Visual Arts

Visual arts extending & expanding

  • A drive towards attracting more artists to exhibit in the “Bob Traynor gallery”.
  • A move towards having Kevin Flood as an “artist in residence” with outreaches to schools in the area.
  • An initiative to liaise with other art centres in the midlands with a view to networking and maximising exhibitions.
  • An effort to promote photographic exhibitions in the centre, initiated through a series of photographic workshops.
  • An extension of outreach programmes to schools in the locality with emphasis on the visual arts encouraged through offering the possibility of an exhibition in the centre for the “best school effort”.
  • Encourage and support our present in-house artists so that the courses will have a greater impact and a wider appeal.
  • Encourage again our in-house artists to exhibit their work at the end of each course in “The Exhibition Gallery” so as to create an incentive for the participants and give them a sense of achievement and pride with their finished work.
  • Encourage solo artists in the locality to network with others with a view to having occasional exhibitions in the “Bob Traynor gallery”.
  • Aim at having a week long visual arts festival in Tuar Ard consisting of workshops, lectures and exhibitions.
  • Aim at a weekend photographic festival, again providing workshops, talks, exhibitions and prize-giving.

Taking a step forward with amateur drama

As Tuar Ard has become a base for so many amateur drama groups it is now time to bring amateur drama to a new level by

  1. Providing weekend drama workshops conducted by professionals.
  2. Creating an incentive for the emergence of more amateur drama groups by organising a “midlands amateur drama festival”.
  3. Organising children’s drama workshops culminating with a play to attract parents in order to give them a greater appreciation of drama.
  4. Organising workshops in stage-lighting, sound and management.
  5. Providing drama sessions in Tuar Ard to encourage and support drama in primary schools.
  6. providing plays in Tuar Ard which are on the junior cert and leaving cert curriculum.
  7. Forming a Tuar Ard drama group.
  8. Inviting more professional drama groups to perform in Tuar Ard.

Broadening our music vision

While Tuar Ard has attracted to date well known singers like Francis Black, Ronnie Drew, The Vard Sisters, Regina Nathan, Tommy Fleming, Liam Lawton, Morgan Crowley, Don Baker, The 3-Tenors, The Furey Brothers, Peter Corey, Brian Kennedy, Christy Hennessey, Dermott O’Brien.

The music scene is still under scrutiny to be further expressed in Tuar Ard and while in the past, artists performed on a fee basis they are now more aware of the attractiveness of the centre and are prepared to perform on a rental basis.

For this reason future programmes should include more variety in music catering for all age-groups.

In this regard we are anxious to source folk groups, ballad groups, jazz, comhaltas groups and hopefully the upcoming “fleadh” will be an opportunity to give such groups an appreciation of the venue.

The return of music network is an ambition of management so as to encourage different forms of professional music and hopefully attract larger audiences than has been the case heretofore.

it is envisaged to organise workshops on professional music with the assistance of music network and in that way hopefully arouse a greater appreciation of such music.

it is also envisaged to provide music workshops for young people in all kinds of music.

Taking a step forward in dance

While ballet Ireland have performed in Tuar Ard in the past it is envisaged to further promote ballet in the centre by

  • Providing weekend workshops in ballet
  • Working with groups in the area who are dealing with children’s shows and encouraging them to incorporate ballet in their performances.
  • Attracting more professional ballet groups to the centre.

Also Irish dancing has featured prominently in Tuar Ard in the past through different shows and performances.  There is still scope to promote it further by

  • Providing workshops for children
  • By again encouraging groups using Tuar Ard to incorporate Irish dancing in their performances.

Creative writing

Tuar Ard can claim credit to date for the launch of “the years between” book which is a major publication detailing with photographic backup every aspect of life in Moate from 1956 – 2006.  This was a major achievement and was much appreciated.

It also reflects very much on Tuar Ard as a centre of culture treating the written word as an “art expression”. In this regard it is envisaged to move forward by

  • Organising creative writing workshops
  • Encouraging outreach writing programmes in local schools
  • Setting up a book club
  • Organising poetry reading sessions
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