Symposia, Workshops, Residencies
Symposia
26-29th September 2002
Young Sculptors' Symposium
Run in conjunction with the International Sculpture Symposium at Lough Boora Parklands, Co. Offaly, this project aimed to develop awareness of the children's environment at Lough Boora and its new purpose as a site for land art. It was also a way to connect the local community with the work of artists participating in the International Sculpture Symposium. As an art project in itself, the Young Sculptors' Symposium focused on introducing concepts and techniques of environmental/land art, using only natural and found materials from the parklands.
Participating artists: Cathy Fitzgerald, Greenmantle, Sharon Lynch, Caoimhghin O'Fraithile, Ger O'Neill.
Participating Schools:
St. Mary's
Gortnamona
Coolanarney
Pullagh
Broghal
Scoil Naisiunta Bhride
St. Joseph's and Sarans
Ferbane Vocational School
Nov-Dec 2001
Space for Production
Symposia
This project was initiated by the Sculptors' Society of Ireland and the Architects' Association of Ireland and brought student artists and architects from University College Dublin School of Architecture and the National College of Art and Design Masters in Virtual Realities, together to envisage integrated artworks for Dublin's light rail urban transport system, Luas.
December 1999
Random Access
Video Training Symposium
Over a three week period four artists were provided with training in Digital and VHS video editing, camerawork and storyboarding by professional video editor and film maker Fred Benoist. While the participating artists - Rachel Ballagh, Cora Cummins, Brendan Earley and Edward Morrissey - were selected for their individual proposals, the symposium stressed collaboration and the exchange of ideas.
1998
Random Access
Video Training Symposium
Utilising the SSI Offices Super VHS video editing facilities, professional video editor and film maker Fred Benoist conducted a month long symposium, providing training in all aspects of professional video production, including two master classes by filmmakers Aine O'Conner and Paddy Breathnach. Following this event three of the participating artists - Laura Gannon, Tanya Power and Ciaran O'Cearnaigh - set up a production company and received a funding award from the Arts Council.
1997
Random Access
Video Training Symposium.
Comprising two three week sessions, six artists were provided with instruction in the various technical and artistic issues of video production, using the Society's in house SVHS equipment. The symposium was directed by Cameraman/Filmmaker Fred Benoist.
1996
Random Access
Video Training Symposium.
Comprising two three week sessions, four artists were provided with instruction in the various technical and artistic issues of video production, using the Society's in-house SVHS equipment. The symposium was directed by Cameraman / Filmmaker Fred Benoist. Master classes were conducted by Anne Seagrave, Mo White, Joe Lee, Alannah O'Kelly and Pauline Cummins. The participating artists were Shelagh Honan, Joyce Duffy, Ailbe Murphy and Pauline Agnew. The completed works were presented at a special screening at Arthouse in November 1996.
July 1996
Achill Island Sculpture Symposium
In August 1996 Achill Island, off the Mayo coast, provided a rich a stimulating site for eight selected Irish artists along with two invited artists from Germany, to work in context addressing the physical landscape and culture. The artists - Noel Molloy, Ann Henderson, Ursula Kavanagh, Renate Hoffliet, Michael Bach, Tony Magner, Declan Kennedy, Pamela Hill, Leah Durkan and Elizabeth Caffery - produced a diverse array of work including performance, video, installation and sound works. Dutch Landscape photographer Willem Vermasse was commissioned to record all the projects at their various stages of development; these images formed the basis of the printed documentation of the symposium, which was published in December 1996 in the form of a calendar for 1997.
July 1995
Skibbereen Famine Workhouse Symposium
Skibbereen, West Cork
Held to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Great Famine, the SSI's Skibbereen Symposium invited artist to work in the context of a former workhouse. Seven artists participated in the symposium, creating works of art which responded to the building and the theme of famine historically and in terms of contemporary events. The artists were: Pauline Agnew, Agnes Devlin, Annette Hennessey, Carol Kavanagh, Lotte Pile, Alannah Robbins, Ad van Turnhout.
1993
Random Access
In collaboration with Windmill Lane Studios and RTE.
Five works were created on the Random Access Video Art Symposium in conjunction with RTE and Windmill Lane Studios. The featured works: 'New Shoes' Kimberly Dunne; 'Veritatis Spelndor' Tony Fitzpatrick; 'Big Boys' Colin McKeown; 'Sofa' Iain Keeny; 'Panoptes' Tony Patrickson & Jonathon O'Hanlon. Three works were created on the Random Access Sound Art Symposium. The features works are: 'GBH' by Fergus Kelly, 'Kevlar Second Chants' by Tony Patrick son & Chris North and 'Breaking Point' by Stephanie Condon Casey.
September 1993
Laois Stone Symposium
The Sculptors' Society advised on the formulation of the Laois Stone Symposium, organised by Laois Co. Council Arts Office with support and facilities provided by McKeown Stone. A call for proposals was circulated by the SSI and artists were selected for the symposium on an open competition basis. From the 37 submissions, six artists were selected: Mary McGinty, David Lambert, Eileen McDonagh, Dick Joynt, Kieran Melody, Cliodna Cussen, who respectively made works for Portlaoise, Stradbally, Mountmellick, Portarlington, Mountrath and Abbeyleix. Up until the siting of works created on this symposia, the county had no permanently sited modern sculpture.
May 1992
Annaghmakerrig Sculpture Symposium
Co. Tyrone
This symposium brought together 10 artists to create work in response to the environs of the Tyrone Guthire Centre, a studio facility and retreat for artists. In this inspiring location the artists (Marie Barrett, Ann Henderson, Adam Howlin, Eamon O'Doherty, Siobhan MacDonald, Tony Patrickson, David Green, Sybil Kohl, Jacqueline Pennell and Seamus Dunbar) created a wide range of work including installations of found natural materials, landscape interventions, photography, performance and multi-media sound works.
July 1992
Ahenny Slate Quarry Sculpture Symposium
Co. Kilkenny
This symposium addressed the perennial problem of how artists can work within the community without compromising their work. The approach to the community in where the slate quarries were situated was made right at the beginning of the process with local people closely involved in the planning of the event. Eight artists created work for this symposium: Pamela Hill, Colum O'Culain, Michael Bulfin, Helen Comerford, Eavaun Carmody, Alan Counihan, George McCutcheon, David Lambert.
July-August 1992
Kingscourt Brick Symposium
Co. Cavan
One of the most important aspects of this symposium was the relationship and mutual respect that built up between the artists and the factory workers at Kingscourt bricks over the four weeks of the symposium. Tea and lunch breaks offered an opportunity for the factory staff and sculptors to discuss the work in progress. For many of the men it was their first experience of seeing artists at work. The participating artists in this project were: Leon Lynch, Annette Hennessy, Terry Cartin, Kieran Behan, Jane McCormick, Anne Brit Soma Reienes, Dervilla Masterson, Bernard Mortell, Hugh Lorigan, Nick Ryan.
Castlewellan Park Symposium
Northern Ireland
August 1990
Boglands Symposia
The Boglands Symposium held in the Wicklow Mountains in August 1990 aimed to give the participants and visitors to the event 'a feel and a taste of the bog' and to alert all to the alarming speed at which Ireland's boglands are diminished by mechanised turf cutting. Works by the participating artists are documented by landscape photographer Chirstine Bond. The 'Boglands' artists were: Mamoru Abe, Joost Barbiers, Gerard Cox, Remco De Fouw, Chris Drury, David Dunne, Romy Gray, Catherine Harper, Ann Henderson, Kathy Herbert, David Kinane, Betty Maguire, Ann O'Connor, Marian O'Donnell, Amanda Ralph, Aisling Stuart and Niall Walsh.
1988 June-July
Dublin Millenium Sculpture Symposium
The AIB sponsored Dublin Millennium Sculpture Symposium; selected by open anonymous submission resulted in a number of works being sited in Dublin that quickly became landmark pieces in the cityscape. Sites included: Ballymun, Essex Quay, Gardiner Street Park, D'Olier Street and Finglas, the participating artists included: Carolyn Mulholland, Betty Newman Maquire, Michael Bulfin, Leo Higgins, Louise Walsh.
July-August 1987
Limerick Sculpture Symposium
Created in the workshops of Limerick College of Art and Design, works by Vincent Browne, Jim Flavin, Eileen McDonagh, Tracy McKenna (Scotland), Tom Fitzgerald were created for installation in the city fabric of Limerick. Still in place today, the works including Browne's 'Anti War Memorial' located at Arthur's Quay, acted as something of a catalyst for the cities subsequent development that turned the city around to face and acknowledge its relationship to the river Shannon.
August 1986
'Tir Culann' Symposium
Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
This symposium provided a tremendous learning experience for the Society, and the project's supporters Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design and Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown Co. Council. A pioneering project for the Local Authority and Society alike the conclusions of the project besides the permanent siting of a number of works the Dun Laoghaire area provided insights into the ideal timescales, budgets, technical requirements, maintenance arrangement and working facilities required for large scale public projects. The participating artists were: Colm Brennan, Paddy Glynn, Tom Glendon, Cathy Goodhue, Dick Joynt, Bernard Mortell, Danny McCarthy, Niall O'Neill and Noel Scullion.
September-October 1986
Letterfrack Symposium
Galway.
In many ways the Letterfrack Symposium was a tribute to what can be achieved by a small community based group. Hosted by Connemara West, a community development company founded in 1973, nine artists in four weeks both created imposing works in wood, some carved, some constructed; and undertook the not inconsiderable tasks of landscaping and installation with support from the local community. A schools project was run in parallel with the symposium. The participating artists were: Seamus Dunbar, Peter Keogh, Jakki McKenna, James O'Halloran, Angie Williams, Eamonn Hogan, Eileen McDonagh, Sean Monaghan, Ann O'Connor Gordon.
1985
Celbridge Concrete Symposium
In response a call from the Society for rural and urban communities to collaborate on Sculpture Symposia, Celbridge Co. hosted a Sculpture Symposium as part of the development of a corn mill into a community resource and enterprise centre. Concrete was selected as a hitherto under exploited sculptural material that offered many possibilities for exploring casting and direct modelling techniques. The event was not without its particular challenges; it was one of the wettest summers on record making working concrete, a new and unfamiliar material for Irish sculptors all the more difficult and a planned community traineeship scheme proved to be unrealisable. However the value of the project was seen to lie not in the number of finished works produced, but in the experience gained working in the community context. The participating artists were: Michael Bulfin, Dan McCarthy, Niall O'Neill, Joe Butler, Marian O'Donnell, Sean Taylor.
September 1985
Symposium at Hazelwood Park
Sligo
Coming about through the cooperation of the Forestry and Wildlife Service, County Sligo Vocational Educational Committee and the Sculptors' Society, the Hazelwood Sculpture symposium originated and embodied a tremendous amount of common interests and goodwill. 14 artists created work on the symposium: Fred Conlon, Peter Keogh, Brian Mongaoi, Eileen McDonagh, Cillian Rogers, Seamus Walsh, Gerard Cox, Brian Leyden, Bernard Mortell, Jaki McKenna, Frances Rooney, James McKenna, Gordon Young (Wales). The project originated in a call from the Society proposing the notion of making sculpture from wood and placing it back in its indigenous setting, creating a sculpture trail in addition to nature trails and sculpture walks. The project was a success in terms of attracting thousands of visitors to Hazelwood Park to encounter the sculptures and explore the park. Sculptor James McKenna's remarkable commitment to the place resulted in him staying on for 18 months after the end of the symposium to complete the mammoth task of completing his multi part sculpture 'Fergus and Brazen Cars or Ghost Riders in the Sky'.
July 1984
'Cumar na gCloch' Stone Symposium
Roe O'Neill and Walsh's quarries, Wicklow.
Taking its title from 'Cumar' the Irish word for confluence and 'gCloch', meaning stone, the 'Cumar na gCloch' Symposium, provided 14 artists with four-week access to professional quarries materials, equipment and expertise. Roe O'Neill and Walsh's Quarries, Wicklow provided each artists with blocks of granite, limestone or travertine of up to 30 cubic feet blocks each. The duration of the symposium was based on the limited finance available and needless to say four weeks was much to short for all the works to be fully completed. None the less, over the following couple of years all the artist's works from the symposium were sold and sited in Ireland and abroad. 'Cumar na gCloch' thus proved the value of symposia in light of the then very limited opportunities for sculpture commissions. The participating artists were: Jim Buckley, Cliodna Cussen, Tom Glendon, Dick Joynt, Jakki McKenna, James McKenna, Fred Conlon, Paddy Doyle, Noel Hoare, Brian Little, Eileen McDonagh, Marian O'Donnell, Robert du Bourg (USA), Gerard Howeler (Holland).
August 1983
Arklow Steel Symposia
Twelve Irish sculptors and two guests from the USA and Scotland participated in the 1983 Arklow Steel Symposium hosted by Arklow Engineering Shipyard. The generous support of Arklow engineering offered the artists access to computer controlled cutting equipment, steel and technical expertise. The symposium itself ran for a very hectic two weeks, and in hindsight it was agreed, that while remarkable work was done, that this was too short a time to undertake large-scale work. The completed works were temporarily sited as an outdoor exhibition along the then newly completed East-Link Bridge in Dublin.
The participating artists were: Sean Adamson, Colm Brennan, Vincent Browne, Jim Buckley, Michael Bulfin, Dan McCarthy, Joe Moran, Eilis O'Connell, Niall O'Neill, Vivienne Roche, Bob Sloan, Michael Verdon, Fred Bushe (Scotland), Mike Todd (USA).
Workshops
August 2002
Performance Art Development Workshop
Temple Bar Gallery and Studios. Professional Development Workshops on Performance Art run by Anne Seagrave and Oscar McLennan.
2002
Sculpture for Project Workers
Summer Art Workshops
The Sculptors' Society of Ireland maintained an outreach relationship with various local community groups, working together to develop the educational projects detailed below.
1999 - 2002
Artists in Schools Project
The SSI Artists in Schools Project operated for four consecutive years, bringing professional artists and students from primary and secondary schools together to create an art project. These projects usually ran for 8-10 weeks, with artist and class working together during weekly sessions.
September 2001- February 2001
Professional Training Workshops
In collaboration with Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art.
June 23rd 2001
National Sculpture Day
Day to introduce children and adults to the practice and techniques of sculpture; encourage sculptural activities in schools and homes; involve public in viewing, creating and experiencing sculpture.
November to December 2000
Workshops on Documentation & Professional Practice
Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
March-September 1996
Random Access International Performance Arts Workshops
Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick; City Arts Centre, Dublin; Context Gallery, Derry.
September / October 1996
Professional practice workshops on: computers & design; proposals; draughting skills; model making and presentation.
September 1996
Random Access Performance Workshop
Context Gallery, Derry
Facilitator John Byrne
May - July 1995
Random Access Performance Art Workshops
Three workshops were held over summer 1995 (John Carson, Triskel)
August 1988
Master Class Workshops
Glass, ceramics and cast metals at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, with Eduardo Paolozzi.
March 1987
Presentation skills workshop.
1982
Sculpture Master Classes: Portrait and Figure
Tyrone Guthrie Centre.
Residencies
July – November 2005
Exercises in Folkatronica
The artists selected for the SSI 2005 media residencies were Pauline Rowan, Chris Reid, Yvonne Buckheim and Mark Clare. Three ‘runners-up’ places were awarded to Gareth Kennedy, Fergus Byrne, and Ann Marie Barry.
July-November 2004
Exercises in Folkatronica
The artists selected for the SSI 2004 media residencies were Clare Cashman, Stephen Gunning, Lynda Deveney and Kelly Fitzgerald.
July-November 2003
Exercises in Folkatronica
The artists selected for the SSI 2003 media residencies were Brian Fay, Augustine O'Donaghue, Lee Welch and Ciaran Walsh. Three additional shorter residencies were also awarded Catherine Lyons, Margaret Nolan and Francis Fay.
July-November 2002
Exercises in Folkatronica
The artists selected for the SSI 2002 media residencies were Anne Curran, Louisa Sloan, Linda Quinlan and Deirdre Morgan.
May 2001
The Wandering Building
Two week residency in Ireland of French sculptor and architect Laurent Reynes. He worked at the following locations around Ireland: Croagh Patrick, Donegal, Grianan of Aileach, The Giants' Causeway, The Hill of Uisneach, Rathlin Island and Dublin City.
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