Ana Ospina
29 January to 24 February 2018
Studio open to the public on Mondays and Saturdays
Since 2005, Ana Ospina has been developing a body of work that responds to specific environments, these spatial interventions aim to inform, surprise and inspire a sense of magic in the everyday.
Having worked to commission for many years, the purpose of this residency at Uillinn is re-configure the artist's own direction, without the influence of a commissioning body. The timing of the residency is concurrent with a recent move back to West Cork from London, where Ana has lived and worked for the last decade, ‘I plan to create a series of test pieces as prototypes for my new body of work, using a variety of media and artistic processes that I have been experimenting with recently; including embroidery and knitting, as well as developing knowledge of processes that are new to me, by collaborating with other artists.’
The residency will reflect her homecoming and the transition from an urban to rural environment. It will be rooted in, and responsive to, the notion of place and will invite participation from the local community to help build a lexicon of local distinctiveness.
Ana’s creative process will begin with a visual and intellectual exploration of Skibbereen, its physical properties, man-made and natural, as well as its histories, big and small. ‘My findings will be recorded and mapped for display in the studio at Uillinn, helping me to build up a 'visual vernacular' of the local area. I will be looking at the unique properties of the town, such as street names and building styles as well as how public and green space are incorporated into the layout.’
Ana will be inviting the public to attend a series of screenings and talks at the studio to witness and inform her research and her work as it develops. Keep an eye on her facebook page for further information on these events.
Ana Ospina, is a public artist and creative producer specialising in community engagement. Born in Bogota, Colombia, in 1982, to an English mother and Colombian father, she lived in the UK until 1996, when her family moved to West Cork. She attended Schull Community College until 2000, after which she returned to the UK to study for a joint honours BA in Fine Art and Scenography at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
On graduation, she co-founded, with a friend, a creative practice Fourth Wall Creations. In 2008, she also gained an MA in Creative Practice for Narrative Environments from Central St Martins College of Art and Design in London. After 7 years working together, creating public artworks and carrying out several artist residencies around the UK, the friends decided to go their separate ways professionally and since then Ana has worked independently and collaboratively on a range of diverse creative projects. Most recently she has been coordinating a 2-year cultural education programme in schools in west London as part of one of the biggest regeneration projects in Europe.
She returned to West Cork in autumn 2017 and looks forward to embarking on the next phase of her creative career in Ireland. She is delighted to be undertaking a residency at the new West Cork Arts Centre, as she has fond memories of attending exhibitions and activities at the old building as a teenager.
WCAC acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Cork County Council in making these residencies possible.
