Tag Archives: Kinvara

KINVARA’S Courthouse is the venue for KAVA’s postcard show, an eagerly-anticipated exhibition.  The show will run for the first two weekends in December and will be open from the Friday to Sunday on both weekends. The artwork is anonymously displayed and all works are for sale for €30. When the artwork is collected by the purchaser, only then will the artist be revealed. Having proven to be great fun and an ideal way to shop local, and find a unique Christmas present for someone special, KAVA is delighted to be able to put on the show again this year. Later opening times are in place to facilitate those who would like to come along after work: Friday, December 2, 3pm – 8pm Saturday, December 3, 3pm – 8pm Sunday, December 4, 12pm – 6pm Friday, December 9, 3pm – 8pm Saturday, December 10, 3pm – 8pm Sunday, December 11, 12pm – 6pm

WAKING up to the beauty of nature is the theme of a new exhibition that will open in Kinvara next week.  The show by artist Nicole O’Donnell is entitled ‘Awakening’ and will run at the Courthouse, in conjunction with Kinvara Area Visual Arts (KAVA) from October 20 to 26. Nicole is a Galway-based artist who has a Masters Degree in Creative Practice and an Honours BA in Contemporary Art, from the School of Design and Creative Arts, at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU).  “As a visual artist who grew up in the West of Ireland, my practice is influenced by the wilderness of the Irish landscape, daily observations and the natural world to create imaginative landscape paintings that deal with themes of experience of place, memory and are inspired by the endless complexity found in nature,” Nicole explained. She added that her solo show, ‘Awakening’, “means “an act or moment of becoming suddenly aware of something”. “This collection of works …

ARTWORKS created by pupils from New Quay National School in the Burren will go on display early next month at the Courthouse Gallery in Kinvara.  An exhibition entitled ‘Creative Mapping’, will run from June 3 to 12 at the gallery which is the base of Kinvara Area Visual Arts (KAVA). The show is the culmination of initiatives support by The Arts Council, Clare Arts Office and The Department of Education.  School Principal Mary Reidy said the show will combine pieces from two art projects which children have participated in. “As a recipient of a Creative School grant award in 2020 New Quay National School is certainly busy these days,” she said. “An after-school art appreciation programme has been re-established since Easter, this is offered as a free programme to children from First Class upwards and will continue up into the early part of June. This is facilitated by local parents Ellie Farrell and Cate King. With the help of Creative …

LIFE in rural West Clare is captured to stunning effect in a new exhibition from Mary Foudy O’Halloran which opens in Kinvara on April 15. ‘Revisited’ re-examines the everyday lives of rural Irish women in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s and reworks the ordinary objects and tools of their hard physical work. Mary’s other recent solo exhibitions include ‘Weighed’ at the Ballina Arts Centre and ‘Endurance’ in association with the Clare Arts Office. The latter also examined the past in the now, questioning the ordinary and familiar and objects of loss. Mary works primarily in oil and mixed media, often incorporating ordinary household objects in her work. Growing up in rural Clare, Mary was not unusual in being raised in a house without electricity and running water. Speaking about the body of work, she explained that all lives were heavy with labour, but women bore the biggest brunt of the hardship. “In putting this exhibition together, I wanted to acknowledge …

AN EXCITING new exhibition is to open at the Courthouse in Kinvara from Friday (November 19), in association with Kinvara Area Visual Artists (KAVA). Selected works by artist and sculptor Oliver Tennyson will be on show 11am to 4.30pm daily until November 28. The Louth-born artist describes his practice as lying “between realism and surrealism, with a tendency towards abstraction, influences range from Henry Moore to Frances Bacon, and beyond”. Oliver describes his current solo show as “a kaleidoscopic view of Ireland, the island we live on”. Themes explored in the show range from “mysticism, pagan origins, political upheavals, the work of poets and writers, its beauty and its scandals”, he added. Oliver was born near Dundalk, the oldest son of a farming family. He developed an interest in woodwork at an early age and by the age of 25 had become a self-taught musical instrument maker. He is also a multi-instrumentalist, playing mandolin, harmonica and concertina.  On the basis …

Kinvara is the home of a new, intergenerational community orchestra! Established by Fiona Buckley, and operating on a voluntary basis under the patronage of Tigh Sayre (Kinvara) and Gort Family Resource Centre, the aim of the orchestra is to provide an enjoyable opportunity for people, young and old, to play music together. The orchestra already has over 30 members with a full string section and an unusual mix of traditional and classical instruments. A group of vocalists also feature in the orchestra. The Orchestra’s musical director is New Quay man Garry O’Briain. Orchestra members generally hail from the Burren Lowlands area including Gort, Ardrahan, Kinvara, Ballindereen and New Quay. A significant number of members have not previously played in an orchestra while many others have a well-established background in traditional music. Some are amateur musicians, others are semi-professional or teachers of music and a number of teenage musicians have also joined. Orchestral rehearsals take place on Sunday mornings from 10.30-12.30 …

SOCIAL media and its psychological impact are the themes of an exciting new exhibition which will run at the Courthouse in Kinvara until early next month. The show by Mark Keaveney is entitled ‘My Social Bubble’ and contains a number of innovative digital art pieces. The young Roscommon native’s work was spotted during the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) end-of-year show by Pam Fleming, chairperson of Kinvara Area Visual Arts (KAVA). After Mark accepted the invitation to exhibit, KAVA came together with Kinvara Alive, a local organisation promoting mental health, to respond to the themes raised in the artwork. “Because of the effects of too much social media on mental health, Kinvara Alive (a local group promoting well-being and mental health) is going to collaborate with KAVA on the exhibition,” Pam outlined. Kinvara Alive will have literature available on training and a range of mental health supports for the duration of the exhibition. “The exploration of the psychological effects …

GARDAÍ are investigating the discovery of a body on the coastline in south County Galway this afternoon, reports Pat Flynn. The office of the State Pathologist has been notified and requested to conduct a post-mortem examination of the remains which are believed to be that of a woman. Gardaí have confirmed that the outcome of that examination will determine the course of their investigation. Gardaí were alerted at around 11.30am on Tuesday after a person out walking reported finding a body washed up at Doorus north of Kinvara. Gardaí responded to the scene and on arrival found a body on the shoreline. Gardaí requested assistance from the fire service to help reach and recover the remains. Units of Galway Fire and Rescue Service from Gort station travelled to the scene at around 1.30pm and assisted with recovering the body. Crews had to carry the body over an embankment and back to the road before it was removed to the mortuary …