Draft
The Visual Artists Charter project was initiated by VAI to address the professional relationship between artists and those that they work with. The Artists Charter takes the form of a code of practice, commonly agreed upon, which adopts principles of good practice and demonstrates why and how they should be applied. The core aim of the project is to provide a set of practical and ethical guidelines for the conduct of business between visual artists and organisations. View the charter here. VAI remains open to and interested in feedback from artists and the publicly funded organisations that they work with. This is a living document and may be adapted as issues arise over time.
If you have recently been involved in a public commission, percent for art project, socially engaged project or any other form of ‘art outside the gallery’ we would like you to email us the information for publication in the May / June issue of the Visual Artists News Sheet. Send images (3-4MB in size) and a short text (no more than around 300 words) in the following format:
-Artists name
-Title of work
-Commissioning body
-Date advertised
-Date sited / carried out.
-Budget
-Commission type
-Project Partners
-Brief description of the work
Work must have been undertaken in the last 6 months.
Send your info ASAP to Publications Assistant, Lily Power at: lily@visualartists.ie
Deadline 29 March 2013.
Cover Image. Dreaming of the Celestial Mountain. Agnes Conway, 2011.
5. Roundup. Recent exhibitions and projects of note. The latest developments in the arts sector.
5. Column. Mark Fisher.
6. Column. Jonathan Carroll.
8. News. The latest developments in the visual arts sector.
9. Regional Profile. Visual arts resources and activity in Antrim.
13. Art and Politics. Living Museum. Brian Kennedy on a recent trip to visit artists in Syria. (Archived)
14. Project Profile. In to the Light. Fiona Fullam talks to Karen Downey about a new exhibition showcasing the Art Council Collection.
15. Festival. Landscape, Change and Flux. Ciara Peters talks to Gregory McCartney about his role as Curator of the Tulca Festival 2012.
16. How is it Made? A Sleeping Face. Agnes Conway on her recent commission for Marlay Park.
17. Career Development. Some Possible Infinities. Alan Bulfin describes working as an artist in Finland.
18. Education. The Artist’s Apprentice. Lily Power talks to Siobhán Parkinson about a new children’s book inspired by Velázquez’s Las Meninas.
18. Policy. Here and Now. Una Carmody gives findings from a recent study of Irish arts audiences.
19. Critique. Our four-page Critique supplement features six reviews of exhibitions, events, publications and projects – that are either current or have recently taken place in Ireland.
23. Festival. The Art of Communication.Yvonne Cullinan profiles the Trans-Art Festival, Cavan.
24. Residency. Artelier. Nick Kaplony describes the Artelier residency programme, run by ArtQuestUK.
24. Profile. John Carrick. John Beattie profiles Firestation’s….JohnCarrick.
25. Policy. Cultural Strategies. Ray Yeates discusses Dublin City Council’s up coming plans for the arts.
26. Artist-led Project. Subject to Ongoing Change. Fergus Byrne profiles The Performance Collective. (Archived)
27. Advocacy. Issue and Impasse. April Britskion CARFAC’s debate with the National Gallery of Canada.
28. Opportunities. All the lastest grants, awards, exhibition calls and commissions.
30. Debate. Remains of the Present. Michelle Browne reports from performance symposium,’Remnant’.
31. How is it Made? Outside In. Suzanne Mooney describes recent work developed in Seoul and Tokyo.
32. International. Notions of Hospitality. Anne Mullee reports from the 2012 Liverpool Biennial. (Archived)
33. Art in Public. Public art commissions, site-specific works, socially-engaged practices and other forms of art outside the gallery.
34. Regional Contacts. VAI’s Northern Ireland Manager reports from the region.
35. Studio Profile. Sustainable Spaces. Maria Tanner profiles a new studio space in Dungarven,Waterford.
JOHN BEATTIE DESCRIBES HOW HE MADE TWO NEW FILMS FOR HIS UPCOMING SHOW AT THE RHA, DUBLIN, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE IN NOVEMBER 2012
John Beattie on the set of ‘ An Artist, the studio and al the rest’, 2012
Background
‘An Artist, the Studio, and all the rest…’ takes the form of two HD film projections with audio, produced and directed between 2006 – 2012. Part one will be presented to the viewer as performative research, shot in the studio of the artist Tom Ryan (PPRHA born 1929) and the RHA School. Here, I observed what became a ‘master / apprentice’ relationship that has developed between myself and Tom Ryan since 2006.
Appropriating the 1854 / 1855 painting by Gustav Courbet, The Artist’s Studio, part two is a staged, choreographed moving-image film, shot in the Great Hall at IMMA, where representatives from various levels of the arts in Ireland were invited to be filmed in the context of this surreal, staged studio.
My work explores ideas and perceptions relating to notions of the artist, the studio and relationships with the audience. Through process- based and context-specific methodologies, my work attempts to create discourse between traditional, classic academic and contemporary practice. Employing the use of film production and performance, my interest lies in how the viewer deconstructs or unravels the creative process.
Process
The starting point for this process was a phone call, a letter and a studio visit, followed by an initiated task set by the artist Tom Ryan. To cut a long story short, I first came across Tom Ryan through his work, then through talking with him over the phone. I was immediately struck by his opinions and comments on contemporary practices and practioners. He regarded this kind of work as a form of “cult and heresy, and a bad, ill-informed one at that”. - From an interview with Tom Ryan in his studio, 2006 (more…)
ÁINE MACKEN, FOUNDER OF ART CLASH, DESCRIBES THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THIS ONGOING SERIES OF CREATIVE CLASSES.
Art Clash Class
Art Clash began as a creative experiment, where contemporary nightlife became a platform for utilising and incorporating creativity and talent in a visual art context.
After much experience in art making, I was left with the very real awareness of the difficulty in making money through traditional art practice. The idea of attempting to apply creativity to nightlife and the industrious world of clubbing became a slightly more exciting method of generating money than making sandwiches at a deli. Club nights such as Synth Eastwood openly encouraged an environment of creativity, art making and innovation. Pubs like The Bernard Shaw and U Bar in Christchurch, Dublin had a clear and apparent mission: to combine creativity with nightlife and to enter art making into a more accessible format. However, too frequently these events contained an obvious element of voyeurism rather than participation, where punters were permitted to gawp at an artist creating work as they supped a pint.
MAEVE MULRENNAN DESCRIBES THE CURATORIAL STRATEGIES INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING THE EXHIBITION ‘SYNC’, WHICH OPENS AT THE GALWAY ARTS CENTRE IN OCTOBER 2012, AND IS AIMED AT CREATING A BENEFICIAL GALLERY EXPERIENCE FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER.
Left: Sarah O Brien, ‘Abalta’ (Sync work in progress 2012). Right: Elmarie Collins, ‘Blue Installation’, 2012
In October 2012, The Galway Arts Centre (GAC) will host an exhibition entitled ‘Sync’ as part of the Baboró International Festival for Children. My co-curator, John J Twomey, and I are currently researching methods and mediation techniques for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a visual art context that will inform this exhibition. GAC has been mentored by Ábalta ABA School for Children with Autism and I have also interviewed Carolyn Chin in the V&A Museum Childhood in London, who runs a mediation programme designed specifically for children and young people with ASD.2 ‘Sync’ aims to link together different sources and research, providing a support network to the invited artists. Our research has raised several questions: How can contemporary visual art contribute to the life of a child with autism? What happens to an artist’s practice when they are asked to make work for an audience that may have difficulty with perception?
The ways in which ASD manifests itself are extremely individual. However, the common link is perception. Film director Henry Corra, who made a film with his autistic son George, describes autism thus:
“[Autustic children] have very splintered intelligence, so that they can deal with facts really well, and they can process concrete information really well, but when it comes to the idea of making connections, or empathy, it’s a severe social impairment.”3
Cover image: Colin Darke. For Courbet III (2011)
5. Roundup. Recent exhibitions and projects of note. The latest developments in the arts sector.
5. Column. Treasa O’Brien.
6. Column. Christopher Clarke.
8. News. The latest developments in the visual arts sector.
9. Regional Profile. Visual arts resources and activity in Leitrim.
13. Profile. Space Time Travel. Artist Sara Haq writes about her unique use of barter and exchange.
14. How I Made. The Artist’s Studio. John Beattie describes his upcoming exhibition at the RHA,Dublin. (Archived)
15. Profile. Night School. Áine Macken introduces her unusual night club art classes. (Archived)
16. Event. Of Other Spaces. Aoife Desmond reports from Manifesta 9.
17. Conference. Like a Buck. Alan Phelan gives his impressions of a recent heritage conference at the University of Gothenburg.
18. Issue. Are you Re -entering the Art World? Noel Kelly provides advice and guidance for those who are.
19. Critique. Our four-page Critique supplement features six reviews of exhibitions, events, publications and projects – that are either current or have recently taken place in Ireland.
23. Profile. Long-term Let. Emma Loughney assesses the long-term sustainability of vacant space initiatives.
24. Interview. First Resort. Jack Nyhans interviews the initiators of a new residency in Donegal.
26. Seminar. Art Law Canada. Kathleen Killin reports from the CARFAC Art and Law conference.
27. How I Made. A Congregation of Vapours. Sound artist Fergus Kelly writes about the production of his new album.
28. Opportunities. All the latest grants, awards, exhibition calls and commissions.
30. Event. 100 Thoughts. Jonathan Carroll reports from Documenta.
31. Issue. In Sync. Maeve Mulrennan details a recent project aimed at engaging autistic children in the visual arts.(Archived)
32. Art in the Community. From Context to Exhibition. Michelle Brown illustrates Create’s Learning Development Programme.
33. Art in Public. Public art commissions, site-specific works, socially-engaged practices and other forms of art outside the gallery.
34. Regional Contacts. VAI’s Northern Ireland Manager reports from the region.
Visual Artists Ireland would like to wish all our members, subscribers and readers a very healthy and happy 2013. We have lots planned for the year ahead most notably the second annual networking and professional development event the ‘Visual Artists Ireland Get Together 2013‘ to be held on Friday 28 June 2013 at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. Don’t forget to save the date! The Get Together 2012, held at Limerick College of Art and Design was a great success and an important opportunity for us to meet our artists from all over the country and to address their professional needs. You can read more about and view some of the resources from the Get Together 2012 event here: http://visualartists.ie/education-2/professional-development-resources. Further details and booking information for Get Together 2013 will be announced soon.
Culture Connects is the culture programme marking Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2013.
Culture Ireland has co-ordinated a major programme presenting Irish artists and their works across all Member States, expanding the reach of Irish culture to new audiences, and building on the presence of Irish artists in key European festivals and venues, with a special focus on Brussels, Paris and Berlin.
Nationally, Culture Connects features major events presented by Ireland’s national cultural institutions, such as the Crawford Art Gallery Cork, the National Concert Hall and the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
In addition, the Arts Council has co-ordinated a programme of over 90 contemporary arts events and projects taking place country-wide, which has been financially supported by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
The first strand of the Arts Council programme is called Local Arts Europe and it encompasses 23 partnership projects led by Local Authority Arts Offices and Ealaín na Gaeltachta that invest in artistic and professional relationships between Ireland and other places in Europe. The second strand of the Arts Council programme is called Féile Festa , which involves over 30 festivals and is all about connecting artists and audiences. In addition, a small number of large-scale festivals, such as the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, that take place during the Presidency period and that have an important role in terms of engaging extensive arts audiences, were invited directly to participate in the Féile Festa strand.
The final strand of the National Culture Programme is called Partners for Imagination and it showcases some of the arts organisations in Ireland that have been exceptionally committed to working across national borders in Europe to the benefit of artists, arts participants and audiences in Ireland.
The visual artists at the heart of Cló Ceardlann na gCnoc studios and gallery in Donegal have worked most recently with partners from Portugal and Greece to run Samkura, a co-operative project supported by the EU Culture Programme. During the Presidency, Cló Ceardlann na gCnoc presents an exhibition programme as well as a series of specialist workshops.
The National Sculpture Factory, in partnership with the Cork Civic Trust, the Cork Vision Centre and in association with the Crawford Art Gallery, presents works by artists featured in United States of Europe, a large scale visual art project brought about through transnational partnership, and supported by the EU Culture Programme.
The Partners for Imagination strand of Culture Connects will also feature networking and professional development events, in particular Visual Artists Ireland’s Get Together 2013, the Informal Meeting of the European Cultural Contact Points, and the Spring Plenary meeting of the IETM international network for contemporary performing arts.
Further information on Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU www.eu2013.ie
Further information on EU support for culture www.ccp.ie
The Arts Council has published a new policy and strategy in the area of Arts and Disability, which will assist it to address issues of equity, access and participation for artists and audiences with disabilities over a five year period. The new policy outlines the Arts Council’s support and understanding of Arts and Disability practice and the make-up of the sector. The policy is built on a set of key values including a commitment to equality and inclusion and recognition of the complexity and diversity of the people and practices involved. The strategy takes a holistic approach with measures designed to mainstream access alongside a series of strategic targeted supports and a programme to build capacity both within the Arts Council and across the arts sector. The publication of the policy and strategy follows a period of development and consultation with key stakeholders over a period of years, which broadened and intensified in 2012 as a means of capturing a wide range of perspectives. It is envisaged that the Arts Council and the sector will work together over the coming years to maximise the effects of the strategy and to inform wider policy and practice. For further information: www.artscouncil.ie/en/areas-of-work/actions/arts-participation-news.aspx
