Fairy-tale and Folklore
Ana Ospina, Alice Halliday & Michael Stephens

13 January to 17 March, Exhibition 21 March to 25 April, 2020

West Cork Arts Centre in partnership with Skibbereen Chamber of Commerce and Cork County Council are partnering with local businesses to increase opportunity for engagement in the arts and the arts centre, while also adding more creative flare to our local celebrations on St. Patricks Day.

Last year the staff of Spearline embraced the theme of ‘Circus’ with our artist collective, this year is the turn of Fields Supervalu. If your workforce is interested in taking part then do contact us for 2021!

Exploring ‘Irish mythology and folklore’ the artists collective commissioned by West Cork Arts Centre, Ana Ospina, Alice Halliday & Michael Stephens will create a visually spectacular and eco-friendly response to the theme ‘Irish Folklore & Fairies’ for the St Patricks Day Parade 2020 inviting the staff of Fields Supervalu and the wider community to a series of designing and making workshops. Participants will each design and develop characters with spectacular costumes and props, using re-cycled materials to underline Skibbereen town’s commitment to respecting our planet.

We propose to delve deep into the ancient Irish traditions of storytelling and magic, while harking back to a time when human beings were more in touch with Nature. We propose to use this project to creatively explore our connections to natural world around us, linking to some of the topical environmental themes which are so relevant at this time in our society. Visually, we plan to explore an organic and other worldly aesthetic that will surprise, delight and intrigue the public. We are interested in moving beyond mainstream modern portrayals of fairy-tales, going back to the primitive roots of these stories, how they have shaped Irish culture and what we can learn from the timeless wisdom they contain.

There are 10 workshops in all, starting at Fields Supervalu and then moving over to Uillinn workspace and studios. Workshops take place each Wednesday afternoon with family days on 1 & 22 February 2020. All are welcome and are free of charge.

The parade will take place at 3pm on Tuesday 17 March and an exhibition of the costumes and artwork will take place in Uillinn Stairwell Gallery, 21 March to 25 April, 2020

Ana Ospina is a socially engaged artist and creative producer with a background in Theatre Design (specialising in Costume). Alice Halliday is an ethical fashion designer, specialising in unique made-to-measure Bohemian Bridal Couture & Event Wear. She has a passion for sustainability and uses mostly vintage and upcycled materials in her creations. Michael Stephens has worked primarily as a graphic designer and photographer, having studied Visual Communications in IADT, Dún Laoghaire.

WCAC acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Cork County Council in making these residencies possible.