Salon 4: TAKING THE INITIATIVE

SCHEDULE

10.30 Artists Bus leaves Mermaid.

12.30 Lunch in Courthouse Tinahely...a chance for local artists and those from the Bray area to get to know each other. Come if you can!

2pm - 4pm: The Salon

6 pm Artists bus returns to Mermaid

Taking the Initiative

Groundbreakers, innovators, mavericks...For our next salon, we have an exciting lineup of artists and cultural practitioners who took the bold step of establishing a new publishing house, a new festival, and two arts centres.

Why did they do that? What were the challenges? How do they sustain their projects...and themselves? And what advice do they have for others who might be thinking of...taking an initiative?

And for this event, The Wicklow Artists Salon itself will be getting in the innovatory spirit by moving from Mermaid to a new host venue: The Courthouse Arts Centre in Tinahely. For those travelling from the Bray area, we will be providing bus transport to Tinahely and back.

Wicklow Artists Salon, ‘Minding Yourself’, L-R: Facilitator Teresa Nanigian and artists Jessica Kennedy; Rónan O’Sondaigh and Emma Finucane, Mermaid Arts Centre, March 2023. Photo credit: Joanna Kidney

Wicklow Artist Salon

The Wicklow Artists Salon is an artist-run gathering which explores important themes affecting cultural practitioners. A friendly, inclusive space, each salon consists of a moderated discussion with invited guest artists which then opens into conversations with attendees. The salon is curated by writer Philip St John and visual artist Joanna Kidney and originated in a salon which she hosted in Outpost Studios, Bray between 2015-2018.

Crucially, it is supported by Wicklow County Arts Office, Mermaid Arts Centre and The Courthouse Arts Centre, Tinahely.

Salon Facilitator & Panel

Our facilitator is Kate Strain (Curator and Founding Director of Kunstverein Aughrim).

The panel is: Eleanor Phillips (Multidisciplinary Artist, and co-founder and current director of Signal Arts Centre); Declan Meade (Publisher of The Stinging Fly Press) and Garrett Keogh (Actor, Writer and Founding Director of The Gap Arts Festival).

Find out more about our guests by following the links below:

Kate Strain https://kunstverein.ie/

Eleanor Phillips https://signalartscentre.ie/ https://eleanorphillips.weebly.com/

Declan Meade https://stingingfly.org/

Garrett Keogh https://gapartsfestival.com/

*PRE SALON

12.30-2 pm. Come and join your fellow artists in a local cafe (food not included) venue to be confirmed.

Transport

Artists in the Bray area can travel in a special Wicklow Artists Salon Bus leaving Mermaid at 10.30 and returning at 6 pm. The fare is €7 . As the bus capacity is limited, early booking is advised.

Directions

The Courthouse Arts Centre is located in the heart of Tinahely, Co. Wicklow – Just 40 minutes drive from Carlow and an hour and a half drive from Dublin.

GPS : Latitude 52.7997634 Longitude -6.4631844 and Map Click Here