PROJECTS

Breda Mayock / African Diaspora Offaly - assisted by Amanda Nyoni
Hair,  Celebrating African Artistry, Style, Culture & Identity through hair. - Tullamore

A Series of workshops and discussions exploring hair with artist Breda Maycock assisted by Amanda Nyoni. October 2021 - March 2022

This project will take the form of a series of talks and workshops about hair and will give participants the opportunity to share their stories and to discuss the importance of hair and identity. The idea is to develop the subject and allow the group to decide on the direction the project may take. The outcome may be a series of images, a film, or may take some other form of artistic expression.

These workshops will take place in Tullamore, County Offaly and online. We are looking for a maximum of 10 participants to take part.

We would love to hear from you!
Our first Meeting is Saturday 16th October.

If you are interested in taking part in this fascinating project please contact us at museumofeveryone@gmail.com.

To find out more about Breda click here
To find out more about Amanda click here

In The Open/Faoin Speir announces Launch of  ‘Putting Down Roots’

On Thursday, November 18th, a special tree planting ceremony took place at Scoile Mhuire Primary School in Tullamore to launch the environmental and arts initiative ‘Putting Down Roots’, attended by some of its students and teachers, organizers and supporters.   This meaningful project is led by the Museum of Everyone, visual artist Steven Doody, assisted by Amanda Nyoni, in association with Easy Treesie and the Irish Refugee Council, and will ultimately see over 8,000 native trees planted across the county of Offaly representing the number of people seeking asylum in Ireland and living in Direct Provision.

Check out this special launch coverage from RTE  HERE

Also here is a fantastic article on the Putting Down Roots Launch with Offaly Independent HERE

With a donation of €5 per tree, Putting Down Roots aims to raise over €40,000 to support young people who are in the protection process and who have lived in the Direct Provision system, in order to enter third-level institution. To donate, click here  https://www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/Appeal/putting-down-roots .  

Putting Down Roots is implementing the idea of communities working together to help these young adults put down roots on the island of Ireland is at the heart of this project.  If you would like to help us plant trees, our first planting day will take place in Tullamore, Co. Offaly this November.  If you would like to get involved, volunteer or have any questions regarding this project email us at museumofeveryone@gmail.com.

Monica De Bath, Evelyn Broderick & Augustine O’Donoghue / Lough Boora Parklands
New Wilds - A Series of Workshops exploring Lough Boora Bog  Workshops will run April 23rd & 24th at the Lough Boora Pavilion.
These sessions will open up a dialogue with participants around shared histories of the locale and the future of the bog terrain. Each workshop will explore our relationships with the land through a series of creative exercises including drawing, writing and making, and Augustine’s work will provide a new perspective on integrating art into the surrounds of the bogland and trails.

To find out more about Monica click here

To find out more about Evelyn click here

To find out more about Augustine, click here

Soundscapes of Nature - Created and animated by Finn Nichol, with songs composed by Laura Sheils inspired by local mythologies, flora, fauna, and the natural world and featuring Birr Young Voices, presented by Birr Festival of Music.

Led by acclaimed choral director Anne McCambridge, Belfast, young professional musicians and singers engage with the children during the Easter school break (April 20-23rd) creating songs, movement and visual art. Breffni Fitzpatrick soprano, David Kennedy baritone, and David Vessey pianist, finalists from The Trench Awards, also perform with the children.

Birr Festival of Music takes place Friday 29th April - Monday 2nd May and will present Birr Young Voices in a Soundscape of Nature, created by Laura Sheils & Finn Nichol on Saturday, April 30th.

Check out their full programme of events here:

https://www.birrfestivalofmusic.com/

To find out more about Finn click here

Museum of Everyone (MOE) - Curator in Residence

Diana Bamimeke (b. 1998) is a writer and independent curator from Dublin 15. Through collaborations with artists and arts organisations like Garrett Phelan, Basic Space Dublin, Girls Rock Dublin, their practice has evolved into an expanded one, encompassing writing, activism & programming. Bamimeke is interested in exploring the overlap of criticality and making, and in the radical potential of the written word to envision different futures for Black and queer people. On Belonging - Bamimeke's most recent curatorial endeavour - was a collaborative group exhibition for Basic Space Dublin & The Library Project, supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.
Their writing has featured in publications by Origins Eile, the RHA, Temple Bar Gallery + Studios and TU Dublin. In 2022, they will complete a BA in Classics, Art History and Archaeology from University College Dublin.

Diana will present an In the Open workshop based on Critico-writing and through its exploration will develop an installation inspired by its findings, in the open.

^{Nigel Rolfe / Peformance at Lough Boora & Screenings at Birr Theatre & Art Centre}

Over the coming months Nigel Rolfe will return to Lough Boora bog and create a series of jestural and durational perfromances interacting with the local landscape.  

To launch Spectacular Vernacular renowned performance artist Nigel Rolfe will return to perform at Lough Boora Parklands 10 years after his first residency in the boglands.
Nigel Rolfe has been performing as a live artist for the last 4 decades. He has also worked extensively as an artist, curator and lecturer. Since 2008 performance has become his primary form of artistic expression. Major retrospectives of his work have been held at the Irish Museum Of Modern Art in Dublin and at the Musee D’Art Moderne de la Ville De Paris. He has exhibited in Dublin, Paris, São Paulo, Busan, Kwangju, and Venice Biennales and presented in numerous international art fairs. He is Performance Pathway Program Leader and Professor Of Performance at the Royal College of Art In London. Rolfe is concerned with art being a live and vital engagement. His performances are bodily acts and reminders of our presence in the here and now.
Nomadic Workings: This is a nomadic practice with no recurrent fixed space, occasion, or time. The working method as a traveler between events and places that are in many countries and various situations. These are both within art conventions (museums, galleries, festivals) and then sited beyond and outside them in the landscape: both natural and in the broken built environment.

The body as site: As mixing ground and as instrument,
As disguise, covering, insides outSite itself,
archaeology, excavation, mapping, trajectory, journey, pathway
Emptying out, depth, interior life,
vitality, energy, contribution,
risk, growth from failure.

We walk past buildings that have great history but give little thought to the human stories tied up in them . These stories connect us to our town and to our past. Tullamore Gaol housed Land Leaguers and Suffragettes and was where the last woman was hanged under British Rule.  It was burned down and rose again as Salts, Tullamore Yarns, the largest employee in town for over 30 years. This history will be brought to life through a spectacular audio visual projection that animates the architecture of the imposing gateway. - Caroline Conway

Images of stories and people will be projected onto the front of the Jail wall and entrance for 2 hours, prospectively from 7:30-9:30pm on Friday, February 18th.

^{Joe Caslin / Tullamore} 

Joe Caslin will be working in the coming months to create a new work in Tullamore Town centre. Working with local groups to develop a project focusing on inclusion and diversity. To find out more about Joe click here.

Hannah Tiernan - Artist / Writer / Reseacher
MOE - Rewind<<FastFoward>>Record & Offaly Youth Services LGBTQIA+ - Tullamore

The REWIND << FASTFORWARD >> RECORD: Revising the Rainbow (RFR) initiative is aimed at engaging with LGBTQ+ community groups on a national platform to uncover queer histories and expand their retelling and relevance through artistic interpretation. Through a series of talks, tours, workshops and personal accounts, the two-month-long pilot project taking place in Dublin and Tullamore and will develop a body of creative responses to be presented as a touring exhibition to regional locations across the country.

As part of each regional exhibition, a further series of local talks and workshops will generate new creative responses expanding the material as it tours to each new location. This cumulative material will form both a historical and a contemporary archive of hidden queer histories and current perspectives of RFR participants. RFR is an exploration of queer identity; past and present, and aims to connect us with both our history and our community.

By better understanding our past, we can ensure a more visible and equal future.

To find out more about Hannah and her practice click here