The Model reopened in May 2010 with expanded facilities and gallery space, a cinema, a renowned art collection and a superb programme of visual, music and education events. Extending the building by a third in size to create a world-class visitor centre, The Model is one of Ireland’s most unique cultural spaces. A number of opportunities at The Model have arisen due to the expansion.
The Model is pleased to announce the launch of its new website and identity. We are currently in the process of moving and uploading content to this new site, so we’d encourage you to check back often for new information on upcoming programming and more.
The Model will re-open on Saturday 1st May with an exciting new exhibition called DORM- more on that very soon. We will also be previewing sections of the building for the Sligo New Music Festival on 16th – 18th April. You can find full information on the concerts for this festival on this site.
In the meantime, we will be maintaining our existing Wordpress blog. We’re honoured to have been nominated as one of the best Arts and Culture blogs at the Irish Blog Awards, this year. Once the awards take place on 27th March we will move our blog over to this page, so be sure to bookmark it.
Jack B. Yeats, Sea and Lighthouse, 1949, Oil On Board, The Niland Collection © The Estate of Jack B. Yeats 2005. All rights reserved DACS
Lara Byrne, Assistant Curator at The Model, recently brought a tour of forty people around the Jack B. Yeats' exhibition ' Jack B. Yeats and the west of Ireland' currently on show in the Ballina Arts Centre in County Mayo. Below she blogs about her first experience on tour since 2007.
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I didn’t get on the road until 5.30pm and had to be in Ballina to give a tour on an exhibition, Jack B. Yeats & The West of Ireland (drawn from the Niland Collection) in the Ballina Arts Centre at seven - the only thing was the weather was pretty desperate, squalling wind and rain, making the drive down pretty hairy. I found their temporary quarters in the Ballina Civic Centre 10 minutes before kick off. Like The Model, they are are going through a major re-development, which includes a brand new extension to their existing premises on Barrett Street, with dance studios, an extra gallery and a 250 seat theatre. While they are at the beginning of their new works, which will be ready in a year, we at The Model are nearly finished, with doors opening to the public in the next two months.
I hadn’t done a tour of the Yeats paintings from The Niland Collection in two years, so the evening before I had a quick recap over my notes and a flick through the world expert on Yeats; Hilary Pyle - a hefty 3 volume tome on Yeats. I had twenty-three paintings to talk about, all drawn from The Niland Collection which I know well, but with only one slight hitch, I didn’t know how they were going to be arranged in the gallery space. So with 10 minutes to spare before the talk (thanks to the weather) I had just enough time for a quick chat with the director, Sean Walsh and a speedy run through the hang. All the old favourites were there with a really nice cross section of Yeats' work on display, from his earliest pen & ink illustrations, through his watercolours and his late work- the boldly painted oil paintings.
About forty interested members of the public had got into their cars on a horrible winters’ evening to come to the tour, I was delighted with the turn out and it was great to see the genuine love that the people of Mayo have for Jack B. Yeats life and work.
After the introductions, I started with a late oil painting that Yeats had presented to Sligo County Council in 1954, which also happens to be one of my personal favourites, Leaving Far Rosses. My reasoning for beginning the tour with such a late work was because its shows Jack walking the beach in Rosses Point, wearing his distinctive broad-brimmed hat, in the company of his beloved wife, Cottie and his favourite Uncle, George Pollexfen. This painting had a special resonances with Yeats, as he had given this painting to his wife as a birthday present the year before she died in 1947. Also his uncle George had died in 1910, so this painting was probably a memory of the last time the three of them were together on a blustery day in Sligo. Also this was a really good painting to start with, as I could give the background of The Niland Collection and describe how, through Nora Niland’s sheer indefatiable energy, the Collection had come into genesis.
It was during the early 1900s that Jack's paintings were to become peopled with entertainers, clowns, folk from travelling fairs, street sellers and race meetings, all inspired from his travels with the playwright and writer John Millington Synge. Both men had been commissioned by ‘The Manchester Guardian’ (now just The Guardian) in the Summer of 1905 to report on the congested districts in the west of Ireland. They travelled from Connemara to Clifden and then took the Long Car, (horse drawn carriages brought in by Bianconi) onto Belmullet and finally to Swinford. He always looked back on this time in his life with great affection — and had created an invaluable archive of sketchbooks, a visual diary, which he was to draw on for the rest of his life.
Looking around the room, those figures were all there, from the street seller in Market Day, the entertainers in Singing ‘The Beautiful Picture’, The Singing Clown (Johnny Patterson singing ‘Bridget O’Donoghue’), and the horses and the distinctive Yeatsian figures in The Strand Races, He Wins, White Shower and Crest of the Hill. All of these people would have summed up for Jack that unquantifiable ‘western spirit’.
I finished the tour with The Sea and the Lighthouse, a sad but beautiful oil painting, Jack using that dark indigo blue that he used so much in his late oils — painted the year died Cottie died — it shows a lone figure, that same broad brimmed hat, held this time, in his hand by his side, gazing out to sea. A dark cloud looms head, but to the left of the picture, a beam of light is breaking through. Jack lived for another 10 years after Cottie, they never had any children and possibly because Jack’s obsession with his painting life, he never took on any pupils, although he gave painting advice to his niece Anne Yeats, who cared for his archive after his death.
In the last few years of his life, he lived in Portobello Nursing Home in Dublin and had stopped painting. As he said himself, he had painted everything he had needed too. During this time, he was visited by his artist-friend Oscar Kokoshcha and a young John Berger. Also a young trainee doctor, Brian O’Doherty, took to visiting him and they became close friends before Jack died. Brian went on to become an important figure on the Irish and International art scene and in July of this year Brian is to co-curate the major Yeats show at The Model.
The feedback from the tour was great and afterwards I was talking to one man-although I didn’t catch his name - who told me a lovely story about a friend of his who was a traveling entertainer and had owned a trunk full of his tricks of the trade. This trunk was painted with scenes by Jack B Yeats and although it has long since disappeared, his friend reckons he would be a wealthy man if he still had it.
After the show I managed to get some late night food in Dillons, a sweet little pub set within a courtyard, with a wrought iron Victorian stairs and balcony outside. In no time I was back on the road to Sligo where the weather had softened so the drive back was less as traumatic, especially with a head filled with Yeats paintings. I can’t wait for the July exhibition in The Model, with its promise of the some of the late great paintings by the man himself…. roll on the Summer.
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This July, The Model will be opening a major Jack B. Yeats retrospective at the new Model building. In the meantime, take a visit to the Ballina Arts Centre to quench that Yeatsian thirst.
The Model has recently launched a major volunteer scheme as we prepare for the reopening of the new Model building later this spring. We are looking for enthusiastic people with an interest in the arts, and who have a few hours spare every week.
To support this scheme, two members of our staff at The Model Emer Marron and Marian Dunleavey recently participated in Volunteer Management Training at the Volunteer Centre.
Sligo Volunteer Centre presented certificates on Friday last to the participants who successfully completed the Volunteer Management Training. Volunteer Management Training is an initiative being rolled out around Ireland to support local community organisations that have, or hope to have, volunteers involved with their groups in their community. The training helps managers, coordinators and volunteers to have in place structures that enable volunteers and organisations get the best out of the time they spend together. Marian Harkin MEP presented the certificates to the participants.
To Get Involved with the Model's Volunteer Scheme please contact Marian by email, or by phone on 071 91 41405.
Sligo Volunteer Centre are available to discuss volunteering with any interested party at 0719111042 or email info@volunteersligo.ie.
Read the full article in the Sligo Champion
Thanks to the good folks over at Media Express, today marks 'Good News Friday' so we've decided to share with our readers some of our good news to kickstart your weekend. The sole purpose of Good News Friday is to harness the power of positive thinking to counteract the current gloom. In the midst of the recession many positive news stories are completely ignored because there is so much bad news about.
Share your good news with us below. Bon Weekend!
Would you like to be involved in something new this year? Do you like entertainment, arts and culture? Do you have an hour or two to spare in your week? If so The Model may have the perfect opportunity for you. The Model will reopen later this spring in the heart of Sligo town.
As the Northwest’s flagship arts centre, the new Model will house Sligo’s world class Niland Collection, which includes many wonderful works by Jack B. Yeats, new contemporary galleries and a performance space programming cinema, music and comedy events.
The Model is looking for enthusiastic people who have a few hours to spare each week to join their volunteer scheme. If you are interested in meeting people, getting a better understanding and experience of the arts and would like to make a worthwhile contribution to Sligo’s cultural life, The Model would love to hear from you.
Download the Volunteer Application Form
For further information email Marion or call The Model on 071 9141405.
Gavin Bryars In studio, Metchosin BC, Canada
We're delighted to announce details of the Sligo New Music Festival 2010, which returns to The Model from 16th — 18th April with the early, ground-breaking music of Gavin Bryars, including his classic works The Sinking of the Titanic and Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet, After the Requiem and Between The National and the Bristol. The festival also coincides with Ireland's first National Music Day.
It's really worth clicking on the links to read about Titanic and Jesus' Blood in particular; great stories inspire them both. Jesus Blood has been on repeat in our offices for months now. Stunning. We're also thrilled that Gavin Bryars has accepted our invitation to attend the festival and he will be in Sligo for the weekend, conducting at least one discussion about his work over the course of the festival. Bryars’ long-term collaborators the Smith Quartet will be the guest ensemble for the festival, coming to Sligo from London for the performances.
Leading Irish improvising duo Morla — saxophonist Seán Óg and guitarist Simon Jermyn — will provide another counterpoint to the programme. Performing alongside the Smiths for Bryars’ Jesus Blood, Morla and the Smiths will also perform a major new work for sextet composed by the duo. The video below is taken from a recent performance in Dublin's St. Audon's church for note productions.
The festival is also proud to present the world premiere of a new work for electric guitar and string quartet by leading Northern Irish composer Frank Lyons, and additionally will present work from Donnacha Dennehy (Stamp!) and Alfred Schnittke: String Quartet No. 3. You can watcha video of The Smith's performing Stamp! at Liverpool 2008 right here>
or here- about 4mins in:
The Model (previously The Model Arts and Niland Gallery) has been closed for two years for an ambitious extension and redevelopment project, which has seen the creation of a new, purpose-built performance space, new studios and galleries and a new entrance for the impressive arts and cultural centre. It seems likely that the New Music Festival will provide visitors with their first opportunity to preview the impressive new building.
Championed for offering such a rich and diverse programme of contemporary music each year, the Sligo New Music Festival, produced by The Model and curated by Ian Wilson, has been one of the highlights of the Irish contemporary music calendar since its inception in 2002. An offsite, one-day format for the festival was experimented with during the closure in 2008, and 2010 sees the festival making a welcome return to The Model, and to its popular full weekend format.
“The day's performances…. were a model of what the presentation of such challenging music needs to achieve - a sense of absolute identity with the composer's wishes.”-The Irish Times
The Sligo New Music Festival provides audiences with access to some of the best contemporary music from around the world. Created as a composer-orientated event that focuses each year on the work of one, or two, key composers. Their work is programmed alongside new works from Irish composers and the festival seeks to premiere new works where possible. The SNMF then invites top-quality performing ensembles to Ireland who are best placed to present the work of the Festival’s featured composer(s), who then perform alongside leading Irish musicians thus fostering a musical exchange that lasts beyond the festival events themselves.
This couple of days of the Festival that I attended presented a challenging collection of music, all in excellent performances… I hope this excellent example (thanks to Festival director Ian Wilson) can be copied elsewhere. - Andrew Toovey - Classical Source
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Programme
Here's a first peek at the programme. further events are to be added, and the final programme may change (slightly) from the below so consider all times tbc.
Friday 16th April, 8.30pm - €20/18
Bryars: The Sinking of the Titanic (25’) SQ
Dennehy: Stamp! (6’) SQ
INTERVAL
Morla: improvised set MO
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Saturday 17th April, 1pm - €15/12
Bryars: Between the National and the Bristol (19’) SQ
Bryars: After the Requiem (16’) SJ + SQ
Bryars: Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet (25’) SQ + MO
Saturday 17th April, 8.30pm - €15/12
Frank Lyons: New Work for e-guitar and string quartet (15’) SJ + SQ
Schnittke: String Quartet No. 3 (16’)
INTERVAL
Morla: New Work for Morla and string quartet (35-40’) MO + SQ
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Sunday 18 April, 12.30pm - €12/10
Seán Óg: Sacred Chants (40’) SO
SQ = Smith Quartet; MO = Morla; SJ = Simon Jermyn; SO = Seán Óg
Tickets on Sale from Monday 1st February. Call The Model on 071-914 1405 or email tickets@modelart.ie. All tickets purchased in advance can be done so at the concession price, the full price will apply on the door. Tickets for 2 or more concerts may also avail of the concession price on all concerts, either in advance or on the door.
Read more about the Collage party here>
Last Autumn Touch the Sky participated in a series of workshops which focused the group on their understanding of Northern Ireland, past and present. Together with Artistic Director Declan Drohon, they focused on what the term 'cross border' meant to them , and how they could possibl interpret their ideas through performance. These workshops were planned as a precursor to the first corss border collage party, to be held in November at The Model Satellite with the Stravaganza arts group from Derry.
We took the 7am train from Sligo and arrived at Exchange Dublin, Collective Arts Centre Temple Bar for 10.30am. Exchange Dublin were our host for the day they also received the Youth Ensemble Scheme from the Arts Council for their innovative collective arts centre which is an arts collective run entirely by young people where they holding discussions, gigs, visual arts and performance there. Pop in they are always looking for new visitors.
Exchange Dublin exhibited all the projects in their centre and after an enthusiastic discussion amongst all participants a couple of the film projects were screened and a number of the music based projects performed for us all. The quality and standard of the work was amazing and all credit is deserved as all groups put so much time and energy into their projects over the last 9 months. I was blown away with how these young people confidently discussed their ideas and opinions around their work and regarding youth and the arts in general. With young people like these coming up behind us I am confident in saying that the world is in safe hands although during the day it was the first time I started to feel old.......... - Linda, Young Model curator
Pic courtesy of young model
The exchange is a pretty cool place. The day was a bit like our premiere, we were showing a sneaky peek of our interviews with artists. We got nametags, people thought we were models, (because the nametags said young model...), and we were photographed by a professional photographer outside the Exchange. We were interviewed by a guy called Daniel, who had great dreds. We got to meet other people working doing different things like drama, dance and film. We also had a go at discussing things like censorship, leadership and the issue of what age is youth. We saw two films, one which was called Girls in the City, and one called Wrong Turn, they were really different, both seemed to be the result of loads of hard work. Hopefully our interview film will show the hard work we've been putting in. - Young model response
More pics available on our Flickr site.
young model are recruiting new members for the group for 2010. If you or anyone you know may be interested just drop Linda a mail
Happy Place exhibition at Art Mart Studios
Artmart Studios is proud to present their first exhibition of 2010. Happy Place will exhibit postcards created by Artists, Illustrators, photographers and Sculptors depicting their happy place. Some works are for sale.Opening night is Saturday 23rd of January @ 7.00pm, continues from the 25th - 30th January.
Opening times Monday - Saturday 11am - 5pm.
There are people that suggest blogging is dead, but we don't agree of course, and neither do the Irish Blog Awards who are looking for your nominations right now. There are only a few more days left to vote, but head on over and be counted. and of course if you wanted to nominate us for arts and culture blog we wouldn't mind one bit....
The snow didn't stop two artists (Maebh Cheasty and David Murphy) reaching us all the way from Cork (thank you irish rail) for a research trip to Sligo to kick start the audio-tour project they will be working on for us throughout the spring.
During the cold spell we also took out our cameras and managed to snap some great shots around Sligo. Tourism rumours for Sligo in 2010 have been flagging the county as a new ski- destination, check the youtube clip below!
Ballysadare, Co. Sligo. Pic by Aoife Flynn
Sun and snow in Scarden, Strandhill Co. Sligo. Pic by Denise Rushe
Jack B Yeats Untitled (Interior of Shop), 1905
Throughout January and February Ballina Arts Centre will present Jack B Yeats and the West of Ireland, a special exhibition of the artist’s works from Sligo and Mayo. This exhibition is drawn from The Niland Collection and is presented in association with The Model, home of The Niland Collection.
Though Yeats was born in London, he spent most of his childhood in Sligo in the care of his maternal grandparents, often travelling around Sligo and Mayo with his grandfather, a wealthy merchant.
The young artist must have been captivated by the landscape and the characters he encountered here as, throughout his career, he returned repeatedly to the memories of his west of Ireland days for inspiration.
In 1905 Yeats was commissioned to illustrate a series of articles on Life in the Congested Districts of Galway and Mayo, by John Millington Synge, for The Guardian newspaper. Together Yeats and Synge spent several weeks touring the depressed regions. It was a trip that was to have a deep and lasting impact on the artist and shortly afterwards he began to concentrate solely on Irish subject matter.
It was in no small way due to his Sligo childhood and The Guardian commission that Jack developed a particular interest in the people and rituals of everyday life, painting street sellers, sailors, funerals, travelling fairs, circuses and the races. The exhibition features water-colours and oils from throughout his career.
On Thursday January 21, Emer McGarry, Assistant from The Model, Sligo, will lead a guided tour of the exhibition. The tour starts at 7pm and admission is free. The exhibition will be officially opened by Medb Ruane, Irish Independent columnist, on Wednesday January 13 and will run until the end of February. For further details visit the Ballina Arts Centre.
The films are all recorded by our Transition Year Work Experience student Aengus Morrisey, and voiced by staff member Aoife Flynn who has been with The Model for over 6 years so is very familiar with the old, and new building.
Footage of the new entrance which is located on Connaughton Road
As you can see, the work has yet to be finished, so we've included the architect's impression of the new entrance & foyer interior below.
Architects impression of the new foyer at The Model
The next clip is of the new performance space which is situated on the left hand side of the new entrance.
Watch Video&feature=player_embedded]
This next clip is of what previous visitors to the centre may remember as the old main entrance into The Model on The Mall. This area will now be the new dining area of the restaurant.
We've included the architects impression of this area below:
Architect's impression of the restaurant dining area at the Mall entrance
One of the most exciting features of new Model building will be the new gallery experience available to visitors. The previous black box space has been split into two levels. Downstairs, it is now the space for the new restaurant kitchen, while upstairs we have created a new gallery to allow for a complete gallery circuit on the first floor. There are two staircases and lift access to this floor.
We've also included the architect's impression of the new gallery spaces so you can imagine what it will eventually look like when we re-open.
New gallery space at The Model with stairway from atrium space on the left, and entrance into the Niland Gallery
Niland Gallery showing new entrance into the new gallery space at the end of the room on the left hand-side
This is the final post of our redevelopment sneak peaks. This one is of the spectacular artists studio floor, which is part of the new extension to The Model. There are 8 artist studios, one of which is residential, and one of which is a music rehearsal studio. The other artists studios are available for rent and applications are being taken until 5th February.
The artists studios are at the highest point of the building and boast spectacular panoramic views of Sligo town and it's surrounds. During our visits to site over the past few weeks everyone has been so surprised at the views- which the video demonstrates below:
Artist Studios - Architect Drawing
Residential Studio as it looked in Oct
You can see more pics of the Building in progress on flickr
Or you can have a look at the architect's full video impression of how the new Model will look here:
As a little present from us to you, we would like to share with you some of our programme that we have confirmed so far for the year ahead. We've been dying to share all this for some time as it has been tremendously exciting working on it over the past few months and even years!
Architect's impression of the new extension to The Model
Closed for a major redevelopment since early 2008 the centre has been much missed, but the works will be worth the wait. With over 70 people currently employed on site, The Model is being transformed into a world-class visitor attraction with museum standard galleries, a purpose build performance space, a new destination restaurant, and nine stunning artist studios with panoramic views of Sligo below.
The redevelopment has been funded by The Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism (under the Access scheme) and the EU (under the BMW Infrastructural fund), with significant additional funding from the Local Authorities, Model fundraising, and Sligo patronage. Designed by Sheridan Woods architects, the redevelopment of The Model will deliver a space that focuses on the needs of the visitor and the artist in equal measure. As an unparalleled cultural resource for the region, and the place to be, The Model will have a vibrant programme and act as a vital hub for locals and visitors alike.
The first major project will be DORM. Artist collectives from around the world will inhabit The Model, transforming the building in an unprecedented, all-encompassing art project. The building will be filled by national and international artist collectives with art exhibitions, concerts, screenings and discussions forming part of the multi-disciplinary project. An innovative partnership with IT Sligo is also set to be unveiled as part of DORM in the new year.
After re-opening, The Model will also commence an international cinema programme in collaboration with the Irish Film Institute. This programme will bring first run, award-winning films from around the world to Sligo.
One of the first events to be held in The Model is the Sligo New Music Festival, curated by Ian Wilson and celebrating the early, ground-breaking music of Gavin Bryars, including two classic works. The festival will also include new work by leading Northern Irish composer Frank Lyons.
Detail from 'The Grave Yard Wall' 1945, Oil On Canvas, Jack B. Yeats
The Model is home to Sligo’s prestigious Niland Collection, which houses the second largest Jack B.Yeats collection in Ireland, second only to The National Gallery. The Niland Collection has been greatly missed since closure. The Model is delighted, therefore, to announce a majorly significant Yeats’ exhibition for summer 2010. Co-curated by internationally renowned artist and curator Brian O’Doherty, the exhibition, entitled Jack B. Yeats;The Outsider, will bring together Yeats’ greatest works. Opening in July, this is a hugely significant show for Ireland, taking place in Sligo. The exhibition was recently chosen as the Irish Times Critics Choice for 2010, more details here.
The DeLorean Car featured in the eighties film trilogy 'Back To The Future'
Also in 2010, a Model co-commission of a Duncan Campbell film entitled Make it New John which tells the story of the DeLorean car, its creator John DeLorean and the workers of the Belfast-based car plant who built it, will also be screened alongside the Yeats exhibition.
The final exhibition of the year features new work from one of the world’s greatest living artists: Ilya Kabakov. Working with his partner Emila, the Kabakovs will present Fallen Angel; a full installation throughout the gallery devoted to a monument of an angel that fell to earth. The exhibition involves paintings, sculptures and entire rooms constructed around this fantasy — both child-like and richly romantic. The Kabakovs will literally be coming from their retrospective exhibition at The Louvre in Paris to mount their exhibition in Sligo, which is a major testament to the international level of Model programming.
The entire Model team are eagerly anticipating a return to The Mall and looking forward to welcoming visitors back info this wonderful building. A major reopening celebration is being planned for the Spring, with details under wraps until the new year. A sneak peek at the building works is available through a series of short video tours on The Model’s blog
The Model Satellite, Castle Street, Sligo
The Model might have been closed on The Mall, but that certainly didn’t stop us from having a busy year, running a great selection of exhibitions, screenings and events in spaces all over Sligo and reaching an impressive 15,000 visitors despite the main venue being closed.
Taking over Castle House on Castle Street as the main Model Satellite space, we held three large-scale contemporary exhibitions, all international is scope. Starting the year with Signals in the Dark: Art in the Shadow of War the exhibition caused great curiosity in the lead up to the opening as one of the key works, a large road sign proclaiming “You have left the American Sector” was clearly visible through the shop front doors to the new space. The piece was by Canadian artist Ron Terada and was not the only sign-based work in the exhibition to cause a stir. Another artwork by Jamelie Hassan was on display in the form of a billboard at the Dunnes Stores car park proclaiming “ Because there was and there wasn’t a city of Baghdad” causing it to be confused with a tourism poster by a local journalist.
Medium Religion at The Model Satellite
The second exhibition of the year, Medium Religion, came to Sligo from one of the largest and most significant contemporary centres in Europe: ZKM. Curated by internationally renowned philosopher and curator Boris Groys, the exhibition involved over thirty art projects that cast a challenging gaze on religions. Opening in the midst of a national debate on the blasphemy bill, the project also included a seminar on religiosity chaired by Anna Nolan. Artists from Cuba, Iran, Israel and Russia came to Sligo for the opening, although Iranian artist Barbad Golshiri didn't return for the seminar due to escalating unrest in Iran- He decided to stay and fight like millions of others, fearing that something might happen in his absence.
During the summer months The Model staged a small exhibition of select Jack Yeats works in Sligo Art Gallery as part of the inaugural Yeats Festival Season.
Reverse Pedagogy artists at The Model Satellite
Taking part in Sligo’s first Culture Night, The Model opened the final exhibition of the year with Reverse Pedagogy- a group show with works made in, and inspired by, Sligo. More pics from Culture Night here>
It was a busy musical year for The Model too, with highlights including Josh Ritter at Clary Church, R.S.A.G at the Model Satellite, Emer Mayock at Summerhill College’s Handball Alley and Katie Kim at the pharmacy on Wolfetone Street. Music performances were drawn from all genres to participate in “New Spaces for Music” a series that sought to discover new spaces for listening to, and performing music.
New Spaces for Music - Gerry Harrington and Margaret Rhatigan at Sligo Bus Station
Memorable spaces included Sligo’s Bus Station, which was transformed into a trad concert one busy Friday afternoon. The series even spread to Dublin with seven concerts performed as part of the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival in October.
The Model held a number of film screenings and artists talks throughout the year, and presented a large number of key educational projects. Most memorable of these included the partnership with Rehab Care Sligo and sound artist Karl Burke which culminated in the magnificent commission “Soundtrack for a Day”. Another collaboration, this time with Cranmore Community group, brought kids together to present The Big Art Project on the hoardings around The Model Site.
Young model interview artist Barrie Cooke as part of The Interview project
Young Model, a workshop series aimed at 14-20year olds, had a hugely successful year with a graffiti street art workshop in February, leading to work being displayed on Castle Street, a collaboration with Gracelands Festival and an exciting new project called The Interview where young model members interviewed living artists from The Niland Collection, scripting, presenting, filming and editing these interviews themselves. Previews from The Interview are available on The Model blog, but the full project will be published on the Model’s new website next year.
One of the projects that The Model are most delighted about is The Trades Club revival, a commission by The Model of artists Seamus Nolan which has resulted in the regeneration and redevelopment of Sligo’s famous Trades Club. Now in the final stages of the regeneration a public exhibition is planned for early next year.
If you'd like to take a look at some more of our events from 2009, check our Flickr sets here for photos, our Youtube Channel here for videos, and as always you can read through our blog entries from throughout the year.
So, as you see, it has been a tremendously busy year for us here at The Model. Alongside all these events we have been preparing our programming plans for the reopening of new Model building in Spring 2010. We hope you've enjoyed the year as much as we have. If you have any comments on events this year at The Model, please feel free to leave them below.
The artists studios are at the highest point of the building and boast spectacular panoramic views of Sligo town and it's surrounds. During our visits to site over the past few weeks everyone has been so surprised at the views- which the video demonstrates below:
Artist Studios - Architect Drawing
Residential Studio as it looked in Oct
We've also included the architect's impression of the new gallery spaces so you can imagine what it will eventually look like when we re-open.
New gallery space at The Model with stairway from atrium space on the left, and entrance into the Niland Gallery
Niland Gallery showing new entrance into the new gallery space at the end of the room on the left hand-side
Our final video tomorrow will be showing off the new Artist Studios available on the second floor. For more of the videos, visit our youtube channel.
We've included the architects impression of this area below.
Architect's impression of the restaurant dining area at the Mall entrance
More tomorrow so check back!
Hard hats and wellies were essential fashion items as the site is quite wet following the recent showers. In the first clip you'll see footage from the new entrance which is located on Connaughton Road. We've also started a Flickr pool with visitor pictures of the old building, so if you have any we'd love you to share them. We'll be uploading lots more videos every day at 12 noon for the rest of this week with previews of new developments in the building. So, as they say, watch this space!
The next clip is of the new performance space which is situated on the left hand side of the new entrance.
Watch Video&feature=player_embedded]
As you can see, the work has yet to be finished, so we've included the architect's impression of the new entrance and foyer below.
Architects impression of the new foyer at The Model
Have a look at the architect's full video impression of how the new Model will look here>
We had a short film made in Sep of this year for some artists we'll be working with. It's a virtual tour of the building in progress- as it was then- and the architects impressions of the final building. There are also some great shots of Sligo town and county on a lovely blue sky day to give the artists a flavour of the surrounding area. The soundtrack is provided courtesy of Cheuerboard.
It's a little low res but we thought it was worth sharing with you . We'll be adding an up to date video tour- made this week- in the coming days
My name is Aengus Morrissey and I am in Transition Year in the Sligo Grammar. I am currently doing work experience at the Model’s offices in Cleveragh Retail Park. Also, I am involved in the Young Model Programme, where amongst other projects, we are currently working on an interview project with artists such as Dorothy Cross, Barrie Cooke, Sean McSweeney and Nick Miller to name a few. Other workshops we have done include ones on Film, Contemporary music and the work of Andy Wharhol.
Over the next two weeks I will be working in the Marketing Department, the Education Department and the Visual Department. The people working here are very helpful and I am getting along quite well. It is now Tuesday, my second day here. Yesterday I helped David sort out the audio/visual equipment and make an inventory. I will be doing more of the same on Friday. Today I went down to the Wolf On Arm studio on Wolftone street to pick up a video camera and tape. After this I went to the new building on the Mall to record a walking tour for the Model website and blog (There will be more on this in the Model Newsletter). So far everything is going fine and I will be blogging more during the next two weeks. Aengus
Touch the Sky & Derry group Stravaganza participate in Collage Party at Reverse Pedagogy
Touch the Sky performance group invited Stravaganza to a collage party in late November, hosted at the Reverse Pedagogy exhibition, The Model Satellite. The party was facilitated by artists Mark Garry and Karl Burke. Here is what the artists had to say:
Karl Burke
This workshop was initiated as an initial introduction to a possible partnership between the The Model and the groups Stravaganza from Derry and the touch the sky group from Sligo. Mark Garry and myself were invited to facilitate a workshop in response to the show, Reverse Pedagogy.
The day began with a walk through of the show with the group touch the the group were asked to make drawings in response to the show. Each individual were then asked to pass their drawing to the next participant who would then make a response to this. A simple process of creative democracy this section lasted for an hour and a half, each finished drawing being hung on the gallery wall.
After a tea break the group returned and were asked to dismantle one of the original artworks in the show. This work was a fairy like cave constructed out of cardboard boxes. Following this we asked the group what they would like to construct with this material in response to the drawings created before the break. The group decided to make a tree and a ship and divided in to two groups to do so.
After lunch the group returned upstairs where we created a live soundtrack to one of the video works in the show. This was achieved using a number of musical instruments I have collected over the years from xylophones, marimbas and shakers to name a few. This live improvised musical performance was recorded on video along with the earlier sessions.
I fell the day ran very smoothly with the group being continually engaged with a dynamic range of creative processes from drawing and sculpture to music. The group worked extremely well together creating a number of interesting responses to the show, Reverse Pedagogy.
Mark Garry
It was a really fantastic experience for me to see how another group of artists could engage with both the reverse pedagogy concept and reverse pedagogy exhibition . I found the day to be both enlightening and liberating to see how the lack of preciousness that this model allows . I found the group to be very open minded in there approach . I sometimes find facilitating one day workshops too short, one generally has to spend a period of time gaining the trust of the group but this was not the case in this instance and I think this is partially explained by the open mindedness of this group but this aligned with the creative freedom of the rev ped model made for a genuinely creative day.
Secondary School Students in the Gaiety for the Film for Schools programme
In partnership with the Irish Film Institute, The Model has been working to broaden the potential of film in schools and to facilitate both teachers and students to engage in film as a medium to enhance curricular learning. Through November The Model screened two films at the Sligo Gaiety Cinema to full a house. Over 300 students from secondary schools in Sligo attended screening of French film Entre Les Mur (The Class) and German film Das Versprechen (The Promise). Feed back was great for both films from the students and teachers. They talked about how appropriate The Promise was in a historical sense and its pitch was just right for the students. Again this comment came from both teacher and student. Of course all teachers are really looking forward to us moving back into The Model building and really looking forward to the film for schools programme in 2010.
Here is a quote from one of the teachers whose school attended The Class:
‘Students really enjoyed the film and feedback is excellent. Really appreciate all your organisation. Looking forward to next year'... Carol
Over the past number of weeks our Marketing Assistant Denise Rushe has been under-taking some research into Nora Niland, the woman behind The Niland Collection which is housed at The Model. We'll try to keep you updated via our blog on the information Denise is finding. Below she writes about what she has been up to so far;
Just over seven months ago I returned to live in Sligo, when I began working with The Model as Marketing Assistant. As I write this I am trying to remember at that time what knowledge I had on The Niland Collection, or the great lady behind it. I had been quite a regular but young visitor to The Model, and I guess had been more consumed with the current show, than the story behind the great collection.
Now working at The Model, I am surrounded by books and research on The Collection and the woman who inspired it. The past few months have been extremely busy in the Model offices as we prepare to return to our new building. Not only is there construction work being completed, but our new programme is being drawn together for 2010. I can't wait for our return to the new building though I have never worked there, I visited it plenty. I'm eager to see how the Collection is operated, and look forward to the major Yeats retrospective that will open next Summer in the new gallery space.
In the earlier years of The Model, Curator of Collection and Projects Emer McGarry undertook some research into the story of The Niland Collection which we currently use on our website to describe The Niland Collection. In the past couple of years, more research has been taken to discover the story behind Nora Niland's motivation and determination to build a collection of contemporary art work for Sligo.
Most recently, I have begun gathering information on Nora herself. This has involved meeting with people who may have worked with her or made her acquaintance through work or meetings. A key objective of my research is to find out why she was so motivated to draw together the Yeats paintings in the first instance, and to gain a better understanding of why she thought they were so important for Sligo to have. To date I have interviewed Stella Mews of the Yeats Society, received photographs from Cormac O'Malley in New York, and received old newspaper articles from earlier editions of the Sligo Champion. I've also gathered an list of contacts, most of whom I hope to contact over the next few months.
Through our blog I hope to keep our readers, and those with an interest in the story of Nora and the Niland collection informed on any new information and stories that I come across. I'd love to hear from you if you have any information or connections I should follow up with. You can comment below or email me or call me on 071-914 1405 o write to me at The Model, Unit 6, Cleveragh Retail Park, Sligo.
TRADE is a collaborative visual arts programme between Leitrim and Roscommon County Councils providing knowledge, resources and opportunities for visual artists to engage internationally. Rather than considering 'rural' as 'isolationary', TRADE emphasises that art is a global construct and encourages a freeflow of ideas and opportunities both for local artists to engage internationally as well as for international artists to participate locally.
Founded in 2004, TRADE (then called Artist as Traveller), invited artists such as Hou Hanru, Hüseyin Bhari Alptekin, Shin Egashira and Julie Bacon among others. Trade 2005 invited artists' agencies including N55, myvillages.org and M & M proyectos. Since 2006, TRADE consists of two elements -- a residential programme and a seminar event. Under our first residential programme, artists Alfredo Jaar and Rebecca Fortnum each worked with a group of artists from the two counties over the course of a year. The outcomes of these residencies were presented at the TRADE seminar the following December.
TRADE: Artists In Conversation
This weekend The Dock, in Carrick-on-Shannon, are hosting the 3 day seminar full of lectures, exhibitions and possibly a flood tour! John Gibbons and Darren Almond are currently leading two programmes of work with eight artists from Roscommon and Leitrim. At the seminar, Gibbons and Almond will give presentations about their own practice, whilst the two groups of artists they have been working with over the last number of months will give group presentations about their experience of the TRADE programme. Almond and Gibbons have invited Rod Menghan and Brian Dillon to also give keynote presentations at the seminar. Other speakers over the weekend include Katie Browne, Anna Mcleod and Christine Mackey, who have been participating in international residencies sponsored by TRADE.
The weekend is facilitated by Aideen Barry, Valerie Connor, Tessa Giblin, Mike Fitzpatrick and Declan McGonagle (Chair). TRADE is a partnership programme of Roscommon and Leitrim Arts Offices, supported by Roscommon and Leitrim County Councils and the Arts Council of Ireland.
For booking, registration and the full schedule, please visit the TRADE site.
Sligo Trades Club was an enormously successful members club, which ran as a centre for community in Sligo town between 1893 - 2007. At its height the club was unique in that it attracted people of all ages and backgrounds to come together - providing a forum for the exchange of ideas, music, poetry, song and dance. The Trades Club has been badly missed in the town in the past two years and this is evidenced by the 487 fans the revival project has attracted on its Facebook page, and by the attendance at public meetings about the club’s future over the past few weeks.
Construction work at the Trades Club this week
The positive response from the local community has been overwhelming. So far several people have generously contributed time and labour and great headway has been made in terms of preparation, painting, and general improvements.
Many more people have offered much needed advice on the bar and services aspect of running a club as well as plumbing, furniture design and the improvement of the yard. In addition the project has received generous donations of glassware and furniture from a local bar. In order for the club to fully reopen its doors as the kind of centre for the exchange of ideas, music and debate that it once was, further help and support is needed from members of the public.
Old nights in the Trades Club, recognise anyone?
Support is welcome in the form of skilled and unskilled labour, professional advice and design ideas. The club also needs equipment — sanitary ware, tiles, building materials and a bar top all need to be sourced. Input, advice and donations from members of the public are very welcome. In order to fund the further works that will see the club up and running once more a number of events are being organised for the Christmas period. The next public meeting will be held in the club on 24 November. More updates here>
Architects projection of the future Model
Over the past few weeks early plans have finally started to roll out in preparation for the exciting year ahead when the Model finally reopens on The Mall in Spring 2010. Works are currently drawing to a close at the Model building, and the staff here in our temporary offices are eagerly awaiting the return to our old, but very new home.
As the building will be 1/3 the size bigger than before, a number of exciting opportunities have arisen. We are currently seeking the following:
For further information call The Model directly on 071 9141405.
Here is an update from some of the people involved in running the parties;
Schools Programme- 'Collage parties' at Reverse Pedagogy
Artist Naomi Draper describes her expereince from thsi week's 'Collage Parties'
"The space has quite literally burst into colour!! Hundreds of young people visit the gallery last week, participating in a game that worked its way through three gallery spaces, the children embraced the challenge, jumping right in! They worked in groups, against the clock, playing with ideas, colours and textures, and applied them to the giant games board.
The time flew past and a great piece of work was made that should be examined closely. The range of ages made this a really interesting and exciting project to work on!!"
Irene Moloney, volunteer at the Collage Parties offered her journal of the activities;
Frenetic is a word that comes to mind. The younger children seemed to really enjoy the play with materials and the idea that they were contributing to a larger art work that would be seen by others. The older secondary school boys were engaged differently and like most teenage boys were inclined towards, what some in society might consider, the inappropriate and risque in the choice of imagery and text chosen. Over all I personally found the experience a positive one and the creative engagement with so many young people was challenging, hectic and enjoyable. I felt overall it was a success and all involved seemed to bet something out of it. Would I be willing to participate as a volunteer again in the future? The answer has to be yes
Facilitator Sophie Murray describes what she thought of the collage party;
As hectic as it was I found the week to be enjoyable, what I found most interesting was usually its the grown ups that teach the children but in my case it was the other way round. As adults we tend to think to much about things like "how will it look" or "I dont want to mess it up" but the kids just went for it. Their marks were delibrate but fun and it gave me some insight
on how I should look at my own way of working.
More pics here>
This week Chisenhale Gallery, London, premieres a new film by Glasgow-based Irish artist Duncan Campbell, co-commissioned by Chisenhale Gallery; Film and Video Umbrella; Tramway, Glasgow and The Model, Sligo.
The DeLorean car as featured in 'Back to The Future' trilogy
Make it new John tells the story of the DeLorean car, its creator John DeLorean and the workers of the Belfast-based car plant who built it. The film deftly contrasts the DeLorean dream with its spectacular downfall during a critical period in Northern Ireland's history, and the canonisation of the car — the DMC12 — as a symbol of the American myth of mobility.
The son of an immigrant Romanian foundry worker, John DeLorean possessed a natural talent for engineering which took him to the top of Chevrolet, General Motors' most important division. Leaving this behind he persuaded the British Government to back his new venture — building a factory in Dunmurry in Belfast to produce a new sports car. Almost immediately beset by financial difficulties and allegations of embezzlement, DeLorean's attempts to keep the factory open became increasingly desperate and corrupt, eventually leading to his arrest by the FBI. The factory - which employed 2000 workers - closed in 1982, having produced just over 9000 cars.
As with the earlier works such as Bernadette (2008) and Falls Burns Malone Fiddles (2003), in Make it new John Campbell fuses a documentary aesthetic with fictive moments, using existing archive news and documentary footage from the 1980s as well as new 16mm footage which imagines conversations between DeLorean factory workers. Campbell questions the documentary genre and reflects here on broader existential themes and narrative drives.
The DeLorean car gained huge notoriety due to the 1980's film triology 'Back To The Future' where the car featured as the time machine designed by Dr. Emmett Brown.
This is all part of an exciting progamme of events and film planned for The Model in 2010.