Art project to embark on rural tour and put farming 'under the spotlight'
A new art project named 'The Quickening' is set to explore the actions taken around farming, food production and consumption in the face of present "ecological and climate crises".
Food production, farming and climate change are put "under the spotlight" as part of a new sound and visual art project.
The project will open in The Douglas Hyde Gallery of Contemporary Art at Trinity College before it sets out on a tour around rural Ireland.
It opens to the public on Friday, March 29 and will run until Sunday, June 23, and includes a 'Walls and Halls' tour of six rural locations in Ireland from Thursday, April 18 to Saturday, May 4.
Each venue screening event includes a respondent and question and answer session. The programming is being developed in partnership with Art Centres and County Arts Offices for local farming communities.
The tour visits the following places at the locations and times listed:
| Date | Time | Venue | Hosted and Supported by |
| Thursday, 18 April | 7pm | Rathanna Community Hall, Borris, Co. Carlow, R95 HH68 | Carlow Community Environmental Network, VISUAL Carlow, and Carlow Arts Office |
| Friday, 19 April | 7pm | Coolydoody Farm, Ballyduff, Co. Waterford, P51 X084 | Clodagh and James Foley, and Lismore Castle Arts |
| Wednesday, 24 April | 7pm | The Powerhouse, Callan, Co. Kilkenny, R95 XN35 | Butler Gallery, Kilkenny |
| Saturday, 27 April | 3pm | Foresters’ Hall, Aughrim, Co. Wicklow, Y14 KX01 | Kunstverein Aughrim |
| Tuesday, 30 April | 7pm | STAC Chapel, Kickham Plaza, Davis Road, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary | South Tipperary Arts Centre (STAC) |
| Saturday, 4 May | 11am | Blackbird Cultur-Lab, Haresmead, Foulksmills, Co. Wexford, Y35 XW93 | Karla Sánchez and Oisín O’Connell, and Wexford Arts Office |
The Quickening is three years of research which included sculptural plantings, workshops and performative feasts held in the City Assembly House in Dublin, and the Butler Gallery in Co. Kilkenny under the theme "Sustainment Experiments."
Artist, Deirdre O’Mahony said:
“The starting point has been multiple conversations between farmers, scientists and politicians that generated open conversations about food production and current challenges.
“These were transcribed for a libretto by Joanna Walsh, along with singers and musicians, among them was Siobhán Kavanagh and Ultan O’ Brien."
O'Mahony said that the sound they created will communicate activities such as sowing and harvesting, extreme weather, along with concerns about the "reality of farming life".
The sounds of breathing animals, insect and soil creatures will be included in the soundscape.
The project "gives voice" to the major characters that "shape" our Earth's future, O' Mahony explained.
The Quickening was commissioned and research supported by the following;
- The Douglas Hyde Gallery of Contemporary Art and is supported by Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon;
- The Douglas Hyde;
- Irish Museum of Modern Art, Co. Dublin;
- Kilkenny Arts Office;
- Wexford Arts Centre;
- Fire Station Artists’ Studios Residency and Sculpture Award;
- Kilkenny Arts Office/Centre Culturel Irlandais Residency Award, Paris;
- National Sculpture Factory, Co. Cork;
- Butler Gallery Soil Residency, Co. Kilkenny;
- Visual Carlow residency;
- University College Dublin (UCD) Parity Studios Residency with UCD Earth Institute;
- Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
Alongside Deirdre, 'The Quickening' was co-produced by Georgina Jackson and Éilis Lavelle.
Libretto was developed by Joanna Walsh, with performers Branwen Kavanagh, Michelle Doyle and Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin.
Film and photography was by Tom Flanagan and Saskia Vermeulen. Sound recordist and audio post mix was completed by John Brennan and the editor was Michael Higgins.
