Any Body
Studio Galleries
10 June - 15 July 2023

This is an exhibition by Guerruillinns and Draw Mind Matters (DMM) young peoples groups based at Uillinn: Mich Maguire, Hetty Gazzaniga, Lucija Kluzniak-Madajczak, Finn Donovan, Maksym Babak, Kai Madajczak, Nori Kluzniak-Madajczak, Esmée O’Brien, Kassi Duane and Leo Robb-Archer. The group worked with artist Tomasz Madajczak, Uillinn Project Assistant Sylwia Migdal and Uillinn Programme Manager Justine Foster.

In January, Guerruillinns and DMM were invited to participate in the IMMA Citizen Curation Project ‘SPICE’ which stands for Social Cohesion, Participation and Inclusion through Cultural Engagement. The project ran until April and aimed to develop participants personal interpretation of cultural objects. It encourage working together as a group to present a collective view of life to gain an appreciation of alternative cultural and heritage viewpoints.

On the 24 of February 2023, Guerruillinns and DMM visited IMMA to collaborate with museum professionals and create artwork in response to the exhibitions: Kevin Mooney: Revenants, Patricia Hurl: Irish Gothic and online IMMA collection.

The staff at IMMA developed technologies to create an online tool helping communities select paintings, artefacts and other museum objects and share their interpretation with others. Through this, participants in the project were able to reflect on their cultural context. Their place in society and develop understanding and empathy for other communities, known as ‘Citizen Curation’.

The young people are amazing to work with. Their active imaginations and creative minds open up new areas of artistic exploration and connect the existing art with new perceptions of the youth. The “Spice” project has opened a new way of looking at the existing artworks in IMMA’s collection. Selected artworks were discussed and responded to with the use of multiple art media creating new, thought-provoking, exciting perspectives on art. The next step is to meet other young people, from different parts of Ireland who are driven by new ways of looking at art and creating new connections through art with the surrounding world.

Tomasz Madajczak 2023

WCAC acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Cork County Council.