50 artists deliver portraits of the in-crowd
A plan to mount a small exhibition of the work of artists in Ireland became more ambitious. Community arts co-ordinator at Mayfield Arts Centre, Jessica Carson, met the head of the Crawford College art therapy department, Ed Kuczha, and Crawford art lecturer, Louise Foott.
“The art therapy department is interested in developing more activity around inclusive arts practice. Mayfield Arts Centre, over the years, has developed international relationships with studio groups in Amsterdam and Brighton,” says Carson. The centre has sent adult-learning artists to Kunstwerkplaats in Amsrerdam, and to the Rocket Artists in Brighton, with European funding.
“When the idea emerged to hold a national exhibition, we decided that we could bring in international partners. As well as (the centres) in Amsterdam and Brighton, I’ve come across two organisations in the US that support artists,” Carson says.
The American arts centres are the HAI (Hospitals Residency Inc,) Art Studio, in New York, and Creativity Explored in San Francisco. They agreed to come on board.
As well as Mayfield Arts Centre, the other supported studios in the exhibition are the Glasheen Artists’ Studio Group, St Raphael’s, in Youghal, and Kcat, in Kilkenny.
Carson says the exhibition is “a celebration of creativity and an opportunity to bring the work of the artists involved to a wider audience. These artists don’t get as much attention as other artists. I can speak for the work that’s developed in our studio. I find it exciting and original. I’ve seen very interesting work from the other studios.”
The programme Carson runs at Mayfield Arts Centre is not focused on disability. “It’s focused on the talent and skills of the five supported artists. The programme provides mentoring, in terms of helping the artists to develop professionally. It’s about helping them to get their work seen by the public.”
The artists from the Mayfield Arts Centre participating in the exhibition are known as ‘Cúig’ and range in age from 30 to 60. “We would see the role of our arts workers as being there to help bring out the creativity of the artists. It’s not so much about teaching techniques. It’s more about finding out about their approach to work, helping them find the right materials and the right environment. Some of these artists would have made art alone, at home.”
The Mayfield Arts Centre has funding from the Community Services Programme, which is targeted at people who have been unemployed for a long time. The five artists are paid through the scheme.
They include Angela Burchill, whose pastel pencil-on-paper with gold leaf series, ‘The Mysteries of the Rosary’, is on show at St Peter and Paul’s Church, and Ailbhe Barrett and Stephen Murray, whose work will be displayed in shop windows. Frankie Burton’s drawings will be reproduced large-scale and shown on the Grand Parade. Brid Heffernan’s cardboard street art will appear around the city.
Glasheen Artists’ Studio Programme will also have off-site exhibitions. One of their artists, Marie Sexton, has an exhibition in Cork Coffee Roasters on Bridge Street, for September. The on-site exhibitions will be at the Crawford Art Gallery, the CIT Wandesford Quay Gallery and the Atrium, at City Hall.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication. Discussions and workshops with the artists will take place in the exhibition spaces. The goal is to connect with a diverse audience.
Glasheen Artists’ Studio Programme will host an open house event from Oct 12-13, from 2pm-7pm, at COPE Foundation House, Deerpark Road, Friars Walk. The public is invited to view a pop-up exhibition and to be served tea and cake.
The exhibition is ambitious. According to the organisers, it aims “to bring to public awareness the richness and variety of artistic practice created by artists with intellectual disabilities, a community often placed at the margins of society, who, nonetheless, are making an increasingly important contribution to the contemporary art world.”
* Outside In: The Art of Inclusion will be launched on Sept 19 by the CEO of Barnardos and Irish Examiner columnist, Fergus Finlay, at the Crawford Art Gallery.
Yvonne Condon, 27, is a member of the Glasheen Artists’ Studio Programme facilitated by Hermann Marbe of the COPE Foundation. Condon, a talented artist, has Fraser’s Syndrome. She has partial autism and limited eyesight. She is unable to speak or hear and communicates through signing. Overcoming these obstacles through art has been the making of Yvonne, says her mother, Mags Condon.
“She always had an interest in art, but it was really Hermann who recognised her talent. He doesn’t teach her, as such. Her art is freestyle.
“To me, it’s not run-of-the-mill. Yvonne interprets what she sees in her own way. That’s the beauty of it.”
Yvonne has painted portraits of her mother. “I can see the love behind the portraits, and the humour. Art has brought Yvonne out of herself and has given her confidence. She is so happy; she’s a real achiever. She’s totally different to what she was like a couple of years ago. She’s involved in the Special Olympics as well.
“This exhibition is an honour and a privilege. It’s not what it’s doing for us, as a family. It’s what it’s doing for Yvonne. It’s taking the disability away from her. Now, she’s known as an artist and not just as a disabled person.”
Marbe says: “Her art is immediate with no waste of time and no doubts. She uses bold and direct brushstrokes. She works mainly with primary colours; red, blue and yellow, as well as black and white in acrylics. Because her eye sight is limited, the bigger format is better for her. But she has a surprising eye for small details.”
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