Ashes- I.F.O.N.L.Y dance festival, Birr

Invited to partake in Mamuska at the I.F. O.N.L.Y dance festival, Birr, County Offaly

 Ashes, an embodied performance involving ashes and an old clock.

"Outrider Artists"-Merriman Summer School exhibition

"Outrider Artists" at the Merriman Summer School 2012

Curated by Maria Kerin in response to the theme of this years' Merriman Summer School:

Thriving at the Crossroads: Rural Ireland in a Globalised World.

Artists Fiona O'Dwyer and Fiona Woods exhibited drawings, photo-works, prints, sculpture and video in the Town Hall Pavillion, Lisdoonvarna, as part of "Outrider Artists.
The exhibition  was open to the public at lunch times, from the 16th to19th August, 2012, during the Merriman Summer School.

Fiona O'Dwyer, Fiona Woods and Maria Kerin are part of a loose association called Outrider Artists of which there are seven in total, all living and working in North Clare. (Fiona Woods, Judy O'Sullivan, Fiona O'Dwyer, Maria Kerin, Sarah Fuller, Maeve Collins and Jackie Askew).

Since 2009, Outrider Artists have been interested in developing friendship as praxis, theory and practice that has evolved from being located in a rural locality for over twenty years. These Outrider artists have a legacy of founding artist-led initiatives in North Clare over this time: The Courthouse Studios, Ennistymon, Mrua Gallery, Bellharbour, Trading Spaces, Ennistymon, Ground Up, Ground Up Collective.

  

This is their response to Rural Ireland in a Globalised World: friendship, hospitality and generosity, an art praxis developed through dialogue and goodwill that can engage trans-locally.

Furthermore, the geographical position on the rural west coast of Ireland has helped shape, inform and offer alternative working methods and inspired them to create a new model of working together, to engage trans-locally, through friendship, in the form of Episodes. 

This year alone they have hosted artists from Kildare, London and Tallinn, Estonia. Outrider artists have made art in Estonia and Lithuania with more exhibitions and performances taking place in Tallinn and Tartu, Estonia, 2013.

Their website outriderpress.wix.com/outriders outlines these Episodes of which there are 21 since 2009. They are grateful for part-funding support received from the Clare Arts Office.

"We place a value on meeting, pooling resources and on peer support. We are interested in forging trans-local links and exchanges through research, discussions, visits, projects, exhibitions and meals." Outrider Artists

Outrider artists

This year my focus has been on developing Outrider Artists praxis with Fiona Woods and Fiona O'Dwyer. Please see outriderpress.wix.com/outriders for information on outrider episodes.

4 O'Clock Teas, Friday 3rd February

Continuing the 4 O'Clock Teas gatherings, artists and those interested in art in rural contexts are welcome to share tea with us in Monreal North this Friday.


Maeve Collins is the Durational Artist staying at Mrua and she will contribute a thought through text for this informal gathering.
Former members of Ground Up artists as well as the members of Ground Up Collective are especially welcome. Looking forward to hearing all thats been created in the past 10 years. 


Background to 4 O'Clock Teas:
The concept of 4 O'Clock Teas comes from my childhood growing up on a farm in County Clare. The tradition was to have a working 4 O'Clock Tea out on the farm during the harvest or for any work that required help and support of often up to 20 men. This involved making very sweet milky tea poured into glass bottles and stuffed the opening with newspapers as corks. (We are a Lyons green tea drinkers). Mums homemade sponge cake or scones with Aunty Unas rasberry jam were wrapped up in  newspaper and left with the bottles on the farm stone wall outside our gate for the passing tractors to collect or brought to the fields where the men were working.
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Concept:
 I make the scones (Odlems package!) and offer different varieties of teas and coffee but the sharing and the support remains the same-just an opportunity to meet artists and talk amongst ourselves.

We are going through huge change and we need to talk about it all before we do something. So this is really research through listening and sharing ideas so that there is room for exploration and process before we come to the answers.  I offer this based on the values of Friendship and grounded in Presence and Awareness. Its my personal effort to stop the pendulum that is reactionary in this country but instead open up to listening, allow imagination for new models and structures, consider options and respond with awareness.

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You are also invited to Movement Meditation at 10am followed by Open Drawing  that starts at 11am to 3ish.

The next 4 O'Clock Teas will take place in Tallinn, Estonia on the 7th February and in East London  hopefully on St. Patricks Day.

4 O'Clock Teas for artists

This Friday Mrua is hosting tea/coffee at 4 O'Clock as an opportunity to meet with artists who partook in The Power of Local, Ennistymon July 2012 and those interested in live performance. (4-6pm sharp)

  4 O'Clock Teas: Based on friendship, hospitality and sharing, this gathering is not necessarily to discuss another festival but rather an intimate space that is conducive to explorative dialogue between individuals. This week's rough guide to ways in for discussion with people who don't know each other are the notion of public performance and audience and the role of artist and whatever else comes up in the little whispers over a cup of tea! Inspired by thoughts below from by visiting artist Pauline Keena. If you fancy just being there and sipping tea in lovely company, you are so welcome. You are also welcome to give your feedback on my blog comments.(Just to clarify: its not a formal presentation or a group discussion...)

 4 O'Clock Teas is also a meeting point that provides an opportunity to engage with this weekend's visiting artist, Pauline Keena and Maeve Collins who is on a Durational Residnecy here until mid- Feburary. 4 O'Clock Teas takes place every second Friday. This is as part of the Mrua series of residencies and meetings for artists, curators and dance-makers taking place in Maria's home, Luisne, Monreal North, Ennistymon, Co. Clare.

 Thought for 4 O'Clock Teas: 


 "I think that when the audience experiences or encounters a live event in their street there is a certain unease because the position of a boundary arises. In witnessing the live event suddenly there is no where to go to get away from whats happening, there is the need to create a distance and be sure that this new created reality is not going to encroach on the real life of the street so that later on the street will be safe again. I think that if the audience looks at an image of the performance, the reality of the lived event is framed and contained in the image so that the boundary is very certain, it is an image of the event. However in allowing the process room to be a performance it allows the audience in, something becomes available, the possibility of an encounter." Extract from Pauline Keena in interview by Sorge (Magnus Tittima) in response to her performance as part of The Power of Local, Ennistymon, Co.Clare, July 2012, used with kind permission of the author, copyright Pauline Keena.

For the next 4'o clock Teas meeting on Friday the 3rd Feburary at  Outrider Artist Maeve Collins who is on a Durational Residency here at Mrua will offer thoughts on rural art questions and how can we bring the rural art to other people.

Mrua January Sharings

Mrua, translocal residencies for artists and dance-makers, offers the following Sharings in January: WEDNESDAYS : Grace Notes with Antoinette Spillane Embodied organ sounds meditation and movement. FRIDAYS: Open Drawing Sessions for artists who wish to draw in the company of others. FRIDAYS: 4'O'Clock Teas starting 20 January Open to artists to come and meet artists in residence in the relaxed informal setting of my home, tea and teasing out ideas

TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS (ongoing) Morning Movement Meditation Sharings with Maria Kerin, Alexandra Boetcher and Maeve Collins. Should you wish to partake please phone 087 7711033 THURSDAY EVENINGS (starting 19th January 7.30-9.30) Painting and Colour Explorations workshops Still some places available in this small art class of 6 for this relaxing exploration of colour through paint. Please contact Maria on 087 7711033

Mrua: translocal residencies for artists and dance-makers, January 2012

Mrua translocal residencies for artists. curators and dance-makers I am delighted to welcome artist in residency MAEVE COLLINS see www.maevecollins.net, sitemeetings.blogspot.com Maeve is using her research time here exploring where Irish society is at today. She is inquiring into where do we go from here and responding through art, culture and business, working with collectives and imaginings for the future. Maeve has been part of our Morning Medititation and Movement Meetings for the past 2 years. We have worked together in Sitemeetings 17/06/10 for abunDANCE festival, Karlstad, Sweden and PoliticalHEARTworks in Ennistymon, July,2011, and she performed as part of SALT, our exhibition in Tallinn, Estonia as well as developing the many strands of her own participatory practice. I continue to learn from her.

Maeve Collins, Alexandra Boetcher, Maria Kerin, Morning Meditation and Movement Meetings, ongoing at Mrua, Ennistymon.

Maeve Collins performing in SALT, Tallinn, Estonia, March 2011.

Maeve Collins partaking in politicalHEARTWORKS in Ennistymon, Co. Clare. see blog politicalHEARTworks.blogspot.com for more details