Talk to the Land: Recent Episodes
Ellie O'Byrne
UK artists Mel Jordan and Andy Hewitt, founders of the Partisan Social Club, have been on the trail of 19th century Cork philosopher and radical social reformer William Thompson, who not only inspired Marx, founded the idea of social science and wrote the first ever feminist text by a man in the English language, but who attempted to form a communal living experiment in West Cork in the 1820s.
“On the one hand, you can identify with them. You can see the hand of a human being. But, on the other hand, the time frame is so huge that you can’t really comprehend it.”
Barbara Knežević’s practice explores the meaning and purpose of objects. When she learned of the Lepenski Vir archaeological discovery on the banks of the River Danube in the former Yugoslavia, now Serbia, and the curious monumental sculptures, half humanoid and half fish, created there 10,000 years ago, connections between ideas of nationhood and displacement, as well as her quest to discover the drive behind material creation, gave rise to the production of her first film, Gvozdene Kapije (The Iron Gates), and a set of related sculptures.
“I like to think that pain has the potential to transform in some way, and it all depends on how you look at it.”
Samir Mahmood reflects on his move from a background in medicine, particularly health promotion, to his practice as a visual artist, in which he explores the connection between the material and the transcendental, often using his own body as a starting point.
From early collages, Samir, whose origins are in Pakistan, has moved to miniature painting, adopting some of the skills and norms of the tradition from the Indian subcontinent, but also subverting it by introducing themes relating to the experiences experienced of queer people.
“The thing that we can do as artists is to create public space so that the complex reality that farmers are dealing with can be heard and seen.”
Deirdre O’Mahony’s intensively researched collaborative projects, which can encompass film, installation, performance, feasts, pedagogical platforms and more, engage with the politics of land and landscape, often through the lens of food and farming. Now, she thinks she’s found a way to make the EU’s policymakers listen to what farmers are saying about their experience of climate change.
“My work is about people. It’s being a companion to the artist and a companion to the public. To develop something together, in dialogue, across a long period of time, that enables our personal development, but also enables us to engage in the social discussion of the moment.”
From volunteering at a festival in Coimbra, Portugal, as a politicised 18-year-old, to being the first ever Portuguese person to attend an MA in curatorship at the Royal College of Art in London, to his vision for a further five years at Sirius Arts Centre, Miguel Amado reflects on his directorship over the past five years and the Irish art scene more broadly.
“It’s this idea of needing to narrate your existence, and how you look and where you come from, and the complexity of yourself, and it’s having to do that in circumstances where you’re not sure exactly if every part of who you are is welcome.”
Alice Rekab’s Clann Miotlantach / Mythlantics is on in Sirius Arts Centre. The exhibition is, held both in the conventional gallery spaces of the institution and, for the first time, in its basement. Rekab is an Irish/Sierra Leonean artist based in Dublin who explores themes of familial and artistic connections, diaspora, and sense of place and belonging.
In the summer of 2024, works started on an extensive three phase restoration project at Sirius Arts Centre. Led by JCA Architects and Moroney Conservation, the works to the building began with restoring some of the features that architect Anthony Salvin designed for the RCYC clubhouse all the way back in the 1850s.
In the third and final instalment of Changing Tides, join conservation architect Gareth O’Callaghan to hear all about the exciting and ambitious works, some of which are completed, and some of which are underway, and hear an outline vision for the future of the historic building.
Changing Tides is supported by Cork County Council and the Heritage Council under Cork County Council’s Heritage Plan Funding 2024.
“The architects of these buildings are looking back to the Italian renaissance; this building is a revival of a revival, if you know what I mean.
This is an Irish building which is copying a Roman building of the renaissance, which is copying a building of Ancient Rome.”
Historian Tom Spalding is the man whose meticulous research proved that the Royal Cork Yacht Club, constructed in 1854 on the site of a pavilion first constructed for the visit of Queen Victoria, was designed by English architect Sir Anthony Salvin, best known for his restoration work on Windsor Castle and the Tower of London.
In episode 2 of Changing Tides, Tom revisits the very beginnings of the RCYC clubhouse, known today as SIRIUS arts centre.
Changing Tides is supported by Cork County Council and the Heritage Council under Cork County Council’s Heritage Plan Funding 2024.
“It was something that was broken, and I had to fix it.”
In 1987 Peter Murray, then curator at Crawford Art Gallery in Cork city, embarked on an extraordinary journey: his goal was to purchase and restore the then-derelict former Royal Cork Yacht Club building in Cobh and to transform it into a cultural venue. Over time, this vision crystalised: SIRIUS Arts Centre was to become an artist’s residency of international appeal, forging transatlantic connections.
Peter Murray’s voyage was by no means a solo one. In this in-depth conversation, he pays tribute to the many others whose hard work, time and generosity went into rescuing the RCYC building and making it into the arts centre it is today.
Changing tides is supported by Cork County Council and the Heritage Council under Cork County Council’s Heritage Plan Funding 2024.
Thais Muniz’s first solo show, Rites of Care, Curse & Comfort, is on at Sirius Arts Centre until October 19, 2024. The exhibition explores ideas of race, displacement and memory in a postcolonial context and incorporates video, performance, sculptural installations of found objects, and textiles.
In this episode of SIRIUS Podcasts, we join artist Sarah Browne, whose practice involves film, publishing and performance, to discuss her film installation Buttercup, which utilises the accessibility tools of audio description and captioning to explore the poetics of language interacting with image.
Buttercup focuses on a particular childhood photograph, depicting a child wearing a Communion dress on her family farm, next to her father and her pet cow, the eponymous Buttercup.
Buttercup is commissioned by SIRIUS and produced with funding from the Arts Council’s Arts and Disability Connect scheme managed by Arts & Disability Ireland. The presentation of Buttercup is produced by SIRIUS.
“A harbour, because of its particular geography and how industry has developed, and commerce and trade, lends itself to these bigger industrial and economic forces coming into play, and that´s what´s happening as you´re getting further down the river.” Aoife Desmond on two of her films showing at SIRIUS, both exploring the relationship between humans and nature: one feature poetically tracing the River Lee from source to sea, and a short companion piece commissioned by and filmed at SIRIUS that engages with the site and its surroundings.
After centuries of British rule and in just a few short years, Ireland gained independence. Join the final instalment of In and Out of Empire to find out what that meant for the people of Cobh, in the company of historians Kieran McCarthy and John Crotty.
The Royal Cork Yacht Club is the oldest yacht club in the world dating to before 1720, and its members were bound by a seafaring code of honour. But its members were also a wealthy elite class of Anglo-Irish aristocracy. Join RCYC archivist Paul McCarthy to learn more about the tradition of sailing in Cobh and later, following the RCYC's move from its Cobh clubhouse, in Crosshaven.
The lives of the women of Cobh, including members of Cumann na mBan, servants who worked for the Royal Cork Yacht Club and the affluent wives and daughters of members of the club are explored in this history podcast, which examines the building that Cobh's Sirius Arts Centre is now housed in.
Historian Tom Spalding gives a glimpse back in time at the building of the Royal Cork Yacht Club clubhouse, now the Sirius Arts Centre. Did English architect Anthony Salvin design the building? Why did Cobh change its name to Queenstown after a royal visit that lasted just seven minutes? And how did any of this happen in the immediate aftermath of a devastating famine and a cholera epidemic? Also featuring Dr Alicia St Leger, RCYC archivist Paul McCarthy, and some echoes of history scripted by playwright Katie Holly.
In and Out of Empire was commissioned by SIRIUS and researched and produced with support from Cork County Council's Commemorations Grant Scheme 2021 and the Heritage Council's Community Heritage Grant Scheme 2022.
This podcast series explores the history of the building that houses the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh: the former RCYC clubhouse, constructed with the aid of the Smith-Barry family on the site of the visit of Queen Victoria, has been at the centre of a town divided by class and allegiance, one that has a fascinating past both in and out of the British Empire.
In and Out of Empire was commissioned by SIRIUS and researched and produced with support from Cork County Council's Commemorations Grant Scheme 2021 and the Heritage Council's Community Heritage Grant Scheme 2022.
In Part Two of Landmarks of Rebellion, we stop at a street that was renowned for its Republican sympathies, discuss an ambush that had tragic consequences for an innocent man, visit a safe house with a secret tunnel, and discover what Cobh people thought of the famous James Connolly on two visits that he made.
Landmarks of Rebellion is a Sirius Podcasts Production recorded, presented and edited by Ellie O´Byrne under the direction of Miguel Amado. Special thanks to Kieran McCarthy for sharing his expertise and his time.
The town of Cobh in Cork Harbour is steeped in history. Every step you take, from its quaysides to its narrow winding streets and mighty cathedral, is a step back in time.
Landmarks of Rebellion is a two-part series by Sirius Podcasts where we are joined by local historian Kieran McCarthy.
In Part One of Landmarks of Rebellion, the Cobh landmarks we visit give a fascinating insight into the Cobh IRA's ability to get their hands on British weapons between the 1916 Rising and the War of Independence two years later. We also delve into the power of the church in forming public opinion on rebellion, and examine a chilling ambush that reveals how locals felt about both the Royal Irish Constabulary and the notorious Black and Tans.
A new two-part series on the history of Cobh landmarks is coming soon to Sirius Podcasts
Having interviewed all four artists and many participants from the Creative Enquiry Arts and Older People residencies, Ellie O'Byrne takes a look at some common themes, from the importance of retaining our individualism in the ageing process to emphasising time, trust and process over product in creative engagements with older people.
"Sometimes, working with older people, they've seen it all so they're often much more open than you'd expect them to be and really willing to try things and put themselves out there." Helga Deasy and Susan McManamon reflect on their movement and music work with Nazareth House nursing home and Mayfield Men's Shed as part of their Creative Enquiry into Arts and Older people with MusicAlive.
“I said this isn’t going to work, not with the crowd that we have. If you can imagine seventy-year-olds in a room and they’ve never done proper singing before and suddenly they’re doing all this stretching and breathing." Noel Keohane of Mayfield Men's Shed Choir describes the ups and downs of working with Helga Deasy and Susan McManamon on music and movement workshops during their Creative Enquiry Arts and Older people residency with MusicAlive. Could the choir overcome their hesitance and risk tapping into the creative rewards of the project?
At Nazareth House nursing home in Mallow, Co Cork, dancer Helga Deasy and musician Susan McManamon, who worked together on their Creative Enquiry Arts and Older People residency with MusicAlive, have returned after two years to give another music and movement workshop. Hear from Mary Curtin, who is married to Seán, also a resident, and from mother and daughter Sheila Sullivan and Margaret Aherne, who both live in Nazareth House.
Font size on printed materials, transport, the time that events are on, no-one to go with, weather, the cost of tickets: find out what artist Marie Brett learned about the barriers that prevent older people from attending arts festival events. Marie worked with Cork Midsummer Festival on her Cultural Lore project to answer specific research questions on access to arts for older people. When it comes to ageing and arts, she says, one size very definitely doesn't fit all.
Walking sticks, like traditional crafts, are often handed down from generation to generation within a family. Artist Marie Brett has all-too-real firsthand experience of how traditional skills can slip from our grasp: she comes from a family that were once farriers. Marie's Cultural Lore project was her Creative Enquiry residency at Cork Midsummer Festival. Join Marie, Eugene Trindles from Celtic Stickmakers and Karina Healy from The Lantern Project for this episode of the Arts & Ageing podcast. NOW ARCHIVED ON SIRIUS PODCASTS.
Artist Colette Lewis discusses the Creative Enquiry residency you heard about in Part 1 and shares what she learned about making communities of interest, about entrenched ageism in our society, and about practical ways to ensure creative projects are inclusive of older people. NOW ARCHIVED ON SIRIUS PODCASTS
The key to a sustainable future is to preserve the place-based knowledge of the past. In part one of The Arts & Ageing Podcast, join retired fisherman Kevin Jones, Moggy Somers of community environmental group Cobh Zero Waste and artist Colette Lewis as they discuss the Local Know-how project, which was part of Colette's Creative Enquiry residency at Cobh's Sirius Arts Centre, exploring arts and ageing. NOW ARCHIVED ON SIRIUS PODCASTS
How can we continue to nurture our creativity as we age? What can artists bring to the table? An eight-part podcast series on arts and older people as part of What Next? Arts and Ageing Resources, a programme funded by the Arts Council and initiated by Cork City Council. Originally published every Monday from the 4th of October 2021, the full Arts & Ageing podcast series is now archived on Sirius Podcasts.
If you were offered a pill right now that would make you immortal, would you take it? Artist, curator and filmmaker Anton Vidokle would. Enter the strange and wonderful world of Russian Cosmism in Vidokle's company, an ideology originating in the 19th century in which immortality and the technological ability to resurrect our ancestors sees humans colonising the cosmos. Vidokle's trilogy of films, Immortality for All, see the artist dive deep into Cosmism.
“I feel like I’m One, Here, Now. But I know that this was the invitation to everybody.”
Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes is leading Sirius Arts Centre's 2023 summer school, on the practice of visionary Irish American artist Brian O'Doherty.
"His practice was a social practice, something that really doesn’t stop with the wall or the frame on the nail ends. It’s us working in his wake, and carrying out the things that he already predicted we might have to do. He inserted himself into these future wranglings, knowing there were resources involved and difficult decisions. He was a consummate diplomat, an actor in the art world’s different corners."
In 2011, Holly Marie Parnell's family emigrated to Canada in search of a reasonable standard of living: Holly's younger brother David is quadriplegic and has complex care needs. Against a backdrop of Irish post-crash austerity, the Parnells felt they had no choice but to leave.
"Families were given the choice of institutionalising their child or doing the care themselves and being plunged into poverty," Holly says. Holly's powerful 2023 film Cabbage is an intimate portrayal of the family's return to Ireland and the world of her brother, who communicates and writes poetry with eye-gaze technology.
After years raising her family, Pakistani-born artist Amna Walayat has been building a powerful art career in Ireland: her miniatures subvert an art form traditionally seen as decorative and feminine and turn them into a conversation about sexual politics and power dynamics. In October 2022, she was finishing up a residency at Sirius Arts Centre. She talks about reclaiming her kitchen table as a space to make art, building a sense of identity amongst South Asian communities in Ireland, and why she wants the Punjabi spring kite festival of Basant to be as big as Electric Picnic.
UK artists Mel Jordan and Andy Hewitt, founders of the Partisan Social Club, have been on the trail of 19th century Cork philosopher and radical social reformer William Thompson, who not only inspired Marx, founded the idea of social science and wrote the first ever feminist text by a man in the English language, but who attempted to form a communal living experiment in West Cork in the 1820s.
“In an ideal world, I’d like them to have a moment of solace.”
In this final instalment in the three-part conversation at SIRIUS with artist Marie Brett, recorded live for Culture Night 2022, learn about the large scale artwork Ritual of Stone and Water: Pilgrimage to the Ninth Wave Multiverse, commissioned by SIRIUS, which Marie built as a place of refuge for people following the “massive collective trauma” of Covid.
“I tend to seek out what I call ‘inhuman places,’ so it’s not that humans aren’t there, it’s just that these are places where I feel that I’m actually hearing the place. Places where I can basically eavesdrop.”
Composer and sound recordist Karen Power in conversation in Sirius Arts Centre about recording under the ice in Antarctica, the humbling experience of recording in environments that contain dangers for humans, and how she works with musicians and these field recordings to produce a “duet between a human and nature.”
"Shop-dropping is kind of the opposite of shop-lifting" - artist, activist, author and co-director of Social Practice CUNY Gregory Sholette on shop-dropping the Guggenheim gift-shop with Gulf Labour Coalition, the Dark Matter of the art world, his stay in SIRIUS, and his latest book, The Art of Activism and the Activism of Art.
"They're almost like dust, enlarged." Cobh-based artist Fiona Kelly has constructed scalahedrons that mimic the structure of calcite crystals, one of the most commonly found minerals on the planet.
Join Fiona and host Ellie O'Byrne in SIRIUS to discuss her residency at industrial waste recycling company Gannon Eco in her native Co Westmeath, her fascination with Eskers and with humanity's tireless extraction of the earth's resources.
“I’m never satisfied with my work, ever, ever. For me, I have to find peace with that and accept that if I was to do that work again, I’d do it differently.”
Visit with artist Marie Brett in Cobh’s Sirius Arts Centre as she talks through a large survey show spanning over a decade of her socially engaged practice. In part one, The Hidden Mountain, we explored Marie's filmic works. Here, the focus is on her installation works.
“They’re big topics. But it’s what makes us human, isn’t it?” West Cork artist Marie Brett works with huge and often taboo themes including the ambiguous loss felt by dementia sufferers and their carers, death rituals and human trafficking.
Join SIRIUS Podcasts to chart the artist's life and her childhood growing up in Birmingham to Irish parents, and to explore her filmic works presented as part of her 2022 survey show at SIRIUS.
SIRIUS Podcasts is a new podcast series launching on May 23rd on all good podcast platforms. Subscribe to hear conversations with a diverse array of artists recorded in Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh, Co. Cork.