Participating artist 2022

Local Authority Arts Offices and the Arts Council of Ireland support PLATFORM 31.   This is a nationwide artist development scheme by the 31 Local Authority Arts Offices, in collaboration with the Arts Council.  This is the second year of this initiative designed to support and offer career development for 31 mid-career artists (one artist in each of the 31 local authorities around Ireland.

There are two elements of support for participating artists in the scheme: financial and developmental. Participating artists will receive a bursary to invest in themselves and their practice, combined with participation in a developmental and networking framework.

“The bursary seeks to provide artists with the time and resources to think, test new ideas, research new approaches and to develop new work.  The Arts Council is delighted to partner with local authorities. The carefully considered support network built into Platform 31 sets this bursary scheme apart.”

                                                            Maureen Kennelly, Director Arts Council

For over 35 years Local Authority Arts Offices have worked directly with artists to ensure the arts thrive in all communities. Working in a grass roots and foundational way has allowed Arts Officers to identify and to respond to the needs of artists, keeping the arts and cultural agenda focused and relevant in changing environments.

The award is open to artists of any discipline and practice as well as multi-disciplinary practice and design of all kinds. It is designed to support mid-career artists living in each of the 31 Local Authority regions of Ireland.   Alan James Burns was selected as the Platform 31 artist for Cavan in 2022.  

AlanJames Burns Cavan Platform 31 Artist

About the artist:

AlanJames Burns (pronouns: he/they) is a visual artist producing immersive sensory environments and events with mixed-reality technologies in site-specific locations reflecting on the inner psychological space by giving voices and consciousness to structures and systems. Burns' work is highly collaborative with other artists, writers, composers and technicians.

Recent projects focus on contemporary issues relating to disability, mental health and climate concerns, including:

Augmented Body, Altered Mind (2022), a collaborative, interactive project weaving a brain-computer interface with projected audio-visual environments. It explores behaviour change, neuro-divergence and individual agency within dominant systems, focusing on climate change conversations and technology growth. Commissioned by Carlow Arts Festival and supported by the Arts Council’s Arts and Disability Connect Scheme managed by Arts & Disability Ireland.

Sound On! (2021), an Artist in the Community artwork exploring experiences of human rights and happiness for and by people with a learning disability. A collaboration with artist Dr Sinéad McCann and St John of God Liffey Services Ireland, who provide a range of support to adults with learning disabilities.

Silicon Synapse (2019), a Virtual Reality experience conceived for the Carnegie Library in Swords, Fingal; redeveloped for JRC Milan, Italy and Bozar, Brussels, 2019; core funded by Arts Council of Ireland and jointly commissioned by Fingal Arts & European Commission.

Entirely hollow aside from the dark (2016 – 2019), a sound installation produced inside caves, commissioned by Fingal Arts 2016 and redeveloped for an Irish tour 2017, core funded by Arts Council of Ireland, North/South Co-Operation Fund & Creative Ireland. The first international presentation of this work took place at Creswell Cave, England, in August 2019.

Recent residencies include Rapid Residency with Science Gallery Dublin, 2020; Research Residency with Hermes Artes Visuais, São Paulo, 2021; The Space Programme with the Performance Corporation at Tyrone Guthrie Centre 2019; Resonance Residency, JRC Milan, Italy and Seville, Spain, 2018-2020.

Full details on Platform 31 here: https://platform31.localartsireland.ie/