R&H Hall to be lit up with imagery of kinship for Shine Your Light: Solstice

Artist Leanne McDonagh’s imagery of kinship projected on the R&H Hall building in Cork City is one of six spectacular installations by Irish artists around the country as part of Shine Your Light: Solstice — a national moment of togetherness culminating in an RTÉ radio and TV broadcast on Sunday night. Picture: Naoise Culhane

Cork artist Leanne McDonagh’s imagery of kinship project will light up the R&H Hall building in Cork City, one of six spectacular installations by Irish artists around the country being highlighted as part of Shine Your Light: Solstice.

The event takes place at the darkest point in a "strange and difficult year", on the eve of the 2020 solstice.

Shine Your Light will bring people together safely to mark the rebirth of light and new beginnings.

A multi-platform event will culminate in a live TV broadcast on RTÉ One, a radio special on RTÉ Radio 1 and six spectacular projection installations in memorable locations around the country.

These Shine Your Light installations will be created by Irish artists to lead the way to Solstice 2020 and will appear in the days leading up to Shine Your Light – Solstice: in Dublin, Kilkenny, the north-west, Waterford, Cork and Clare.

The theme of light will be rolled out to include the lighting of national and local public buildings across the island shining along with Irish embassies and missions around the world.

Other light installations being displayed across the country between December 17 and 20 include:

• Loop Head Lighthouse, Co Clare will host photographic portraits by Jeanette Lowe in tribute to the invisible frontline workers 
• Manchán Magan’s bilingual exploration of the rich and many Irish words for human touch will appear on the wall of Kilkenny Castle 
• Hazel Coonagh’s Elements series of embroidered portraits of Phoenix Park during lockdown will be projected onto the Wellington Monument in the Park 
• Stephen Heffernan Together, At Least finds an unexpected canvas in the north-west.
• Isabel Nolan’s new painting of the sun will be seen on Ireland’s oldest civic building, Reginald’s Tower in Waterford City.

Dee Forbes, RTÉ Director-General, said: “In what has been a very difficult year with considerable sadness and darkness, we've also seen the remarkable resilience of the Irish people.

"This resilience, along with our innate desire to support each other and be a force for good in our communities, has inspired the creation of Shine Your Light which has played an important role during this pandemic.

"For the final Shine Your Light of 2020, we will come together to reflect and remember those we have lost this year as we also look to the future with hope on the eve of the solstice.

"RTÉ is very grateful to the Creative Ireland Programme, and the creative community in Ireland, for joining Shine Your Light and bringing the year to a close on an uplifting note and a sense of togetherness.”