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SIAMSA Tíre launches its first online exhibition on this Thursday, February 4 in response to the present COVID restrictions.
The exhibition Ciorcal Iomláinrepresents a feast of creativity with a collection of fine art, photography, ceramics, contemporary installation, woolcraft, felting and weaving, all created over the last number of years by ‘INHOUSE’ a group of Kerry artists.
As Siamsa Tíre is unable to open the gallery, the technical team harnessed its own creativity to work with the North Kerry art collective, under HSE guidelines, to install the exhibition and provide a virtual exhibition tour.
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This video tour will be launched online on siamsatíre.com from Thursday with an introduction by exhibition curator Tara Horan.
This exhibition showcases a diverse range of art forms developed by a group of women artists living and working in Kerry known as ‘INHOUSE’.
Group members include Margaret Kennedy, Noreen Breen, Jo Mc Elligot, Jacinta Scully-Usher, Catherine Pearson, and Susan Hitching.
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Once the exhibition is launched, the group will work with the Siamsa Tíre team to share the exhibition and talk about their own experience as artists with secondary schools to help them meet elements of the Leaving Cert curriculum.
The ‘INHOUSE’ collective was set up to accommodate and provide a support system for artists who were working alone and felt isolated in their practice.
Pre-COVID, they met regularly in Siamsa Tíre to exchange ideas, discuss and pursue their work. It enabled the artists to pursue their creative expression, extend their expertise by facilitating skills-swop, discussions and constructive critique.
One of the group members, Noreen Breen tragically suffered the bereavement of her beloved husband, local builder Tom Ross.
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In recognition of how art and the support of the group has helped her through this difficult time, this exhibition has been dedicated to the memory of Tom Ross.
‘INHOUSE’ member Susan Hitching comments, “We started out with regular meetings at Siamsa Tíre to share our creativity. We extended our meetings to more frequent sessions; drawing each others portraits, visiting our studios and celebrating special occasions.
As a group we were involved in the Siamsa Tíre Artist in Residence program with exhibition openings and Culture Night projects.” Susan Hitching continued,“We have all benefited from the safe environment of ‘INHOUSE’, developing our joy of creative expression and valuing each others strengths. We are honest with our critique and have enjoyed learning the value of different styles of working. This has also been a distracting focus from the virus. I hope people hearing about the value of our group on our mental health and well being, may feel encouraged to do something similar especially in these difficult times.”
I very much admire and appreciate the work of the In House group and particularly with this exhibition in memory of Tom Ross. It is a fitting tribute to an outstanding person who was a loyal supporter of Noreen’s artistic endeavours