Cover Story, September 2023: The Pilgrim in Ireland
Wed, Sep 6 2023
September 2023 cover story on www.lttds.org
The September 2023 monthly Cover Story “The Pilgrim in Ireland” is now up on our homepage: www.lttds.org
“During the last two weeks of August, we traveled to Ireland alongside the artist Eulàlia Rovira as part of the second chapter of the residency exchange project The Pilgrim.” → Continue reading (after September 2023 this story will be archived here).
Cover Stories are published on a monthly basis on Latitudes’ homepage featuring past, present, or forthcoming projects, research, texts, artworks, exhibitions, films, objects, or field trips related to our curatorial projects and activities.
→ RELATED CONTENTS:
- Archive of Monthly Cover Stories
- Cover Story, July–August 2023: Honeymoon in Valencia, 1 July 2023
- Cover Story, June 2023: Crystal Bennes futures, 1 Jun 2023
- Cover Story, May 2023: Ruth Clinton & Niamh Moriarty in Barcelona, 1 May 2023
- Cover Story, April 2023: Jerónimo Hagerman (1967–2023), 1 Apr 2023
- Cover Story, March 2023: Art, Climate and New Coalitions, 1 March 2023
- Cover Story, February 2023: Soil for Future Art Histories, 2 Feb 2023
- Cover Story, January 2023: Claudia Pagès’ ‘Gerundi Circular’, 2 Jan 2023
- Cover Story, December 2022: “The Melt Goes On Forever. David Hammons and DART Festival, 1 December 2022
- Cover Story, November 2022: Jorge Satorre’s Barcelona, 1 Nov 2022
- Cover Story, October 2022: Stray Ornithologies—Laia Estruch, 3 Oct 2022
- Cover Story, September 2022: Erratic behaviour—Latitudes in conversation with Jorge Satorre, 31 August 2022
“The Pilgrim” in Barcelona and Askeaton
Tue, Jan 31 2023
Left to right: Eulàlia Rovira (photo by Aníbal Parada), Ruth Clinton (photo by Colm Keating) and Niamh Moriarty (photo by Cian Flynn).
Askeaton Contemporary Arts and Latitudes are delighted to announce the launch of “The Pilgrim”, a pilot exchange programme linking the two organisations in southwest Ireland and Barcelona, respectively, and Irish artists Ruth Clinton & Niamh Moriarty with Catalan artist Eulàlia Rovira. Throughout 2023, artist residencies and a public programme will enhance new artistic and curatorial research, and create new possibilities for international collaboration.
“The Pilgrim”’s curatorial framework derives from an extraordinary story from over two centuries ago. It is recalled that a Barcelona merchant named Don Martínez de Mendoza, one of the wealthiest men in Catalonia during the mid-1700s, murdered his son-in-law to avenge the death of his daughter in childbirth in a Barcelona convent years before. Don Martínez ended up living his last sixteen years as a pilgrim in penance in Askeaton, County Limerick. A cryptic inscription can still be found in the cloister of Askeaton Friary: “Beneath lies the Pilgrim’s Body, who died January 17, 1784”.
More info here.
#PilgrimAskeaton
The Pilgrims Grave, Duffy’s Fireside Magazine, January 1853.
Since 2006, the artist-led initiative Askeaton Contemporary Arts has commissioned, produced and exhibited over a hundred contemporary art projects in County Limerick, Ireland.
Latitudes is a Barcelona-based curatorial office that works internationally across contemporary art practices. It was initiated in 2005 by Max Andrews and Mariana Cánepa Luna.
“The Pilgrim” is supported by the Irish Arts Council’s International Residency Initiatives Scheme 2022.
RELATED CONTENTS:
- Audio – "The Pilgrim" by Tim Kelly. Read by Carl Doran. Published in Askeaton-Balysteen Community News, Summer 1984, August 2018, 24'57''
- Cover Story–August 2018: Askeaton Joyride, 1 August 2018
- Residency report: Askeaton Contemporary Arts, County Limerick, Ireland, 20–29 July 2018x, 30 July 2018
Cover Story–August 2018: Askeaton Joyride
Wed, Aug 1 2018
The August 2018 Monthly Cover Story "Askeaton Joyride" is now up on Latitudes' homepage: www.lttds.org
"Strange and wonderful things happen in Askeaton—especially during each summer for the last thirteen years. Initiated by artists Michele Horrigan and Sean Lynch in 2006, the residency programme Welcome to the Neighbourhood hosts artists and curators in the midst of this small town community in County Limerick, Ireland, under the umbrella of Askeaton Contemporary Arts."
—> Continue reading
—> After August 2018 it will be archived here.
Cover Stories' are published on a monthly basis on Latitudes' homepage featuring past, present or forthcoming projects, research, texts, artworks, exhibitions, films, objects or field trips related to our curatorial activities.
RELATED CONTENT:
- Archive of Monthly Cover Stories
- Cover Story – July 2018: "No Burgers for Sale" 2 July 2018
- Cover Story—June 2018: Near-Future Artworlds Curatorial Disruption Foresight Group 4 June 2018
- Cover Story – May 2018: "Shadowing Roman Ondák" 7 May 2018
- Cover Story – April 2018: "Cover Story—April 2018: Dates, 700 BC to the present: Michael Rakowitz" 3 April 2018
- Cover Story – March 2018: "Armenia's ghost galleries" 6 March 2018
- Cover Story – February 2018: Paradise, promises and perplexities 5 February 2018
- Cover Story – January 2018: I'll be there for you, 2 January 2018
- Cover Story – December 2017: "Tabet's Tapline trajectory", 4 December 2017
- Cover Story – November 2017: "Mining negative monuments: Ângela Ferreira, Stone Free, and The Return of the Earth", 1 November 2017
- Cover Story – October 2017: Geologic Time at Stanley Glacier 11 October 2017
- Cover Story – September 2017: Dark Disruption. David Mutiloa's 'Synthesis' 1 September 2017
- Cover Story – August 2017: Walden 7; or, life in Sant Just Desvern 1 August 2017
- Cover Story – July 2017: 4.543 billion 3 July 2017
- Cover Story – June 2017: Month Light–Absent Forms 1 June 2017
- Cover Story – May 2017: S is for Shale, or Stuart; W is for Waterfall, or Whipps 1 May 2017
- Cover Story – April 2017: Banff Geologic Time 3 April 2017
- Cover Story – March 2017: Time travel with Jordan Wolfson 1 March 2017
Residency: Askeaton Contemporary Arts, County Limerick, Ireland, 20–29 July 2018
Mon, Jul 30 2018
The annual residency programme ‘Welcome to the Neighbourhood’ curated by Askeaton Contemporary Art's director Michele Horrigan has situated Irish and international artists in the midst of Askeaton, a small town in County Limerick since its conception in 2006. Over one hundred artist's projects have been realised in public spaces throughout the town, bringing forward layers of daily life and creating a rich framework for encounters.
In its thirteenth year, the 2018 edition of ‘Welcome to the Neighbourhood’ invited artists Matt Calderwood, Jonny Lyons, Ruth Clinton and Niamh Moriarty, and curators Gareth Bell-Jones (Flat Time House, London) and Latitudes.
Latitudes arrived at Askeaton on the 20th, following a short stint in Dublin's The LAB Gallery where they participated in a closed-door seminar in the context of the exhibition ‘I Slept Like A Stone’ curated by Sheena Barrett and Julia Moustacchi.
Banqueting Hall next to Desmond Castle is also under restoration.
Tour by the OPW workers restoring Desmond Castle.
"Glasgow-based artist Jonny Lyons debuts a new installation, Joyride, at Askeaton Community Hall. Impressed by the rhythm and assured style of card playing he encountered in Askeaton, his artwork was realised in collaboration with local card sharks William Sheehan, James and Antoinette Fitzgerald, and Noel McCarthy. Surreally they appeared unannounced early one morning at high tide in the middle of the River Deel, playing the trick-taking card game of forty-fives that originated in Ireland on a specially constructed pontoon." [Text by Askeaton Contemporary Arts]
“Dublin and Sligo-based artists Ruth Clinton and Niamh Moriarty are known for their intense sensitivity to microhistories and the local. In recent days they have uncovered the story of Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland’s visit to Askeaton, soon after being dumped by Julia Roberts days before their planned wedding in 1990. A 24-year-old Sutherland ended up in the west of Ireland where, in his own words, he was going to “try have a drink in every town I passed through.” Clinton and Moriarty’s artwork acts as a form of fan fiction, a stream of consciousness spread throughout the rooms of Cagney’s Bar and Ranahan’s Pub. A lino print and video accompany a photograph of Sutherland partying in Askeaton, while the artists perform an intimate scripted theatrical performance in the snug of Ranahan’s at 3.15pm and 5pm respectively.” [Text by Askeaton Contemporary Arts]
It's been grand!
RELATED CONTENT:
The programme began on July 14 and wrapped up on July 28th with an Open Day where the artists-in-residence unveiled the works they had produced.
 |
| 2018 programme. |
"Many public events have occurred during Welcome to the Neighbourhood, each introducing new perspectives to the role and purpose of contemporary art and knowledge production in the Limerick region. Public talks by Gareth Bell-Jones (Flat Time House, London), Latitudes, Patrick Comerford and Karin Dubsky (Coastwatch Europe) explored topics from contemporary curating practice to El Greco and marine ecology. Carl Doran’s ongoing collaborative work with Askeaton Castle’s conservation theme was showcased, while Anthony Sheehy led tours of Askeaton’s medieval heritage." [Text by Askeaton Contemporary Arts]
Artist and "Welcome to the neighbourhood" mastermind curator Michele Horrigan in Desmond Castle.
Artist Sean Lynch talking about the previous editions of "Welcome to the neighbourhood".
Sunday BBQ with ACA family. Rory Prout (left) and 2018 "Welcome to the neighbourhood" artist Matt Calderwood (right).
Local guide Anthony Sheehy has led tours around Askeaton since 1964.
(Above and below) Visiting the RUSAL Aughinish alumina plant near Askeaton.
Picnic site on our way to Lismore Castle.
2018 "Welcome to the neighbourhood" artist Niamh Moriarty and ACA Assistant Curator, Jessica Kelly.
(Above and below) Visiting Lismore castle’s impressive gardens.
Detail of Stuart Whipps's work included in "The Expanded Field" exhibition co-curated by Lismore Castle Arts and Askeaton Contemporary Arts at the St Carthage Hall, Lismore, which also presents work by The Center for Land Use Interpretation, Olivia Plender, The Domestic Godless, Superfolk and Filip Van Dingenen.
(Above and below) The Grange Stone circle, the largest stone circle in Ireland, was built by the Bronze Age people who lived around Lough Gur in 2100 BC.
Enchanting studio visit with local legend and stick-maker Seanie Barron.
View of Desmond Castle from the top floor of the Civic Trust.
As we later learn, these two rectangular columns in Askeaton's Friary contained a much-hunted treasure. It became the spur for Latitudes' research in the links between Barcelona and Askeaton. To be continued...
In "The Pilgrim", Latitudes reprised a 1984 article written by Tim Kelly in the back issues of The ABC News, Askeaton’s annual journal. Made available online and through social media platforms, an excerpt was heard at the Franciscan friary, of a dramatic narrative bringing to life a cryptic inscription found in the cloister there that reads "Beneath lies the Pilgrim's body, who died January 17, 1784". The story is read aloud by artist Carl Doran. The tale involves an Italian, a Spaniard, and a morbid blood hunt that links Barcelona with Askeaton.
Hear more at https://soundcloud.com/lttds/the-pilgrim
Cloister in the Franciscan friary.
Ray Griffin's magic hands fabricating Matt Calderwood's boat.
Matt's first rehearsal, testing the oars on the River Deel.
Ray and Matt carrying the boulder to the water.
"London-based artist Matt Calderwood’s installation Erractic (Approximately 4.5 Tonnes) can be seen floating on the River Deel. With a healthy interest in what the artist describes as the “non-expert production of things”, Calderwood without any prior experience, guidance or clear blueprints, constructed his own boat, and vigorously rowed it up and down the Deel. On Open Day, it is seen on the river with what appears to be an enormous rock inside it. The longer you look at this apparition, the more uncomfortable its appearance becomes as if the boat and stone were a tangential echo or parallel universe of the stone buildings and maritime traditions of the region. In addition, a series of large-scale prints detail a selection of Askeaton stones, some real, some not, seen in various locations throughout the town." [Text by Askeaton Contemporary Arts]
Matt floatin’ out on the River Deel. He sails off accompanied by two show-dog Rottweilers (they are not part of the work!).
Matt Calderwood and rock on the River Deel in front of Askeaton's 14th Century Franciscan Friary.
(Making of) Jonny Lyons’s "Joyride" during the morning high tide at the River Deel.
Players signing two joker cards.
On Saturday 28 July, the Open Day, over 50 guests joined the tour which took off from Askeaton's Civic Trust.
Matt Calderwood's boat made a new apparition upstream for the Open Day.
Calderwood displayed some large prints at a former hair salon. Below Calderwood discusses his work with Sean Lynch.
Jonny Lyons's new installation, Joyride, at Askeaton Community Hall. Featured in Latitudes' August 2018 Monthly Cover Story (after August it will be archived here).
A paparazzi moment with the artist and the card players. Below Lyons's installation presents the table borrowed from Ranahan's pub on the pontoon, alongside a fresh Guinness pint, two signed joker cards and the 7 of hearts – the card that blew away during the making of.
Ruth and Niamh reenact the small photograph on the upper left which can be found at Cagney’s Bar – featuring two local women aside from a broken-hearted Kiefer Sutherland (here brought to life by artist Jonny Lyons).
It's been grand!
RELATED CONTENT:
- Residents, ‘Welcome to the Neighbourhood’, Askeaton Contemporary Arts, Askeaton, Ireland, 20–29 July 2018.
- Research residency, CAPC musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, April–May 2016.
- Residency, Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco, 26 August–9 September 2015.
- Visiting Curator Program, Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne, 12 May–7 June 2014.
- Residency, Spring Workshop, Hong Kong. Invited by Heman Chong and Defne Ayas in the context of the year-long programme Moderation(s) between Witte de With (Rotterdam) and Spring Workshop (Hong Kong), 7 January–10 February 2013.
- Deutsche Börse Residency Programme, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt. Invited by Chus Martínez, August 2008.
Report from Dublin and Derry-Londonderry: research trip to Ireland, 8–14 March 2013
Sat, Mar 16 2013
View of Dublin's 1816 Ha'penny Bridge nearby Temple Bar.
Invited by Dublin City Council: The Arts Office, Latitudes visited art spaces, artists' studios and galleries in Dublin and Derry-Londonderry throughout the week.
The schedule included visits to the Red Stables Studios; Temple Bar Gallery + Studios; Fire Station Artists' Studios; Green On Red Gallery; Kevin Kavanagh Gallery and Project Arts Centre - Visual Arts, as well as talks by Latitudes to students of the MA in Visual Arts Practices (MAVIS) (8 March, 3pm), and at the recently inaugurated CCA Derry~Londonderry (9 March, 7pm) as well as participation in the seminar "Within the Public Realm" at the Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane (12 March, 2–5pm), alongside curator Aisling Prior and the artist Sean Lynch.
Latitudes
was invited to Dublin in the context of the Barcelona Mayor's visit to
Dublin and the renewing of the twinning agreement between the two
cities. Here a coffee table at the Lord Mayor's Mansion House displays "Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape" and "Barcelona" books.
Talking to MA in Visual Arts Practice (MAVIS) students at The Lab on 8 March. Photo: @lemuela
9 March: After +4h bus ride north, we arrive at Centre for Contemporary Art in Derry–Londonderry for a talk that evening at 7pm.
View of CCA's galleries hosting the touring exhibition The Grand Domestic Revolution GOES ON (GDR), which in Derry-Londonderry "focuses on the contemporary working conditions of caregivers—primarily mothers and grandmothers—in the domestic sphere."
In the galleries, two of the London-based design collective Åbäke (Patrick Lacey, Benjamin Reichen, Kajsa Ståhl and Maki Suzuki), building a bed inspired by a 1970s design by Enzo Mari.
Sunday walk around the Bloody Sunday Memorial and the Bogside area of Derry-Londonderry.
Two of the murals around Bogside.
Ernesto Che Guevara Lynch mural in Derry-Londonderry's Bogside.
With Aileen and Johan at Kinnagoe Bay in Donegal, site of 1588 shipwreck of one of the Spanish Armada ships.
11 March: Back to our temporary home in Dublin's The Red Stables in St. Anne's Park.
A windswept North Bull Island looking towards the city.
12 March: Studio visits at Temple Bar Studios + Gallery in the heart of the city.
Setting up for the 2–5pm talk at The Hugh Lane Dublin City Gallery organised by MAVIS, The Hugh Lane and Dublin City Council.
After the seminar, artists Sean Lynch and Michele Horrigan took us to see the 'failed' Richard Serra nearby the Guiness factory.
Studio of Martin Healy in Fire Station Artists' Studios and his work around perpetual motion.
Artist Maria Mc Kinney research on wheat weaving and straw craft techniques for her project 'Garlands'.
Karl Burke "wooden drawings" photos and renderings.
Crossing the Sean O'Casey bridge to begin a gallery tour including Green on Red Gallery, Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Project Arts Space and Temple Bar Studios + Gallery, with Dublin-based critic, curator and Senior Lecturer at the School of Irish, Celtic, Folklore & Linguistics, Caioimhin MacGiolla Leith.
Group show "Material Fact" at Green On Red Gallery included works by Silvia Bächli, Paul Doran, Dennis McNulty and Gerard Byrne (photographed), one of the more well-known Irish artists.
'Detached' group show at Project Arts Centre, guest curated by The Artists' Institute director and founder Anthony Huberman, recently appointed Director of CCA Wattis in San Francisco.
Alice Channer's "Amphibians" (left) and Sunah Choi's "Abdrucke (Imprints)", 2011-13 (wall)
Gathering plenty of material during studio visits, lunches, dinners and meetings.
Collection of books on domestic spaces, DYI, cooking, gardening, self-build architecture, urban planning, etc. accompany the The Grand Domestic Revolution GOES ON (GDR) exhibition.
Aileen Burns and Johan Lundh, co-directors of CCA Derry–Londonderry, hosted a wonderful Thai pre-talk dinner.
Sunday walk around the Bloody Sunday Memorial and the Bogside area of Derry-Londonderry.
Visitor Centre at North Bull Island.
12 March: Studio visits at Temple Bar Studios + Gallery in the heart of the city.
Temple Bar Studios + Gallery, a former shirt-factory building, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
Setting up for the 2–5pm talk at The Hugh Lane Dublin City Gallery organised by MAVIS, The Hugh Lane and Dublin City Council.
13 March: Visiting the sculpture workshop facilities of Fire Station Artists' Studios with Development Manager Liz Burns and Director Clodagh Kenny.
Temple Bar Studios + Gallery, hosted 'Or tears, Of Course' a solo show of British artist Ed Atkins (photos above and below).
Gathering plenty of material during studio visits, lunches, dinners and meetings.
The minimal education department are doing a great job at dynamising the nicknamed "Dead Zoo" or "Museum of Museums": The 5 year old giraffe has her own twitter account @SpotticusNH and they will soon host a "night at the museum" event where a few kids will be able to sleep (or try to) in the museum galleries.
All photos: Latitudes | www.lttds.org (except when noted otherwise in the photo caption)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.