| | ‘Currents’ the primary school project, which Abbott Vascular have again kindly agreed to sponsor, will be to a dedicated flag installation devised by Patricia Looby, celebrating the vibrancy of the water flow and exploring the river flora and fauna. We are aiming to make about one thousand small and medium sized flags to ‘flood’ O’Connell and Mitchell street. For this project, Patricia is focussing on the painting techniques of the Impressionists and children will be practising their paint strokes in the style of the great Claude Monet world famous Water lilies. The South Eastern Fisheries Board is also supporting the project with some excellent environmental workshops during which participants get to discover the life cycle of fish. On the adult front, the participation programme is offering ‘Orient Expresso’, a textile project exploring European and exotic travel, which aims to engage adults from all walks of life to contribute a patch of textile collage to a giant tapestry. The project will be facilitated by French textile artist Christine Fayon and will run for two weeks from the 23rd June. Individuals and groups who would like to take part in this project should contact the project coordinator. Boston Scientific have kindly agreed to support this project and the final artwork will be exhibited in the lobby of the Chadwick’s theatre, as part of a Turkish Café environment. ‘Flow’ is the working title for our community park this year, which we are planning to locate on Suir Island as part of a larger endeavour to bring awareness to this little-known area of Clonmel. As previously, we will have costume-making and other arts activities on offer as well as instrument-making and drumming and a full programme of street performances. Supported by the adult education section of the VEC, the Community Park aims to bring adults and children together in a convivial atmosphere of discovery and learning. The park will be immediately followed by the Community Procession, which will lead us to the town Hall for the official Festival Opening Ceremony, with more performances and music. So pencil in the 5th July for an afternoon of fun and excitement! There are plans for a youth arts project and venue again, possibly with a Pirate Ship theme, which will take on a somewhat different angle from last year, with more workshops, talks and discussions to further involve young people in thinking and reflecting about the world they live in. We are delighted that Sepam, who were much involved last year in the Space-Time Machine project, are back on board as main sponsor this year. On the workshop front, we will be back in the Chadwick’s building with daily yoga classes again, drop in children’s art most afternoon and The Turkish Café will cater for the passing public with an improved range of food. Watch this space for regular updates. |
