Arts & Culture

By John Rainsford Show Me, a stunning exhibition of visual art, is the latest success for Shannon-born artist Emmet Kierans and his colleagues at the Occupy Space Gallery in Limerick. Emmet and five other recent graduates from Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD) set up an art studio at 12 Wickham Street, Limerick before opening Occupy Space on Thomas Street last September. Their exhibits, together with those of internationally recognised artists, are now being regularly showcased at the venue. Despite being relatively inexperienced at running a gallery. the new venture has attained an increasingly high profile both regionally and nationally. As one of the directors, Emmet regularly invites suggestions for exhibitions, which are usually run every three weeks. Show Me, the brainchild of curators Nora O’Murchú and Anna Crudge, exhibits the works of Ivan Twohig, Alison Carey, Benjamin Gaoulon, Sarah Doyle, Grant Hamilton, Andy Callahan, Jessica Foley, Luna Maurer and Roel Wouters. The success of the gallery has offered …

PAST and present musicians from Clare Youth Service will be busking on the streets of Ennis this Saturday to showcase the wealth of young talent emerging from its long-established music project.  As part of the CYS Flag Day, a host of young musicians will perform acoustically on streets of Ennis between 1 and 4pm, followed by a gig upstairs in the Hub Café at 4.30pm.  Live and acoustic performances will be delivered by such acts as Clare’s Got Talent winners The Bad Pennies, energetic old school rockers Casa Roca, beatboxing Mr Legion and Elastic Band’s John and Evan, plus friends.The performances will take place in a number of locations around the town between, including the Square, Lower Market and O’Connell Street.   There will also be Clare Youth Service collection buckets on the day for anyone who wishes to donate to the service. Among the acts lined up is Daithí Ó Drónaí, the young Belharbour musician who jumped to fame in …

THE sunflower should shine through at all times. That’s the brief given to children who enter the annual Cahercalla Children’s Art Competition.The sunflower is the emblem used by the hospice movement and the drawings and paintings produced by the children from all over the county are exhibited at Cahercalla Hospice where they lift the spirits of the residents. Now in its third year, the competition, which is open to children between the ages of four and 12, has been a huge success according to Shirley Benson. She explained that children are told that no matter what they decide to do, the sunflower should feature in some way. “We are reliant on the teachers putting up the posters and recruiting the children to take part. It’s important to get all schools involved. There’s a small entry fee and this goes towards Cahercalla Hospice.“The children’s art is displayed on our Wall of Fame and the residents get to vote on the final 10 …

SEE-Saw, a dance production created especially for young families by Ríonach Ní Néill, is coming to Ennis this week.  Following its world premiere at Dance Base as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August, See-Saw will be staged in Glór twice next Tuesday.The production takes inspiration from the push-pull gravitational motion of the see-saw to create this new dance piece.  Performers Robert Jackson, Dylan Quinn and Ríonach Ní Néill engage their young audience in different interactive movements, from close-ups and face gazing to clapping and touching games, to enable them experience the fun and exhilaration of dance. Gently rocking the balance between looking and being looked at, See-Saw is a dance show for families with young children up to 12 years old. Each dance performance is a special dialogue between performer and audience.Their will be two performances of See-Saw in Glór on Tuesday at 12 noon and 2pmVisit www.glor.ie or phone 065 6843103.

THE stage is set for the autumn arts festival in Killaloe and Ballina with a host of free activities for children.The fifth annual Féile Eile takes place in a number of venues this weekend. Events include singing, storytelling, drumming, dance, drama, art, crafts, cartoons, puppets, music and other entertainment. Parents and children can sit back and enjoy the shows or join the workshops. The festival is organised by Boris Hunka and Diane Daly from Music in The Glen.Children from the seven local national schools will come together to perform with each other before uniting to sing the Féile Eile anthem as a single choir of over 200 in the Lakeside Hotel, Ballina at 9.30am this Friday.Later that evening at 6pm, children will return to the same venue for the showing of Ponyo from the world famous Studio Ghibli in  Japan. Ponyo is no ordinary goldfish and when she is caught by a little boy, a great adventure begins. The Midnight …

Former All-Ireland champion accordion player Nuala Hehir will be one in a line-up of distinguished musicians heading up the Willie Keane Memorial Weekend in Doonbeg.Nuala will be performing at the welcoming session of this year’s festival in Igoe’s, on Friday night. Singer and guitarist Mary Conroy, fiddler player Nuala Donlon, flautist Eoin Conway and James O’Halloran on banjo, will join her.The late Willie Keane was Doonbeg’s best-known personality and a great exponent of traditional dancing. He came to prominence with the Mullagh set that won numerous competitions throughout Ireland.After frequent appearances on TV, he toured the US and regularly taught set dancing at the Willie Clancy Summer School.His passing in 1998 left a huge void in Doonbeg and the weekend of music, song and dance is the community’s tribute to him.Nuala, from Kilnamona, was a member of the great Ennis Céilí Band that won three Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann titles in succession.

Clare’s Boudoir Sessions returns for its last session this month, where The Swell Berries will take to the stage in Scariff fresh from their scintillating summer of shows at the Body and Soul Festival in June and the Global Green at the Electric Picnic in September.This is the only Boudoir Sessions show in Clare for the remainder of 2010 and it will be held in Ryan’s Bar in Scariff this Sunday from 10pm.The event will be a Caribbean-themed pre-Hallowe’en vintage show with all the music and décor drawing on the pre-’60s era. The public can expect generous helpings of calypso, mento and early ska to complement the swing and boogie woogie from DJ duo the Boudoir Boys.Cathriona Sheedy will be offering tropically themed art instillations, while swing jazz band The Swell Berries, made up of Su Hammond, Jantine Vandenberg, Marcus Hulme, Paul Browne and Sarah Ferrigan, will perform. Those attending are encouraged to dress to the vintage, Caribbean or Hallowe’en …