PHOTOS 2023 River Residencies exhibition brings together artists and rural communities at Ormston House

2023 River Residencies exhibition launch – Pictured above are Caimin Walsh, Curator at Ormston House, Mary Conlon, Artistic Director at Ormston House,  Artist Tania Candiani, Mayor Francis Foley, Dr. Pippa Little, Limerick Arts Officer. Picture: Olena Oleksiienko/ilovelimerick

Ormston House opened the River Residencies exhibition by William Bock, boredomresearch, Tania Candiani, Nathan O’Donnell and Clare Bell which will run until April 8, 2023

Last week, Ormston House opened the River Residencies exhibition by William Bock, boredomresearch, Tania Candiani, Nathan O’Donnell and Clare Bell.

The River Residencies will bring together artists and rural communities through creative practice, and will support the co-creation of artworks and interventions.

Over the past two years, the artists met with communities in rural locations along the River Shannon in Clare, Cavan, Limerick and Tipperary. Local participants were guides, coordinated events, provided interviews, shared histories, starred in films, and supported the research and creation of the artworks in many ways. The River Residencies exhibition at Ormston House brings together the artworks for the first time.

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Included in the exhibitionis a new film by Mexican artist Tania Candiani made during and following a one-month residency in the coastal village of Glin in County Limerick. During her stay, the artist saw how the rhythm of the village and the tidal river were connected. In particular, she spent time with local swimmers as they made their way daily to the water at high tide. On her final day in Glin, over fifty local swimmers joined the artist to feature in the film titled Tidal Choreography. Local artists have also contributed traditional and contemporary airs, voiceover, and physical performance to the film.

On Saturday, February 25, Ormston House will screen the film at the Ceol Corbraí Community Hall in Glin at 7pm. Tania will be there to introduce the film inspired by the River Shannon and to share photographs from her stay in the village. The River Residencies were funded by the Arts Council of Ireland’s Invitation to Collaboration scheme, led by Limerick Arts Office in partnership with the Arts Offices in Cavan, Clare and Tipperary.

William Bock spent a year visiting local families and individuals along the north shore of the Shannon Estuary, from Kildysart to Labasheeda. The artist learned about their connections to the river, their histories and thoughts about the future. During his visits, William became interested in the silt that coats the estuary. For the exhibition at Ormston House, the artist presents a suite of portraits of individuals and family groups as they emerge from the silt, covered in the river mud from the Shannon Estuary.

Artist and writer Nathan O’Donnell visited villages, swimming spots, and monastic sites along the shores of the Lough Derg, speaking to swimmers and mapping place names, mythologies, customs, and daily rituals that have evolved around the water. His forthcoming publication, The Book of Invasions, is a record of this experience, designed by Clare Bell. For the exhibition, Nathan and Clare have produced a diptych poster, Solarium, named after the Grinán—the ‘sunny spot’ or ‘solarium’—in Terryglass, where local monks working on the Book of Leinster would go to reflect and contemplate.

The Cavanoids Dance by UK-based boredomresearch (Vicky Isley and Paul Smith) is a film created following a research residency in the Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark in West Cavan. Informed by a community-led research process involving ecologists, geologists, farmers and storytellers, The Cavanoids Dance is a work of re-interpreted folklore responding to the mystery that surrounds Shannon Pot, the long-believed source of the River Shannon. Combining elements of animation and film captured on location in the Geopark, the film portrays the awakening of the Cavanoids, fictional creatures created by the artists.

The exhibition is curated by Caimin Walsh and Mary Conlon at Ormston House, as part of the Museum of Mythological Water Beasts (2017-) about, along and on the River Shannon. You can contact Caimin and Mary for more information or a free tour of the exhibition at [email protected].

The River Residencies exhibition will run until 8 April. Admission is free and all are welcome!

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Read more about Ormston House.

Pictures: Olena Oleksiienkoilovelimerick