X-PO to host think-tank on the Burren

A MONTHLY ‘think-tank’ for the Burren is the latest monthly club evening organised by artist Deirdre O’Mahony at X-PO. Ms O’Mahony hopes it will provide a forum for all to bring ideas that might revise and imagine future possibilities for the area.
“The club is for anybody; farmer, artist, academic, born-in, blow-in, young or old, anyone who has ever asked, ‘What if…’ and the idea never got any further. The changes that will begin with the cessation of CAP payments create a challenge for rural communities in Kilnaboy and North Clare and the objective is to imagine how we might best adapt and plan new futures for the region. No matter how wacky or off the wall your idea might be, bring it along and see if the combined, collective knowledge of whoever is present can help nurture a sustainable future for the Burren,” she suggests.
“X-PO already functions as a reflexive space where the social, economic and environmental choices and problems of rural communities are visible and open for discussion. It is a space where different forms of knowledge – social, historical, agricultural and cultural – can make unexpected and transcendent connections and conjunctions.
“The methods and processes of exhibition making have demonstrated the potential of collaborative art practices in revealing narratives of people and place and overlooked, often disregarded, ‘tacit’ local knowledge. It has made visible the complexity of meanings and a ‘common-sense’ of the landscape of the Burren that presents itself, not as a definitive statement, but as a moment, a pause in an ongoing process,” she adds.
Kilnaboy’s Social and Arts Project X-PO recently opened its doors once more on its unique mix of art exhibitions and projects and local interest clubs and events for the winter and spring seasons.
Mondays see the return of the singers’ and players’ club. Any given Monday at 8.30pm, singers gather to take their turn at giving voice to their favourite offerings, from blues to folk, traditional or ballads.
Tuesdays means mapping and tracing, where the dedicated team always welcomes a helping hand in analysing and researching the parishes of Kilnaboy and the people who lived and live there.
On the second Tuesday in each month, the X-PO hosts a guest lecturer. In the past, there have been talks on herbal remedies, the Moravians of Kilnaboy, caving in the Burren, holy wells and the archaeology of the finds at the Glencurran cave. A new set of talks is being arranged at the moment.
The Craft Club on Wednesdays is relatively new and takes on knitting and embroidery projects. The club is also arranging a Saturday basket-making workshop, with the dates to be advised.
Starting November 2, the Irish language club, Ragairne, will return for a once-a-month gathering to celebrate the language in chat, poetry and music. Other plans in the offing are a monthly food tasting hot pot night and a Mind Meitheal get-together to discuss possible futures for the Burren in particular and rural Ireland in general.
There will also be a full programme of arts projects and exhibitions and the Friday coffee morning is back, starting at 11am every Friday with helpers from the Brothers of Charity.
Contact 065 6837177 for more information on X-PO activities.