Research: Political Art of Scale in an Irish Context

In 2020, I was privileged to be awarded an Arts Council of Ireland Bursary to undertake a period of research. My focus is on the politics of artistic practice in non traditional arts spaces, the ethical implications of collaborative practice in communities with the implications of under-resourcing and the liminal yet embodied role of the artist within those spaces. By understanding the trajectory of my work to date, I intend to explore my potential to realise future work of scale outside of traditional arts spaces. There are 4 interconnected aspects to my proposal.

1. Engage in a forensic period of reflexive practice to examine my work across both the professional arts & community sectors since 2009 and contextualise it within theoretical frameworks through academic review. Embodied resonant space is integral to my practice, all of my work has existed in a charged liminal space. Where I've felt most artistic freedom, and most challenge, is in spaces beyond the traditional, in found spaces, community spaces, public/private spaces, in between spaces and the unquantifiable roles I've played within them.  I will analyse the impact of that sectorial duality, its expansiveness in terms of my arts practice and concurrent physical (body) and metaphysical (Art) strain in the context of precarity and austerity experienced across communities and the arts.

2. Investigate Political Art of scale in an Irish context from an Artistic and Operational perspective with The Parade of Innocence (1989) as case study, through intergenerational dialogue and qualitative interviews with the artists who made it, particularly Pat Murphy who was crucial to its inception and has agreed to share her extensive expertise with me as one of the lead artists of this seminal large scale work. I will interview contemporary artists Declan Gorman, Pat McGrath & Gina Moxley who participated in the Parade, and follow the research threads generated through this dialogue, benefitting from their experience as artists who preceded and profoundly influenced me. I will investigate the sociopolitical landscape in which the Parade was situated, understand the intentions that inspired it and the practicalities that produced it; how these artists translated their living contemporary experiences into an artistic response which resonated so deeply with the public audience and helped effect change.

3. Augment my individual research methodology by initiating a rigorous peer to peer dynamic of reflexive practice with two key artist collaborators: Ciarán O'Melia will provide specificity of physicality through his design expertise and his uniquely responsive practice. Artist & Production Manager Emma O’Grady will share her extensive experience of both the artistic and operational conditions of making work in non traditional and outdoor settings, echoing the duality of my sectorial roles.

4. I will document the creative research process & findings by writing an article with academic support from Dr. Karen Quigley, which will be disseminated online intended, in the first instance, as a discussion document for peer review.