Tag Archives: Clare Arts Office

AN exploration of the Gaelic songs of County Clare has unearthed 130 songs, with that figure continuing to grow. The outcome of the project, carried out by actor, writer and director Diarmuid de Faoite titled Dúchas is Dóchas (Heritage and Hope), will be launched by the Clare Arts Office and The Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) this Saturday in Cultúrlann Sweeney, Kilkee. The work was done as part of the third Duala: Creator-in-Residence Scheme. “It wasn’t today nor yesterday that the people of County Clare fell in love with music and the county has a deserved reputation in the field of traditional music,” said de Faoite. “Despite this reputation, however, songs in Irish are rarely heard and even rarer still are songs in Irish from the county, save the ubiquitous ‘Beidh Aonach Amárach’,” he noted. “Though the music has been preserved and enriched, our voice was lost quite suddenly and traumatically with the rapid loss of language” he added, posing …

PHOTOGRAPHER Beata Rosik recalls she felt “positively surprised and appreciated” when she discovered she was to be the recipient of Clare Arts Office’s TONES Studio Residency Award. Beata, who is living in Ennis having moved from her native Poland, hopes this honour will lead to greater recognition of her work, which has already received many prestigious international awards and appeared in exhibitions around the world. “It’s a really nice feeling that my work was noticed and appreciated here in Ireland. I’ve been photographing since I came here, which is about 14 years ago, it’s a long period of my life. “To be honest, it is not easy to be noticed even in your own country, or maybe in your own country in particular, let alone living abroad. I hope that this awareness will help me to develop, and hopefully be a small bit more recognised in Ireland. I’m confident to say that Ireland is my home and Ennis is my …

RAIN gives us rainbows is the positive message of a brand new colourful addition to St Anne’s School in Ennis. The school recently unveiled a new mural created by its Oak, Rowan and Willow classes along with local artist Rachel Macmanus. The project was facilitated by the Clare Artists in School Scheme 2021/2022. Principal of St Anne’s Rose-Marie Flanagan explains that before designing the mural Rachel visited them and spent time with the three classes to discuss ideas. “We discussed together what should be included in the design and why. The pupils chose to highlight the nature they see in and around their school, such as birds and animals, and we also discussed the weather we get here in Ennis, a lot of rain! But rain gives us rainbows, which became a central theme for the mural.  “We also focused on the geography of St Anne’s School, which is situated in the centre of Ennis town, and the activities and sports which happen in the school. As we …

POLISH photographer Beata Rosik who is based in Ennis has been awarded the TONES Studio Residency Award. This award, announced by Clare Arts Office, will provide Beata with access to a shared studio facility at the EASI (Ennis Access to Spaces Initiative) artist studios in Ennis for 12 months, a small production budget and supports needed to progress her work and her career. Arts advisor, Moran Been-noon, will work with Beata to provide the most appropriate support. Beata Rosik originally worked as a primary school teacher for 12 years in her native Poland. Since 2007, she has been living in Ennis. Not long after arriving in Ireland, Beata was diagnosed with cancer. During her treatment and recovery she discovered a passion for photography. Her style developed and, using her life experiences and current affairs for ideas, she found techniques to bring her own signature style of art to her photographs. This style resulted recently in two gold medals in the …

CLARE’S artistic community have shown their true colours of generosity by finding various ways to support the people of Ukraine. From selling artworks to raise funds for charities helping those affected by the war with Russia, to offering to give lessons to refugees who have found shelter in Clare, a number of local artists across the county have offered their support. Among those is Lahinch-based artist Michael Hanrahan who recently auctioned off one of his paintings with funds raised going to the Red Cross to help the people of Ukraine. He has also offered to provide water colour classes for Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in North Clare, believing the power of art may provide some kind of therapy for the new arrivals. Michael, who travels the world teaching watercolour painting on cruise liners, painted a view of the Algarve in Portugal while visiting the country earlier this year. He said that when news began to emerge of what was …

THIS summer, national children’s arts and health charity Helium Arts will launch its first Creative Health Programme location in Clare at CBS Primary School in Ennis. The charity’s first outpost in Clare will provide arts programming for children living with long-term medical conditions. Helium Arts’ new Ennis location builds on the success of hubs in Cork, Limerick, and Galway which have served over 2,000 children living with long-term medical conditions since 2019, supporting their wellbeing, creativity, and ability to cope with their conditions. Helium Arts is dedicated to empowering these children and teenagers through creativity and the arts by creating connection and belonging for young people who can feel lonely and defined by their health condition. Led by local artist Ana Colomer, the workshops are a space for children to play, learn, and explore their creativity through hands-on activities. As a parent whose child recently took part in a recent Helium Arts programme put it, “My son’s creativity was opened …

CLARE Arts Office has opened a call for musicians and promoters to submit ideas for live music performances throughout the county in May and June 2022. The third phase of the Local Live Performance Scheme, made possible with the support of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, is now open for applications following on from two previous schemes in 2021. These schemes were part of the Covid-19 response from the Department aimed at supporting the live music sector that was decimated during the pandemic. In Clare, more than 300 musicians, performers and crew were supported by Clare Arts Office through the previous schemes, with over 1,200 days of employment generated for the sector. The scheme, administered by the Arts Office of Clare County Council, saw performances in venues such as St Flannan’s Cathedral in Killaloe and the Teach Cheoil in Kilrush. Traditional music events took place countywide with contemporary music gigs happening from Doolin to Ennistymon. …

ENNIS’ Market building will be transformed this Sunday hosting a free music and dance event celebrating cultural diversity. Ennis Mela is the final Faoin Spéir|In the Open event and is presented by Clare Arts Office and Fidget Feet. In the Open | Faoin Spéir is an Arts Council funded programme developed in response to the Covid-19 crisis which has seen a variety of outdoor arts events taking place in public spaces around Ireland. On Sunday from 1pm to 4pm the Ennis Market Building will showcase the talents of musicians and dancers from all over the world. “Ennis Mela is a great way for all the family to get outdoors and experience a unique event together. Fidget Feet bring some brightness and joy, we hope you can join us,” said a spokesperson. Participants include The South Asian Dance Academy (SADA), Ireland’s leading Bollywooddance troupe providing amazing Bollywood and classical performances and workshops throughout the island of Ireland. AMDIE is a group based …