Mayo County Council Arts Office, Library Service and the Jackie Clarke Collection in Ballina, in collaboration with Ballina Arts Centre, are delighted to announce the official closing event of the artistic outcomes of the Artist in Residence – Katie Moore – to commemorate 1916 with the release of a limited edition ‘Paper Bloom’ publication.
The event will take place on Saturday 25th June at 3pm at Ballina Civic Offices Exhibition Space.
The Artist-in-Residency Programme
Artist Katie Moore, from Foxford, County Mayo, was selected via an open competition for the residency and has worked with local people since last September to create the artworks which have been exhibited in the Civic Offices gallery space and in the garden room at the Jackie Clarke Collection, since the launch in early May.
The aim of the residency was to provide the artist time to research and develop ideas in the creation of new artwork, in response to the events of the 1916 Easter Rising, by working with the Jackie Clarke Collection. It also provided an opportunity to highlight the unique, nationally significant resource that the Jackie Clarke Collection represents, especially in the centenary year of the Rising.
The Closing Event
The closing event will be a final chance to see the incredible work Katie has made, inspired by the paper peace lilies which were found in Jackie Clarke’s wallet, included in the collection. Over two hundred and fifty people attended the launch event and the work has had an overwhelmingly positive response.
Writer and broadcaster Vincent Woods opened the exhibition and commented: “As we shape the future – as we shape the present – the generous and sometimes oblique perspective of the artist helps us interpret the past and read it deeper than the surface of things.…Katie Moore’s work is wholly original and fresh; she is an immensely gifted artist with a great future”.
Limited Edition Publication
Katie has also produced a book – the limited edition ‘Paper Bloom’ publication publication which documents the artworks and the process of the residency. This will be launched at the closing event on Saturday 25th June at the Civic Offices Gallery space. Everyone who attends the event will receive a FREE copy of the publication.
Afterwards it will be made available on loan from the county libraries.
Irish Times Arts Critic Aidan Dunne will be the guest speaker at the event, starting at 3pm, and has also contributed to the texts included in the publication. The full version of Vincent Woods’ opening speech is also included. All are welcome to this free event.
The Jackie Clarke Collection
Jackie Clarke (1927 – 2000) was a Ballina businessman and a genius collector of Irish historical material. In 2005, his widow, Mrs Anne Clarke (1940 – 2015), in accordance with her late husband’s wishes, gifted his collection to Mayo County Council, on condition that it remains permanently in Ballina. It is now available publicly, for the people of Ballina, Mayo and Ireland, at the former provincial bank building, Pearse Street, Ballina, opened in 2013. www.clarkecollection.ie
In the coming years as we mark the centenary of the founding of the state, 2016–2023, this repository of Irish material will become a site of central importance as documents in this collection will shed new light on these past events.
Further Information
Further details regarding Paper Bloom will be available on Katie’s blog at https://www.katiemoorevisualartist.com/category/katie-moore-visual-artist-blog/page/7/. For any further information please contact Gaynor Seville, Public Art Co-ordinator, Mayo County Council at [email protected].
Photography: Michael McLaughlin
