Wicklow Arts Office is delighted to announce the seven projects selected for the 2023 Strategic Projects Award Scheme. Open to artists, national resource organisations, individual curators, and / or artist collectives, these projects focus on nurturing practice, enhancing connectivity, generating new perspectives and cultivating new voices within County Wicklow.
Fairy Music, Aisling Ennis
"Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather!"
-William Allingham
The fairies, sídhe, sí, na síoga, daoine maithe, have bewitched and tantalised us for centuries but this infatuation peaked in the 19th century and in her Autumn recital tour Aisling Ennis explores this Victorian obsession through the lens of harp music from our Irish and classical traditions. A whistle stop tour of virtuoso fairy harp music with stories and accounts of the fairies.
Local Motion, Shane Sutton
Local Motion is a cutting-edge street art project that combines traditional art with digital technology. Inspired by the work of pioneering photographer Edward Muybridge, the project will use virtual reality to explore motion and movement to inform a digital art piece and a street art painting
Nadir, Maïa Nunes
Drawing on the geo-mythological, spiritual and symbolic significance of Irish lakes to illuminate the metamorphic process. This video performance work will investigate lakes as portals into the “otherworld”, subconscious dream-space, and afterworld.
Nadir is the first in a series of three interrelated offerings currently being stewarded by Maïa
Púca in the Machine II, Shane Finan
Púca in the Machine II invites two visual artists and a writer to respond to the complex entanglement of myth, ecology, technology and history at the Poulaphuca Reservoir, west WIcklow. This the second edition of a project that began in 2022 with three other artists. The artistic research will be presented at Blessington Library in October 2023.
Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, West Wicklow Festival
Packed with humour and mischievous fun, Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals is adored by children and grown-ups the world over. The Irish Chamber Orchestra will be on hand to bring all the various animals to life, with the help of Soo-Jung Ann and Fiachra Garvey fighting it out on two grand pianos! From the Tortoise’s lumbering Can-Can to crazy Wild Donkeys and the graceful Swan, music and animal-lovers of all ages will be in for a fantastical musical treat! Very special guest Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter) will narrate the tale of our musical journey!
The Sound Of Things, Anna Newell
The Sound Of Things is a creative consultation project towards a new show for children with complex needs.
It brings together an experienced team of Anna’s long-term collaborators in residency at St Catherine’s Special School, Co Wicklow.
Exploring immersive, responsive sound/voice and re-connecting with touch post-Covid, it starts a journey towards a new theatrical language for a show for 2025.
Threading Place, Finn Richards & Cineál
Threading Place is a photography and public space project charting the person to person connections that exist in Co. Wicklow. These human connections are vital to human wellbeing and form the backbone of community. These images will be exhibited at three locations around Wicklow Town as part of an open air exhibition.