Fine
Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA,
USA and Yoshitomikura, Hiroshima, Japan,
curated by Rene Grayre in 2009.
Her work is held in many public and
private collections in the US including
the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the
Whitney Museum of American Art.
Image left: Ellen Driscoll, Untitled, ink on paper, 2009. Image: Etienne Frossard
Below: Ellen Driscoll, FastForwardFossil (Part 2), detail. Photographs: Curtis Hamilton

Gilles Perrin
People of the Sea
27 Nov - Jan 2011 French photographer Gilles
Perrin documents the fishing
industry in West Cork

French photographer, Gilles Perrin began
to develop a body of work during his residency
at Sirius Art Centre, Cobh in 2008
which documented the (mostly) men
who work in the fishing industry along
the south coast of Ireland from Cobh to
Castletownbere. He returned a year later
to continue his work on this series of
portraits which also serves to remind us
of an industry in crisis and a way of life
under threat.
He says ‘as a responsible human being,
my profession is to make photographs
and to witness. This work does
not attempt to be either ethnological or
anthropological; moreover it cannot be
exhaustive and reflect objectively a social
context. It endeavours, above all, to be
humanistic and curious, even sentimental.’
For this series he worked with large
format photography using a 4”x5” folding
camera on a tripod and black and white
instant film. All shots are taken at a low
shutter speed (one second to 1/8 of a
second), a more ‘human’ speed with
which one can capture a breath or a
heartbeat. Working in negative/positive
allows Perrin to immediately give a print
to the person he has photographed and
he retains the negative to print up.
in a large format. He says ‘as I take a
photograph and give back the image, my
subject and I are engaged in an important
ceremony. This ritual linking human
interaction to the photographic act is
essential to me’.
Eager to avoid photographic ‘voyeurism,’
he selected the people to photograph
by visiting harbours and piers, chatting
to the people he met there and meeting
other people by word-of-mouth. He
says ‘the tool that enables me to convey
an understanding through my photos is
simplicity. No photos are taken furtively;
there are no ‘stolen’ images. Although I
am the one who ultimately depresses the
shutter, there is always a dialogue with
my subjects, explaining what I would like
to do and how I work. My portraits are
never anonymous. Each of my portraits
carries the subject’s name, recording, in
many senses, who they are’.
Gilles Perrin was born in Paris in 1947.
He has an MA in photography and since
1972 has worked as an author-photographer,
specialising in large format photography
in panoramic and panoscopic
cameras. This exhibition will take place
in two venues – West Cork Arts Centre,
Skibbereen and Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh.
www.siriusartscentre.ie
Image left: Gilles Perrin, Martin Crowley called Marvellous, fisherman Cobh, Co. Cork and below: Patrick Diver skipper, Marek
Jadwizuk and Marvin Polak, Antonio Hernando and Romualdes Simait fishermen on Deborah M, Baltimore, Co. Cork

Programme for Children and Families
Art Club
Children are invited to join this challenging
and enjoyable journey into visual art.
Using the exhibitions in the gallery for
inspiration, children will develop individual
journals filled with ideas and experiments.
Playing with techniques for drawing and
mark-making will form the basis of this
short course.
Drama Club
This is an active and enjoyable series
of drama and puppetry workshops for
children. Using games and improvisation,
they will explore aspects of theatre production,
movement, spatial awareness,
voice and listening skills. Games and
group work are central to the process.

Alan Foley Academy of Dance
WCAC continues to work with Alan
Foley’s Academy of Dance to deliver an
expansive dance programme for children
and young people. This includes special
pre-school ballet sessions for young
children to develop key skills in an enjoyable
way.
For older children sessions are available
in modern and jazz exploring choreography
and high energy dance, hip-hop
and also classical and contemporary
ballet for all levels. Dancers can elect to
take part in an end of year production
performing alongside professional dancers
and full-time students at Cork Opera
House.
Programmes for Schools
West Cork Arts Centre works with both
primary and second level schools to support
teachers in the delivery of the visual
arts curriculum and provide access to
professional artists and artwork.
The primary schools classroom based
programme begins in the Autumn term
and includes a visit to the gallery for a
guided tour and practical workshops
around Ellen Driscoll’s Fastforwardfossil
(Part 3) followed by practical workshops
in schools and a project pack to help
teachers deliver an integrated and cohesive
visual arts project. The programme
develops creativity and visual arts skills
in both pupils and teachers, as well as
providing opportunities for cross curricular
links. Special needs groups are also
catered for within this programme.
Image left: A young girl absorbed in her painting at Art Club.
Image below: Dancer Sinead Byrne with AFAD intermediate modern dance students, 2010

Programme for Youth
WCAC Youth Theatre
This Autumn, YT Director, Karen Moynihan
focusses on role play, self expression,
developing vocal, physical and
performance skills to lay the foundation
for WCAC’s Youth Event 2011.
FNYA (Friday Night Youth Arts)
Beginning in November, the Friday Night
Youth Arts Group gives young people
(13 - 18) the opportunity to work alongside
professional artists in a contemporary
arts context. Working with artist and
Youth Coordinator Alison Trim, the group
will develop artwork through a collaborative
process for WCAC’s Youth Exhibition
in the Spring.
Second Level Schools
West Cork Arts Centre worked with a
transition year group from Mercy Heights
Secondary School, Skibbereen, to
develop a sculptural permanent installation
from discarded spectacles at the
Ultralase Clinic, Cork. This project was
facilitated by artist Catherine Ryan and
funded by Ultralase Ireland.
This Autumn’s second level schools
programme focuses on drawing, exposing
students to contemporary drawing
practice through a gallery visit, and sup
porting their development through an
artist’s visit to the classroom. The work
will form part of the Youth exhibition in
Spring 2011. Interested schools should
contact WCAC before, or at the beginning
of, the Autumn term.

Oileán: Artist Residency
Photographer Eoin O’Conaill visited Cape
Clear Island regularly since February
2010 working with the young people of
the island (12 – 18) and encouraging
them to engage creatively with their everyday
life through the medium of photography.
In return, the young people introduced
Eoin to the island, enabling him to
develop his own body of work alongside
theirs. The resulting exhibition, a diverse
body of work reflecting each individual’s
experience linked by their landscape, will
be shown at WCAC as part of Sound and
Vision. This programme is funded by the
National Youth Council of Ireland’s Artist
in Residence with Youth Programme and
Údarás na Gaeltachta and run in partnership
with Tír na Spraoi, an organisation
based on Cape Clear Island which provides
services for children up to the age
of 16 years who reside there, funded by
the Office of the Minister for Children.
I 2010 forbraíodh clár for-rochtain le
daoine óga ar Oileán Chléire, maoinithe
ag Comhairle Náisiúnta Óige na hÉireann
agus Údarás na Gaeltachta.
Thug grianghrafadóir Eóin Ó Conaill
cuairte rialta ar Oileán Chléire ó mí Feabhra
2010 agus d’oibrigh sé le daoine
an Oileán ar aois 12 – 18, ag spreagadh
iad chun dul i ngleic lena gnáth saol trí
meáin grianghrafadóireachta..
I gcomaoin do sin, chuir na daoine óga
an oileán in aithne do Eóin, rud a chuir
ar a gcumas é a chorpas oibre féin a
dhéanamh taobh leo. Chruthaíonn an
saghas malartú seo timpeallacht do foghlaim
agus forbairt ina
bhfuil a ról féin le líonadh ag Eóin agus
na rannpháirtithe.
Taispeánfar an taispeántas, a beidh mar
thoradh ar seo, le corpas oibre éagsúil
a léiríonn taithí an duine aonair, nasctha
lena tírdhreach, in Ionad Ealaíona Iarthar
Chorcaí mar chuid den sraith Fuaim is
Fís ag Féile Ealaíona san Sciobairín i mí
Iúil (féach leathanaigh an taispeántas
chun teacht ar tuilleadh eolas).
Eagrófar an chlár seo i gcomhpháirtíocht
le Tír na Spraoi, an eagraíocht lonnaithe
ar Chléire a chuireann seirbhísí ar fail do
leanaí suas do aois 16 blian a bhfuil ina
chónaí ann, agus é maoinithe ag Oifig an
Aire Leanaí.
Image left: Work in progress, permanent sculpture for Ultralase Clinic in Cork.
Below from left: Installation from My Mind is a Map Youth Arts Exhibition, 2010 and photography from Oileán by Eoin O’Connaill.

Programme for Older People
Arts for an Active Mind
This regular course is facilitated by artist
Paul Cialis, and is for people aged over
55 years who are interested in exploring
Visual Art. It is social in approach and
invites participants to sample traditional
painting skills, new techniques and different
ways of working with acrylic paint
and other materials. The course is linked
to the Exhibition and other programmes
at WCAC. Supported by West Cork VEC
& HSE.
Arts and Health
Arts for Health is growing programme,
first initiated in 2002 and currently involves
a team of artists regularly working
in six West Cork Hospitals managed by
West Cork Arts Centre. A new strand is
currently being implemented into five Day
Care Centres.
The majority of the hospital and day care
service users are older people. The purpose
of the programme is to implement
an art programme into the culture and
practice of all long-stay units as a core
activity. This progressive programme is
constantly evolving and is influenced
by arts and health practice nationally. It
involves a weekly group workshop and
regular one to one support to encourage
and develop creative ideas. The sessions
provide a valuable opportunity for
exchange between the artists and the
participants for the benefit of both.
Each of the six participating hospitals
has its own artist who brings a different
range of skills, approaches and experiences
to the programme. They work
together as a team, discussing ideas,
methodology and ways of dealing with
the ongoing challenges of working in a
care environment.
Artists on the programme include, Sarah
Ruttle, Anne Harrington Rees, Julia Pallone,
Sarah O’Brien and Sharon Dipity.
Between Drawing and Painting
Starting in September, this course, facilitated
by artist John Simpson, explores
form and space along with other fundamental
visual art skills and ideas. Using a
variety of materials, participants follow a
process of making and drawing in both 2
and 3 dimensions.

Programme for Adults
Programme for Adults
Some basic materials are provided however
participants will be encouraged to
purchase their own materials. Participants
may submit their work for FETAC.
Monthly Life Draw
This new programme of day-long life
drawing sessions (not facilitated), offers
artists the time to explore this fundamental
discipline. Basic equipment; easels
and drawing boards are provided. The five
hour session is held on the last Saturday
of each month from September.
Discover Arts
Thinking creatively and looking at ways
to inspire the imagination is at the core of
this programme aimed at Job Seekers. It
starts with basic visual arts skills enabling
participants to collect ideas and develop
a journal of artwork. Artists John Simpson
and Julia Pallone will deliver the programmes
- one on site at WCAC and the
other in Clonakilty. Supported by WCCP
Explore Drama
A new programme inspired by Youth
Theatre facilitator, Karen Minihan, offers
adults an opportunity to explore acting
and improvisation. This short course will
lead participants through a number of
primary acting skills including movement
and voice work.
Arts in Care, Learning Day
This three day annual opportunity offers
an introduction to developing arts
projects, delivering art workshops and
working with artists in a care setting.
The course is for careworkers and artists
working in a care environment. Networking
and peer learning opportunities are
a key element to the day. No previous
experience with arts is necessary to
participate.
Learning Network for Artists in
Business
WCAC has teamed up with West Cork
Community Partnership to create a biannual
opportunity for networking with
peers and shared learning. The day is
tailored to the needs of artists who are
setting up or who have already begun
their own small business and will take the
form of presentations, group discussions
and simple exercises. The next event is
planned for November 2010.
Mentor Opportunities
WCAC is active in contracting artists
from many disciplines to engage in participatory
arts practice. To support their
development, WCAC provides mentoring
opportunities within the programme. Over
the past number of years, artists have
benefitted from this opportunity through
the Arts Centre’s Children’s Drama, Arts
and Health, and Schools Programme.
It is hoped to offer two more opportunities
this Autumn in visual art and arts for
healthcare.
Image left: Member of Between Drawing and Painting class at work. Below from left: Mouth painting by
Arts for Health participant and AFAM Group in discussion with artist Kate Byrne, 2009.

WEST CORK ARTS NEWS
THE BARN GALLERY
Garranes South, Drimoleague
T: 028 31677
E: sheilahooks@eircom.net
W: www.barngalleryireland.com
PAINTINGS, COMMISSIONS & TUITION
Studio of Sheila Hooks, a professional artist known best
for her paintings of the Irish landscape. Commissions
accepted for most subjects. Open most days throughout
the year but adviseable to telephone first. Situated 200
metres off the Skibbereen Rd.
Tuition at The Barn Gallery
Sheila is also a qualified and experienced art tutor /
demonstrator providing many courses during the year as
well as individual private tuition. Professional Associate of
the SAA. Full Member of the Pastel Society of Ireland for
whom she recently tutored a masterclass.
SILK PAINTING WEEKEND
24th & 25th July
Leave with 3 finished projects to impress your friends
(drawing skills not essential)
€170 inc. materials
WATERCOLOUR WEEKEND COURSES
Flowers & Gardens (indoors if wet)
31st July & 1st August
Gardens & Landscape
14th & 15th August €150 inc. SAA paints
PASTEL WEEKEND COURSE
7th & 8th August €140
Lots of tips & tricks & techniques. Small group (max 6)
Idyllic location. Accommodation can be arranged.
DRAWING & PAINTING
10 Week Courses (2 hrs per week) commencing end of
September.
Private tuition can be booked by the hour.
Hands-On arts and craft workshops
T: 027 66133
E: info@handsonwestcork.com
W: www.handsonwestcork.com
Hands-On workshops give you a chance to learn from
some of West Cork’s most accomplished craftworkers and
artists. Workshops range from single days to ongoing day/
evening classes, and are suitable for complete beginners
or experienced practitioners.
Learn drawing, painting, raku ceramics, throwing, kiln
building, stone carving, woodcarving, stained glass
and glass fusing, green wood chairmaking, sculpture,
photography, children’s art, printmaking, bookbinding,
mosaics and paper mâché. Hands-On tutors include:
Alison Ospina, Jim Turner, Ben Russell, Adrian Wistreich,
Michael Ray and Pauline Agnew. All teach in their own
studios.
St. Barrahane’s Church Festival of
Music 2010
Castletownshend, Co. Cork,
E: barrahanemusic@eircom.net
W: http://homepage.eircom.net/~barrahane
Thursday 22 July
Christopher Marwood - Cello
Jan Cáp - Piano
Admission: €15, (under 13 free)
Thursday 29 July
Catherine Leonard - violin
Hugh Tinney - piano
Admission: €15, (under 13 free)
Thursday 5 August
Fiachra Garvey - Piano
The best Irish competitor of the 2009 AXA
International Dublin Piano Competition.
Admission: €15, (under 13 free)
This is a Music Wide Concert promoted by Music
Network.
Thursday 12 August
To Be Confirmed:
An Intimate Evening with Shaun Davey, Rita
Connelly and friends.
Thursday 19 August
The Three Irish Tenors.
Admission: €25
All concerts begin at 8:30 p.m.
Reservations and Ticket Sales:
Mrs. Angela Eborall, Tel: +353 (0)28 - 36193
Mrs. Jacqueline Weij, Tel: +353 (0)28 - 33752
Ticket Sales Only: The Coffee Shop, Union Hall
(028-34444) and Thornhill Electrical, Skibbereen
(028- 22557)
Cheques made payable to: St. Barrahane’s Music
Festival. No Credit Cards.
Sherkin Island Summer art workshop
T: 087 8319929
E: Cora_Collins@eircom.net
W: www.sherkinart.com
Workshops will run for five weeks Monday to
Friday from 28 June to 30 July.
Sherkin Island Summer Art Workshop brings
together, for a five-day period, beginner, emerging
and experienced artists who have a common
interest in art.
The Workshop will be run by Majella O Neill Collins,
a resident of Sherkin Island and a successful
working artist and Cora Collins, a resident of
Castleconnell County Limerick, a mural artist and
colour consultant.
The Fee of €750 includes all tuition, materials,

WEST CORK ARTS NEWS
meals and accommodation. This promises to be
a marvellous opportunity for fun and adventure in
a beautiful offshore Island and in a comfortable
relaxed atmosphere.
The timetable for the workshop offers plenty of
variety - drawing, painting, land-art, exploration
of different techniques and materials, artists’ talks
and a field trip by boat to Heir Island.
Numbers are limited so book early.
Skibbereen Heritage Centre
Old Gasworks Building
Upper Bridge Street
Skibbereen, West Cork
T: 028 40900
Fax: 028 40957
E: info@skibbheritage.com
W: www.skibbheritage.com
Enjoy a visit to the Skibbereen Heritage Centre in
its riverside location in the Old Gasworks Building.
The Great Famine Exhibition - learn about this
period of Irish history using the latest in multimedia
technology. Skibbereen was one of the worst
affected areas in Ireland, as testified by the mass
graves near the town where almost 10,000 victims
are buried. Visitors can also take a historical
walking tour of the town.
The Lough Hyne Visitor Centre reveals the
unique nature of this marine lake, Ireland’s first
Marine Nature Reserve. Find out about the
history, folklore and formation of this renowned
natural phenomenon. Follow with a trip to the
lake’s walking trail.
Other features; genealogy information,
archaeology information, wildlife of the river
Ilen, gift shop, hot and cold drinks and snacks,
wheelchair friendly, car park adjacent.
Special Heritage Week events are planned
for 2010 to commemorate the Centre’s 10th
anniversary. Please see www.skibbheritage.com
for full details on all of these free events.
GERT J. VAN MAANEN STUDIOS
Singing Birds House, Coolkelure, Dunmanway
T: 023 8855135
E: info@gertjvanmaanen.com
W: www.gertjvanmaanen.com
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC THIS SUMMER
You are more than welcome to visit his place of
work located in this idyllic part of West Cork.
Many of his contemporary paintings will be on
display. Open daily from early June till late August,
but do please contact him to confirm your visit.
WORKING ARTIST STUDIOS
71 North Street, Skibbereen,
T: 086 1628471
E: contact@workingartiststudios.com
W: www.workingartiststudios.com
ARTIST RESIDENCY
Working Artist Studios, Skibbereen are offering a
Studio Space and facilities with 24 hour access,
for two week and four week block bookings.
Longterm arrangements also available
This would be attractive for :
• An artist who would like to totally immerse
themselves in their work for a fixed time
without distractions.
• An artist who would like a change of
environment.
• Someone who is currently working at home
who would like the discipline and stimulus of
working within a professional setup.
• Somebody from another country or part of
Ireland, who would like to experience working
from a Studio base in West Cork.
This studio is part of a building comprising Studios
and Galleries, managed and used full time by
a group of four professional Irish Artists. The
core group, Working Artist Studios, has been in
existence for ten years. For more background and
contact information, including cost, please go to
www.workingartiststudios.com
Cape Clear International
Storytelling Festival
Cape Clear Island, Skibbereen, Co Cork
T: 086 8443067
E: director@capeclearsorytelling.com
W: www.capeclearstorytelling.com
Friday 3 – Sunday 5 September
A storytelling festival with a difference, set on the
beautiful island of Cape Clear. Blending the old
with the new, each year we invite five professional
storytellers from all around the world celebrating
each teller’s respective cultures through the art
of storytelling. Music, walks and guaranteed fun
until the small hours throughout the weekend are
on the cards with a few extra sailings too. This
renowned weekend is now in its 16th year, and
offers a mix of international fame and multicultural
diversity, suitable for all ages and nationalities.
The atmosphere is relaxed and easy going and
promotes a festival of unique standing in the world
of storytelling. This year’s storytellers include:
Rosemary Woods, Charlotte Blake Alston,David
Campbell, Pat Speight and Suse Weisse.

WEST CORK ARTS NEWS
Sarah Walker Gallery
The Pier, Castletownbere, Co. Cork
T: 027 70387 Mob: 086 890 2338
E: sarahwalker@eircom.net
W: www.sarahwalker.ie
Visit the gallery on the waterfront at the far west
end of The Pier, Castletownbere.
Open Monday to Saturday 11.00am to 6.00pm
June through September and Easter & Xmas
holidays or by appointment.
Open most weekdays October through May, to
check, telephone prior to visit.
“All these paintings are evidence of a life lived
close to brambles, trees, country roads, spring and
winter air. Sarah Walker’s art filters nature with a
connoisseur’s eye, thereby giving it a fine aesthetic
pedigree.”
Brian O’Doherty from Representing Art in Ireland.
Paintings by Sarah Walker and a selection of
other artists. Available: original oils on canvas, oils
on paper in mounts and photographs and prints.
Come browse and take a look at Castletownbere
harbour from the balcony
Haiti House Building Project Fundraiser: Sat
July 3rd: Sale of Anonymous Postcards by Irish
Artists, Locally Produced Food Market and Live
Gig with Dr Strangely Strange and Luka Bloom
Summer Show Opening Sat July 31st: Exhibition
of Sarah Walker Paintings and Installations by
Graduates from Art Colleges around the country.
DOSWELL GALLERY
West Square, Rosscarbery
T: 023 8848137 / 087 7478713
W: www.doswellgallery.com
Doswell Gallery exhibits contemporary art from
leading and emerging Irish and international artists.
Exhibitions
1 June -12 July
Gallery Artists - paintings, prints, ceramics, glass
17 July - 12 August
Monica Boyle & Ian Humphreys - paintings
6 August - 13 September
Kevin Callaghan - ceramics
14 August - 13 September
Paul Ringrose - paintings
Opening Times
1 June - 12 July
Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon: 11.00am - 6.00pm
13 July - 13 September
Everyday: 11.00am - 6.00pm
COURTMACSHERRY CERAMICS
Main Street, Courtmacsherry, Co. Cork
T: 023 884 6239
Locally made porcelain tableware for everyday
use, oven to table, hand decorated with West
Cork motifs. Ideal for gifts & wedding presents.
Also art pieces and wall plates.
Open: June - Mon – Fri 10.00am to 6.00pm
Sat 10.00am to 1.00pm
July & August - Mon – Sat 10.00am to 6.00pm
Closed September
West Cork Chamber Music Festival
Bantry, Co Cork
T: 027 52788
W: ww.westcorkmusic.ie
Friday 25 June - Saturday 3 July
The 15th West Cork Chamber Music Festival
features the world’s finest soloists and ensembles
playing concerts from morning to late night in Bantry
House, St Brendan’s Church and St Finbarr’s
Church in Bantry. The line-up include the Artis
Quartet, Scottish star violinist Nicola Benedetti,
much-admired violinist Alina Ibragimova with her
quartet, Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman, Finnish
violinist Pekka Kuusisto, French pianist Philippe
Cassard, the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland
with the Irish Youth Choir, Russian pianist Kirill
Gerstein, who was recently named the recipient
of the 2010 Gilmore Artist Award and many more.
The programme includes six glorious quartets
that Mozart dedicated to his friend and mentor
Joseph Haydn, paired with single string concertos
by Vivaldi, Telemann and Johann Sebastian
Bach while the unmissable Late Great Show each
evening will feature Late Great Masterworks by
Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms.
The Festival’s reputation for programming unusual
works will be furthered by performances of Don
Giovanni arranged for string quartet, quartets by
Viennese composers Weigl and Wellesz, rarely
played quartets by Enescu and Moeran and much
more.
Jorg Widmann is Composer-in-Residence and will
chair the Young Composers Forum which features
performances of and discussions about the winning
string quartets from the Festival’s 2010 Composition
Competition. There will be a Violinmakers
Exhibition and the Young Musicians Platform.
The West Cork Chamber Music Festival is generously
supported by the Arts Council of Ireland,
Failte Ireland and Cork County Council. The Irish
Examiner is media sponsor of the West Cork
Chamber Music Festival.

WEST CORK ARTS NEWS
West Cork Literary Festival
Bantry, Co Cork
T: 027 55987
W: www.westcorkliteraryfestival.ie
Sunday 4 - Saturday 10 July
Michael Palin, Margaret Drabble, Fay Weldon,
John Boyne, Carol Drinkwater, Eavan Boland and
Anthony Horowitz are just some of the writers appearing
at this year’s West Cork Literary Festival
which features some of the finest writers and
poets from Ireland and abroad.
The Festival is once again generously supported
by the Arts Council, Failte Ireland, Cork County
Library and Arts Service and RTÉ Lyric fm. Speakers
include leading Irish poet, Eavan Boland;
award-winning travel writer Tim Mackintosh-Smith;
Rooney Prize winner Philip O Ceallaigh and
Booker Nominee, Simon Mawer. We are also
delighted to introduce Suad Amiry, Palestinian
author of the international bestseller Sharon and
My Mother-in-Law, Singaporean poet and novelist,
Felix Cheong, bestselling novelist John Boyne
and many more. Manchán Magan and Damien
Enright discussing Writing for the Environment,
Peter Sirr and James Harpur talking about the
Poetry Journey, Simon Mawer and Tim Severin
sharing their thoughts on Research are just some
of the afternoon seminars taking place in the
Maritime Hotel.
There will be a broad range of writing workshops
including: Fiction with Peter Cunningham,
Short Fiction with Nuala Ni Chonchuir, Writing
for Women with Catherine Dunne, Freelance
Journalism with Sue Leonard, Bound to be Read
with literary agent Jonathan Williams, Poetry with
Leanne O’Sullivan, The Graphic & Fantasy Novel
with Celine Kearney, Crime Writing with Alex
Barclay, Short Fiction with Nuala Ni Chonchuir,
Song Writing with Julie Feeney and Writing for the
Stage with Ursula Rani Sarma.
The Festival will also feature a new generation
of Irish writers, including immigrant poets. There
will be master classes in travel writing and fiction,
seminars on the art of editing and some entertaining
talks: Brian Dillon will speak about hypochondriac
writers; Tony Humphreys will be launching
his new book, Karen Coleman will speak about
abuse in religious institutions, and Eileen Battersby
on re-reading classics. The 2010 Fish
Anthology will also be launched in St Brendan’s
Church.
The Ewe Sculpture Garden & Gallery
N71 Kenmare Road, Glengarriff.
T: 027-63840 (call if travelling far)
E: info@theewe.com
W: www.theewe.com
See also Facebook and YouTube
Open Summer daily 10.00am to 6.00pm or by
appointment.
Ireland’s only interactive sculpture garden has
expanded yet again and now consists of four
inter-linked gardens, including the Valley of Eden.
Try Evolution Walk and learn about your history,
test the Human Sundial, or marvel at the giant
and dinosaur. A must see destination for anyone
interested in art and nature. Spectacular setting in
a beautiful mountain forest by a tranquil waterfall.
Sculptures, mixed media and paintings for sale by
Sheena Wood.
Also tea garden and bead workshop.
The Warren Gallery
MaryAnns, Castletownshend, Co Cork
T: 086 - 8510531
E: info@warren-gallery.com
W: www.warren-gallery.com
Events This Summer
1 May - 1 July: Felim Egan - New Works
1 July - 14 July: Rachel Gallagher - Coast
15 July - 30 July: Yvonne Moore - Summer Paintings
4 August - 31 August: Aidan Bradley - West Cork
The Series II
Dublin Show at Gresham Hotel 18 - 20 June
Across the Irish Sea - John Thompson, Lancashire
Painter, Solo Show
Masters of Tradition
Bantry House, Bantry, Co. Cork
T: 027 52788
W: www.westcorkmusic.ie
Wednesday 11 - Sunday 15 August
As ever the Festival is headlined by Martin Hayes,
the fiddler from East Clare, whose distinctive touch
and extravagant virtuosity has brought the tradition
to new levels. His trance-evoking sets with Dennis
Cahill have mesmerised audiences all over the
world. At this early stage West Cork Music can
announce that the Festival will feature Caoimhin
O Raghallaigh, Brendan Begley and Aine Ni
Dhonnacha. The brochure for this special musical
experience will be available in July. The Masters
of Tradition Festival is generously supported by
the Arts Council of Ireland, Failte Ireland and Cork
County Council.

HOW TO FIND US
West Cork Arts Centre is situated
adjacent to St. Patrick’s Cathedral
in the centre of the market town of
Skibbereen.
From Cork – Take the N71 through
Innishannon, Bandon, Clonakilty,
Rosscarbery and Leap.
From Killarney – Take the N71
through Kenmare, Glengarriff,
Bantry and Ballydehob.
Opening hours
Monday – Saturday
10.00am – 5.00pm
All event details are correct at time
of going to press and are subject
to change.
Image above: WCAC Building, Skibbereen. Image by Phil Pound
West Cork Arts Centre, North Street, Skibbereen, Co. Cork, Ireland.
Tel: +353 (0)28 - 22090 Email: info@westcorkartscentre.com
Web: www.westcorkartscentre.com