‘Diary of a camping holiday’ a mixed media exhibition by Ann Vaughan

August 24 – September 20

‘Diary of a camping holiday’ is a body of work inspired by a recent camping holiday, by the artist, in a region of mountains and lakes. The work reads like pages from a personal journal, with everyday highs and lows and real happenings. “Events take on a new life as they inspire my thoughts and a new fantasy world emerges. John Lennon once said ‘reality leaves a lot to the imagination’, I take a sketch or snapshot and build a picture around it. My art is a slice of everyday life and the materials I use are an interminable list of everything”.  Mainly she focuses on the human experience, the non-events of life, stolen moments that somehow can become captured treasures.

Ann Vaughan is a native of Liscannor in Co Clare, and she is a graduate of Galway College of Art. Currently she is a studio artist in The Courthouse Gallery.

http://www.heritageweek.ie/

HERITAGE WEEK

IN THE COURTHOUSE GALLERY

Saturday 18^th at 7pm

Ennistymon: What’s it to you?

Photographs of the town of Ennistymon taken by local people using disposable cameras, projected onto outside wall adjacent to the Courthouse Gallery.

Edel Barry in conjunction with Built Heritage Collective (Ireland).  No charge.

Weather permitting, otherwise in the Gallery. 

Thursday 23 Aug at 8 pm

A history of North Clare in 100 objects. 
A talk that explores the rich history of North Clare.

History is lying and dying all around us "if only the walls could speak"

All welcome. Free admission.

Friday 24 Aug 
at 12 noon Town Walk with Frances Madigan and John O’Loughlin Starting at the Gallery
A stroll through the streets of Ennistymon to discover the history of this Old Market Town. Free admission

at 4 pm Meet the artists at the Courthouse Gallery
Philip Brennan and Cliona Fox will talk about the inspiration for their current work. Philip is a landscape artist and has published two books on the wildlife of Co Clare. Cliona's work is inspired by the current state of the Irish Fishing Industry. Free admission.

at 5pm Exhibition Launch 

at 5pm Exhibition Launch

‘Time and Space’  watercolours and oil paintings

by Philip Brennan and Cliona Fox. Main Gallery

in conjunction with

‘Diary of a Camping Holiday’ mixed media

by Ann Vaughan in the Red Couch Space

Light refreshments served. All are welcome. 

Jugalbundi, a musical conversation between visiting Japanese Sitarist Yo, Mattu on Sarode and Sadanand on Tabla

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXVJQtpiy6I&feature=player_embedded

After meeting in a small village outside Kolkata in 2004, Japanese sitarist Ryohei Kanemitsu and Australian born musician Mattu Noone have had a deep friendship. The pair met while undertaking studies in North Indian Classical Music in Santiniketan in West Bengal. Each year the pair would meet again during the winter season of concerts and would encourage each other’s development and practice. In 2011, Mattu was invited by Ryohei to go to Taiwan to travel, perform and teach. This year Mattu wanted to return the favour. Mattu plays the Indian lute called sarode and has studied under the guidance of Sougata Roy Chowdhury since 2004. Mattu is well known to Irish audiences through his work with fusion group the Bahh Band and performances of Indian Classical music. Ryohei, nicknamed Yo, is based in Taiwan but has been studying sitar since 2004. Yo has been instrumental into introducing the sitar into Taiwanese music since he settled there in 2008.

Mattu and Yo will perform two concerts in Clare this July. Firstly, they will perform in the Ennistymon Court House Gallery on Friday July 27^{th 8pm}. They will be accompanied by the Indian drum, commonly known as tabla, played by Dublin based musician Sadanad Magee. This trio will perform a jugalbundi or a musical conversation that is largely improvised and is based around the principles of raga or the emotional aesthetic that underpins all Indian Classical music. This type of performance can move between subtle and sorrowful airs to vibrant and passionate rhythmical interchanges. The duo will also perform a very special workshop and house concert in East Clare on Saturday July 28th. The workshop will run in the daytime and is for any musicians interested in learning the basics of raga and Indian improvisation. Musicians can bring any instrument they are comfortable on, an Indian instrument is not required. Entry to the concert in the evening is included in the cost of the workshop. Tickets for the house concert are extremely limited and are available by booking only.

Please contact Mattu for booking or more information:

086 268 5061

FOLLY.

An exhibition by Emily Mannion and Thomas O Brien. 

21st July - 16th August

Official opening Saturday 21st July at 4pm

Traditionally a folly can refer to buildings that are so deliberately extravagant in decoration and form as to serve no normative function. Instead they create escapist spaces of pleasure and mirth. Folly can also refer to any behavior or action that would commonly be deemed as foolish or lacking good sense. This exhibition seeks to question the traditional function of the gallery in mediating the art experience, Drawing inspiration from the gallery space itself, it augments that space by inserting a whimsical, immersive, pleasurable installation that provokes a questioning of the spaces we accept and a rethinking of what constitutes an aesthetically rich environment. A folly can create physical and personal space for us to transcend our habitus and re-situate ourselves and our aspirations.

The exhibition features a large spatial installation of paper and various mixed media.

Some additional works will be exhibited in the adjoining small gallery.

‘Wednesday Mornings’   - 

an exhibition of drawings and paintings by North Clare artists Christine Porter and Emma Stewart-Liberty

21st July - 16th August

Official opening Saturday 21st July at 4pm

In 'Wednesday Mornings', on view in The Red Couch Space, two North Clare based artists, Christine Porter and Emma Stewart-Liberty, present drawings and paintings created in the studio space they shared on Wednesday mornings during the course of the last year.

Christine Porter's abstract landscapes exploit the full gamut of colour from succulent, rich saturated pigment to the most subtle tints, tones and shades. The sensuous character of materials such as charcoal, graphite, watercolour crayon and paint, is enhanced by gestured mark-making and the deep space of translucent and opaque layering, with the added excitement of textural effects.

The work shown by Emma Stewart-Liberty results from her lifelong interest in birds and documenting in particular those that visit her garden throughout the year. The series 'Aves' consists of small works on paper and board and uses a muted palette of earth tones.

Oiche Latino

A South American & Irish musical exchange

Thursday July 12th  @ 8PM   

 € 5 All proceeds go to cherven children’s orphanage - Belarus          

CLARE MUSICIANS LAUNCH A GLOBAL MUSIC EXCHANGE TOUR BETWEEN SOUTH AMERICA AND IRELAND

South American musician returns to his Irish roots to merge Latin America with Ireland
20 June ’12: Clare native musicians, Paddy Mulcahy and Tessa O’Connor are leading a tour of South American and traditional Irish music entitled “Los Paddy de las Pampas” around Ireland this July. The tour will involve playing a number of concerts which will incorporate Irish traditional and Latin American music, with particular focus on Argentina. The aim is to create a global music exchange between Latin America and Ireland.
The idea stemmed for the musicians on their return from playing music in the Irish music community in Buenos Aires, where they met Argentian musician, Tommy Nelson. Tommy’s ancestors come from Ireland, he is an accomplished guitarist and Charango player and is behind the strength of the Irish Traditional music scene in Argentina.
While in South America the “Los Paddy delas Pampas” tour brought them through Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, with it culminating in an appearance for Paddy and Tessa on a Bolivian TV chat show and a concert in the infamous Irish traditional ‘Fahy Club’, in Argentina.
When commenting on the event ethnomusician, Paddy says “the aim is to play a mix of Irish ballads, traditional South American songs, from the globally recognised Cuban classic Guantanamera, to less recognisable songs such as “Todos Juntos” (All Together), and an English Language version of Duerme Negrito (Lay there,Iittle baby) .We really want to share what we discovered in South America – and  hope to make the South American songs fun and accessible to an Irish audience while adding something to the existing Irish songs through the alternative rythm and instrumentation.“
This tour will then be extended to a repeat concert in Buenos Aires on St.Patricks day.  

For further information please contact:
Paddymulcahymusic@gmail.com

Wild Winds…

A theatrical exploration

written and performed by Etain McCooey, musician and Eleanor Feely, actor.

Sat. 7th July @ 1pm

Adm € 5 concession €3

Wild Winds...a fusion of theatre and music inspired by the inner landscapes, travels and muses of  Irish writers Yeats, Synge, O'Casey and Joyce.

It explores myth and legend of the 16th century to the the Belle Epoque of Paris through the tumultuous turbulent Ireland of the early 1900's,  all performed in a physical, energetic and poised performance by oboist, whistle player and singer, Etain McCooey and actor/performer Eleanor Feely.

The piece contains also original material by both artists.

Eleanor Feely trained as an actor with the legendary Deirdre O'Connell
at the Focus Theatre Dublin and at the Theatre du Soleil Paris.
She worked in all the Dublin theatres including the Abbey and Peacock
and on tv and film in Remington Steele, Rawhead Rex, Echoes, Glenroe ,
Nighthawks and Fair City as well as others,
In recent years she has concentrated on performing original material.
Her play ' The Changing Moon' was described by The Irish Times as
'exhilaratingly original'.
She is a director of Clare Youth Theatre where she created 'Searching
for Shakespeare' 'Ex Libris' and adapted the classic 'To Kill a
Mockingbird'.
An awareness of social jusice and the use of aural and non-verbal
imagery are defining aspects of her work..She also sings!!


Etain McCooey studied Oboe under Helmut Seeber and took master classes with Chicago Symphony legend Ray Still.  She also plays Cor Anglais and Tin Whistle.  She has been working as an orchestral player in Limerick and Galway over the past number of years in addition to playing for various musicals and shows around the country.  She spent fifteen years in Dublin where she played in a number of bands (playing traditional and contemporary music) and worked as a session musician.  Recording work includes Frank Cullen's "And All Points West", Tony Boylan's "Life's the Teacher" and she was recently commissioned to compose music for the Hidden History TV series.

Salmon Poetry in association with the Courthouse Gallery
Presents and invites you
to celebrate the publication of a new collection of poetry

Night Horses

by Ilsa Thielan          

On Friday 29^th June 2012, 7pm

We hope to see you but if you can’t make it to the launch, you can order directly from:

www.salmonpoetry.com

Book Description:

Ilsa Thielan's poetry, like her renowned photographs, embraces a variety of landscapes.   She is well known for her photographs of the flora and fauna of the Burren in Co. Clare, Ireland.  Her poems have a lyric intensity and beauty that capture the presence of this unique landscape.  As well as her careful appreciation and commitment to her Burren home, Ilsa Thielan is an adventurous traveller. For many years she has spent time on her own in the wilderness of Northern Canada and explored the landscapes of New Mexico, North Africa and Spain.  Her photography and poetry exhibitions include a homage to the people she met at the Festival au Desert, 65 kilometers beyond Timbuktu, in the vastness of the Sahara.  She has attended the legendary Festval of St. Sara,  also known as the Festival of the Gypsies, in  Saintes Maries de la Mer, Carmargue in the South of  France, an area famous for it's beautiful white horses.  As indicated by the title of this collection, horses appear often in Ilsa Thielan's poetry; a freedom both real and metaphorical. In this, her first poetry collection, she shows her love for the wild  places, for people who live closely with nature and the animals who aid and inspire them.

Bio:

Ilsa Thielan studied literature and art in her native Germany. She moved to Ireland in the 1970s and settled in Doolin, Co Clare.  Since then she has gained a considerable reputation as a photographer of the Burren and North Clare landscapes, and has written and published poems and short stories. She was an early member of  the North Clare Writers' Workshop, Ennistymon. Her poems and stories appeared regularly in the North Clare Writers' annual  anthology. Her work has been published in many journals, including Stet, Women's  Work, The Burren  Meithal, Revival,  and with the North Clare 'Three Legged  Stool Poets'. Her poem 'My Brother' was published in Dogs Singing: A Tribute Anthology (Salmon Poetry, 2010).

She has read her poetry at The Cuirt International Festival of Literature, the Ennis Bookclub Festival, Glor Music Centre and the Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon.

Her poetry and stories are born out of her experience and observations
of life, the natural environment of her Burren home, her love for the animals whose paths she has crossed, her relationships with people she met on her travels, and her time spent in the American Southwest, the Sahara of North Africa, and the Canadian wilderness.

Jessie Lendennie
Managing Director
Salmon Poetry Ltd.

http://salmonpoetry.com

http://jessielendennie.com

Salmon Poetry receives financial assistance from the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon

Flamenco - Fatima Lucia with Al-Andar

Thursday 21st June @ 8.30pm

Admission €10, concession €8, children €5

Flamenco company "Al-Andar" presents their new show "Soltando Amarras" ("Casting off") ,   Singer Olayo Giménez  will travel to Ireland from Andalusia to join dancer/choreographer Fatima Lucia  and guitarist John Walsh on their new tour together. Fatima launched Flamenco in Ireland, teaching and performing nationwide since 1993, when she arrived from her hometown, Cadiz. She has done 'Flamenco-Sean Nos'  fusion work touring with Irish musicians such as Martin O'Connor, Arty Mc Glynn and Sean Keane,
 Al-Andar performs Flamenco in its purest form, bringing you the unique sensitivity and passion of this old tradition from Southern Spain.

How the Land Lies

Paintings by Mairead O’Neill Laher

14^th June – 12^th July

Official opening Saturday 16^th June at 4pm

Mairead O’Neill Laher

The work is mostly oil on canvas, with some oil on paper.

Laher’s paintings are a response to the landscape, in particular that of the west coast of Ireland. Though the work is based in an actual landscape what emerges from the work process are landscapes of the imagination.

It is said that in every new landscape we see something that triggers memory and reminds us of other half forgotten landscapes. Any attempt to respond to the natural world in paint must also by extension be imbued with memory and personal

experience.

                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                        

Mairead O’Neill Laher was born in Limerick and now lives in Dublin. A graduate of NCAD, she is a painter who since graduating has had solo shows in Chicago, New York and Johannesburg, as well as shows in Dublin and Belfast. Influenced by poetry and memory, her work is an investigation of landscape as part of an ongoing exploratory process

 'Over the Rocks' Mairead O'Neill Laher

“Just as none of us is outside or beyond geography,
none of us is completely free from the struggle over geography”.
Edward Said