Kinsale multimedia art installation highlights the migrant experience

'“Something to Declare' is a collaboration between the Creative Digital Media (CDM) and Drama departments at the Kinsale Campus of the Cork College of Further Education and Training.

A major new multi-media art project is being developed in Kinsale to highlight the experience of migrants who often risk their lives in search of a better life.

Entitled “Something to Declare” is a collaboration between the Creative Digital Media (CDM) and Drama departments at the Kinsale Campus of the Cork College of Further Education and Training. 

The project will use live performance, music and a hi-tech “light form augmented reality projection mapping system” to create a unique multi-media immersive artwork to be part of the the college’s end of year exhibition next April on the theme of “the sea”.

Focused on the migrant experience where increasing numbers of people are risking their lives at sea in small boats the initial idea for the project was developed by CDM teacher David Bickley and Cork-based Pakistani artist Hina Khan.

The project aims to highlight experience of migrants who often risk their lives in search of a better life

Mr Bickley said: “We originally developed the idea in response to a call from the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin who were looking for work on the theme of community and migration.

"It developed from there, with the idea of using the symbol of the boat as a centrepiece and using augmented reality to project the hopes and thoughts of the migrants who are forced by circumstance into the sea and often risk their lives.”

The music is a collaboration between David Bickley and musical instrument making teacher Declan Young from the Douglas Street Campus.

Student Tasneem Maher who has a mixed ancestry from Afghanistan and Africa is developing a poem to be used in the final production. She also acts in the production along with fellow student Iarla O’Neil. The digital design team are students Jack Regan and Rowan Williams Huber along with teacher David Bickley.

The project aims to highlight experience of migrants who often risk their lives in search of a better life

The whole project is part of an initiative to develop a new Immersive Art and Installation creative educational strand at Cork FET.

Mr Bickley said, “Immersive art experiences have been one of the biggest trends of recent years which use multimedia tools with the aim of immersing the viewer inside the artwork itself.

“This new course has been developed by the Kinsale Campus Multimedia department over the last few years.

“We are looking for artists, videographers, musicians and all others, skilled and non-skilled who have an interest in exploring this cutting edge area working with video, synthesisers, projection mapping and augmented reality.”