This article is from page 12 of the 2011-10-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
THE newly appointed director of Glór has said that Irish music will still play a key part in the future of the venue. Gemma Carcaterra was last week appointed as the new director of the centre, succeeding Katie Verling who has been suffering from ill health. Gemma, who was born in the UK but now lives in Clare, also hopes to have a large focus on local groups getting involved in hosting events in Glór.
“We have a great team here in Glór, with lots of strengths and lots of experience. The building here is amazing and is a unique selling point for Glór but there is also such a wealth of local groups and organisations that we can work with. We are looking to promote Glór as a venue for the county as well as locally here in Ennis,” said Gemma.
“Glór was built for the traditional arts and traditional music and that will be taken into account but it will be right across the board from music to theatre, children’s events, community arts and film. Glór has a great foundation. These are difficult times in the arts and everyone needs to look at streamlining but Glór is in a very good place to come through this recession in a strong position and grow after that. I have big shoes to fill and I will do my best to continue on the good work already done by Katie and Patricia.”
Later this year, Glór will celebrate its tenth birthday and a number of events are being planned to mark the occasion.
“We do turn 10 this November which shows longevity of the organisation. We will be celebrating the birthday throughout the month through a number of events and the programme that we have already planned,” continued Gemma. “I’m really looking forward to meeting all the local artists, musicians and organisations.”
A trained artist and designer, Gemma has worked with a wide variety of organisations including museums, galleries and design companies over the last 15 years. One of the highlights of her career to date was being part of the team who designed and delivered a number of exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich in London. She has been living in Clare since 2007 and worked with Daghdha Dance Company until earlier this year.