The Creative Leitrim Open Call is a countywide open call to communities, groups, organisations, venues, artists, archaeologists, architects, writers and all those involved in the culture and creative sectors to develop high quality projects and programmes that encourage creativity and greater access and engagement with the arts, culture and heritage. Applications must be developed by a community group, venue or organisation in partnership with professional practitioners with expertise in the visual or performing arts, literature, heritage or other culture or creativity area. An artist or other professional in the culture/creativity sector may make the initial approach to a group with a view to developing a project or visa-versa.
Projects must address one or more of the five pillars of Creative Ireland, particularly Pillar 2 - “Enabling Creativity in Every Community”. Examples of potential projects could include proposals in the performing or visual arts, literature, culture or heritage that involve participation different communities of people; projects which encourage the development of the creative industries or projects that provide access to high quality events and activities in the arts and culture that otherwise would not be possible.
The nominal amount awarded to any one project is typically between €500 and €5,000. While there is no fixed number of awards, there is generally a larger number of lesser value awards and a small number of higher value ones. The quantity and value of awards depends on available funding, number of applicants and the quality of applications.
The 2017 call is now closed. Here are details of some of the projects happening this year.
At the Station
“At the Station” will start on Culture Night, Friday 22 September, and is a programme of events, exhibitions and talks in a disused 19th Century Railway station in Mohill. This project is a partnership between the Mohill Heritage Railway Restoration Society and artists Djeribi and Jessica Kelly with exhibitions themed around the activities of a working Railway Station and the interaction within its community. With titles such as Departures, Sidings, Waiting Room and Arrival, the intention is that the dormant site that is owned collectively by the local community will be reimagined and reactivated through the project.
WB Yeats’ Stolen Child
Another Culture Night event that highlights the landscape and literary heritage of the county takes place at the beautiful Glencar Waterfall where Rabbits Riot Theatre Company in association with The Glens Centre will head out into the ‘waters and the wild’ with a special performance of W.B. Yeats’ “Stolen Child”. As a backdrop to the performance they will illuminate the magnificent waterfall and ‘pools scarce big enough to bathe a star’.
Umble [Bumble]
On exhibit at the Leitrim Sculpture Centre until August 12, “Umble [Bumble]” by Sarah Ellen Lundy, weaves together a series of metaphorical meditations on the complex relations between humans and plant-life, including current environmental threats to the bee. Lundy’s exhibition activates an assemblage of everyday objects, moving images and the ephemeral performance of materials to challenge autonomy in the face of systemic and applied homogenization. A personal testament to the fragile life-forms that cohabit nature, Lundy’s work draws inspiration and incorporates elements from diverse sources.
Thinking Living Dwelling
“Thinking Living Dwelling” is an exhibition at The Dock in Carrick on Shannon that is presented in collaboration with The Green Door Festival of Rural Architecture and Design. The title makes reference to Martin Heidegger's seminal text "Building dwelling, thinking" in which he challenges us to think about what it is to dwell and what it means to build. Dwelling is to occupy a home, to build is to make a container for all life’s activities. Over the course of the exhibition there will be an associated programme of talks, meetings, and screenings, facilitating creative discussions between homeowners, architects, makers and artists. It will run from Saturday 26th August to Saturday 14th October.