Six renowned artists will take to the streets of Cavan Town on Saturday, 1st December for TransArt Cavan’s performance art day, ‘Lovely weather (For this time of year)’.
Performance art combines visual art and drama, and ‘Lovely weather (For this time of year)’ will see these six artists respond to Cavan Town with performances that are visually-striking and thought-provoking.
Taking part in this year’s event, which is presented by TransArt Cavan’s Siobhán Harton and Joe Keenan, in association with the Creative Ireland Programme, Cavan County Council Arts Office and Cavan Culture Team, are Chrissie Cadman, Fergus Byrne, Christoff Gillen, Laura O’Connor, Ciara McKeown, and Sally O’Dowd.
The idea behind the event is to take art to the people and streets of Cavan, removing the stigma that people can have regarding the arts. “For some people, crossing the threshold of an arts venue can be an intimidating prospect, where they fear they’ll be grilled about what the art means,” explain curators Joe and Siobhán. “This way, we hope to remove some of the mystery surrounding the visual arts and allow people to simply enjoy these wonderful performances”.
With Cavan Town Hall closed for renovations, the Teachers’ Centre on Main Street will be the headquarters for the day, but performers are likely to pop up anywhere from streets and laneways to shops and cafés.
About the performers:
Sally O'Dowd:
Sally O’Dowd creates often absurd, socially awkward performance, in which costumes and props amount to an abject beauty. Her work is concerned with identity and in particular intimate female ritual and investigating the role of women in contemporary Irish society.
Christoff Gillen:
Christoff Gillen has worked in performance, installation and time-based art for the past 20 years. His work is cathartic; challenging the viewer to engage in personal, political, religious and social forms of dialogue. His actions are a commentary on themes relating to Northern Ireland and contemporary cultural politics.
Laura O'Connor:
O'Connor's art practice is concerned with the representation of women on screen, be it in the media, advertising, on the Internet, or in cinema. Her video works uses stereotypical images of women from everyday media and work to highlight certain struggles or the ridiculousness in maintaining specific poses and the creation of a 'feminine image'.
Christine Cadman:
“Lovely weather just pulls at my heart strings”
Ciara McKeon:
Ciara McKeon’s practice focuses on performance and live events. Most recently producing Practice and Power, with Create as part of CAPP. Her current focus is on the connection between the personal and the socio-political.
Fergus Byrne:
Underlying much of Fergus Byrne’s performance work is the practice of life modelling. He tests the materiality of his body, sometimes combining such action with spoken word. Through rigorous physical discipline he creates mesmerising performances.
About TransArt Cavan:
Trans-art Cavan, comprising Director/Coordinator Joe Keenan and Artist/Director/Coordinators Sally O’Dowd, and Siobhán Harton, are curators of contemporary art, film and performance by some of the most exciting artists on the local national and international arts scene. They have curated major arts events during the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Cavan and are all current or former members of the creative team at Townhall Cavan Arts Space.