Spectacular Vernacular
Making the Ordinary, Extraordinary
In the Open | Faoin Spéir - Offaly
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Arts Festival
Empty Columns are a Place to Dream
Under the curation of Ric Kidini Kashour, New Orleans,(Curatorial Fellowship 2021 Andy Warhol Institute for the Arts) and with the support of the Birr Historical Society, 16 collage artists from across the world will research, discuss, investigate and respond to the Cumberland Pillar in Emmet Square Birr, its history, and contemporary issues relating to place, context and colonial past. The selection is diverse in terms of geography, nationality, gender and race. Each artist is using the photograph, The Square, Parsonstown by Robert French (1841-1917) from the Lawrence Photograph Collection to imagine a monument that speaks to a world where all people enjoy safety, security, well-being, and dignity on their own terms.
Clockwise from top left: Collages by Rashad Ali Muhammad, Anthony D Kelly, Lynne Hoare, Simon Blake, Caroline Conway, Denise Zygadlo, Elyana Shamselangeroodi, and Danielle Cole. Courtesy of the artists.