Welcome to the Neighbourhood
22-26 August 2007
Ant Farm / Plamen Bontchev / Morten Steen Hebsgaard / Mark McGreevy / Meredith Monk / Holly O'Brien / Karl Orton / Benedicte Sehested / Taner Tumkaya / Curated by Michele Horrigan
Welcome to the Neighbourhood! Askeaton Contemporary Arts present new projects from international and Irish artists in a variety of locations in Askeaton, County Limerick.
Founded in 2006, Askeaton Contemporary Arts aims to promote and provide contemporary art to its home town. By developing community involvement and understanding how art might be produced and experienced in this locality, ACA aims to open up new possibilities of how contemporary art might operate outside a city environment. With invited artists resident in the town, the opportunity of time and space for artists to develop new projects is central to ACA's ethos.
This year's diverse group of artists will develop artworks that explore the dynamics of communities and social space. Holly O'Brien(Ireland) will produce a large-scale installation based upon local garden sheds. Benedicte Sehested (Denmark) will consider photographic representations of the locality, in a specially-curated exhibition. Karl Orton (United Kingdom) and Plamen Bontchev (Bulgaria) will develop projects with local businesses and societies. Taner Tumkaya (Turkey), Mark McGreevy (Northern Ireland), and Morten Steen Hebsgaard (Denmark) will create a trail of public artworks throughout Askeaton. American artists Ant Farm and Meredith Monk will reflect on ideas of material culture and social displacement respectively.
A series of talks and tours are scheduled for the week. Also, other conversations and discussions will occur, as artists and artworks are infused into daily life in the town. A catalogue will be produced later this year, featuring both editions of Welcome to the Neighbourhood.
Askeaton Contemporary Arts is kindly supported by the Arts Council, Askeaton Civic Trust, Shannon Development, Limerick County Council, the Danish Arts Council, Limerick City Gallery of Art, and many local businesses and individuals.
Selected highlights
-Friday, August 24, 8pm. Reception at the Civic Trust Building, with Vanessa Joan Muller, director of the Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Dusseldorf
- Saturday, August 25, 1.30pm. Meet the artists at the Limerick City Gallery of Art. Tours of current show with curators Mike Fitzpatrick and Pippa Little. Lunch provided, with transport to Askeaton afterwards.
3.30pm exhibition tour with artists in Askeaton, with events all evening.
9pm Hellfire club party with Taner Tumkaya.
///////////////////////////////////
Further details, festival brochure and accomodation arrangements from
Michele Horrigan on 087-2977179, or askeatoncontemporaryarts@yahoo.ie
