Even The Birds Are Waiting For That Day On a wintry morning at The Model in early December, I heard the familiar sound of a letter drop through the postbox. I opened the envelope to find a beautiful drawing of Sligo Library by Levi Coada. This was the first entry to our inaugural Christmas drawing competition 2020 which was accompanied by a letter written by Levi, who wrote that “his favourite place in Sligo is the library” and he can’t wait for it to open. “Even the birds are waiting for that day.”, he went on to write. Levi Coada, age 6, of JFK Parade, Sligo town has won first prize (category 4-7 years) in The Model Drawing Competition, ‘Landmarks of Sligo’. His words echo what many of us feel and think since the doors of our favourite cultural institutions have been in lockdown. Míde Cregan, age 7 of Castletroy, Co. Limerick received second prize in this category. The other winners in the category 8 – 12 years were Noya B. Mountbouli, Sree Hari Nair, Yasmin Hughes, Anna Sproule, Shi Xian Lin and Arianna Vera Ruiz. We are delighted to present all of their drawings on The Model website as part of our children’s activities, alongside the commissioned drawings of Strandhill-based artist Shannon Re. Families can download all of the drawings as a colouring activity. They can even create their very own ‘Sligo Landmarks’ Colouring Book. Marie-Louise Blaney, Education Curator, The Model

Marie Foley   The Great Breath, 1997 sycamore, yew and porcelain  The Graeve Collection on long-term loan to The Niland Collection     Marie Foley is an Irish artist and sculptor, born in Kanturk, Co. Cork. She studied her craft at the Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork, the Cardiff School of Art & Design and Goldsmiths College, London. In her work, which combines found objects with handmade forms, the artist fuses the mysterious with the familiar, creating a captivating effect rooted in awe and wonder. By linking together weighty elements with fragile porcelain constructions, Foley relates her work to the relationship between the body and the spirit. Although not monogamous to a singular religion, the artist’s sculptures are deeply linked to spirituality; rooted in both Christianity and Celtic mythology but also allied to the philosophies of the indigenous tribes of America, Ancient Egypt and Asia.    The sculptural works of Marie Foley combine elements from the natural world, wood, metals, stone, and glass with salvaged materials and porcelain creations. Her artistic practice explores the ideas of past and present along with the material and metaphysical world. The Great Breath blends components which are foreign to one another yet are delicately unified with the porcelain structure acting as an anchor to the sycamore and yew.     “The Great Breath refers to the beginning of the process of manifestation… that first breath… in out…. The Within and Without… Synthesis of all.” – Marie Foley    Foley has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions on a world-wide stage, including Europe, Canada, America and Japan. She was the first Irish Artist to have a solo Exhibition in the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin in 1991. She has received various awards including International Ceramic Award, a Canada Council award and The New Horizons Award from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and in 1996. @artscouncilireland @sligocountycouncil

Thanks to Wayne O’Connor and Cormac O’Leary for a great Q&A on Zoom this morning for our January Artist Breakfast Club. #sligo

The Artist Breakfast Club meets up again over Zoom tomorrow Wednesday, January 6th. We will be joined by painter Cormac O'Leary and illustrator Wayne O'Connor. They will each discuss their practice and engage with the group through a Q&A. As always the event is free but registration is required (link in bio). We look forward to seeing you then.

Happy New Year! The first IMA of 2021 includes well known Sligo musician, arranger and composer Kieran Quinn who will perform some of his own pieces on piano, and also collaborate with members of Sligo Baroque Orchestra for two compositions by Michael Rooney. Members of SBO will perform a program of mainly Vivaldi, including a Flute Concerto and the Double Mandolin Concerto. They are joined by Dionne Timms on Viola, and Ramona Sakalauskaite on Harp. Ramona and her students will ad a flavour of Christmas with two seasonal Harp pieces as well.

Featherheads and Dreamers; Winter Embers premiered on our Facebook and YouTube channels last night. Watch it back for a celebration of music, poetry, spoken word and visual art under the shadow of Benbulben. Featuring performances from Juliana Holland, Steve Wickham, Alice Lyons, Ruth Clinton and Cormac MacDiarmada, and visual art contributions from Judith Cornwell, James Kelly, Anita McGarry, Dominic Corrigan, and David Fahey. #Sligo #TheModelMusic #sligomusic #winterembers #featherheadsanddreamers