This article is from page 29 of the 2008-03-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 29 JPG
IT COULD be described as bringing art to the people, or at the very least encouraging the local population to embrace art. Whatever category you might choose, it’s happening this Saturday in Tulla thanks to an annual initiative by Clare Arts Office.
From 12 to 5 pm the Tulla Stables Studios are hosting an Open Day, in conjunction with Kathleen Moroney’s ‘Second Generation’ exhibition.
Currently, there are six artists working in the studios – Mairin Kel- ly, John Hanrahan, Kathleen Moro- ney, Sandra Hurley, Patrick McHugh and Peter Sheahan. Their work en- compasses a variety of disciplines: painting, sculpture, photography and basket making.
“This open day is an excellent op- portunity to visit the artists spaces and see both finished work and work in progress,” revealed a spokesper- son for Clare Arts Office.
Kathleen Moroney’s ‘Second Gen- eration’ exhibition was commis- sioned by Clare Arts Office in rec- ognition of the transformation of the stables into studios.
Over the last three months, Kath- leen has created 191 white porcelain cobblestones, replicas of the original cobblestones found during the reno- vation of the stables into artist stu- Chey
The cobblestones were part of the original structure and date back to 1817, and Kathleen has created a por- celain stone to mark each year from the opening of the original stables
to the present day. Throughout the month of February, she welcomed visitors to her studio to become part of the project by participating in the making of the cobblestones.
“This exhibition is a temporary work of public art, as the cobble- stones will be on display in her stu- dio on Saturday only, before being dispersed into the local community.
“Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to take away one of the porce- lain cobblestones; the second genera- tion of the stone, a symbol of the past and the present,’ said the Clare Arts Office spokesperson.
Owned by Clare County Council, the studio is a resource for all art- ists of all disciplines. It comprises six studios with full services includ- ing provision for broadband, exhibi-
tion space and parking set around a courtyard in a converted stone 19th century stable building which had been derelict for many years.
The original building was bought by Clare County Council in 1950 and had been used as a store until it was restored and developed into an arts facility by the Arts Office of Clare County Council with support from Clare County Council and the De- partment of Arts, Sports and Tour- 008
Last year the Tulla Stables Studio was named the Best Public Building in Ireland. The title was bestowed on the studio at the annual Local Authority Members Association (LAMA) awards hosted by RTE pre- senter Miriam O’Callaghan at the Burlington Hotel.