More socially engaging events and workshops lined up for Offaly

Expect more socially engaging events and workshops to come your way in Offaly as the weather gets warmer and we venture out more In the Open!

In the Open | Faoin Spéir – Offaly, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, is a collaborative partnership led by Offaly County Council’s Arts Office with Birr Theatre and Arts Centre and Birr Festivals Collective, Tullamore Arts Centre & Lough Boora Parklands and carries on until the end of the month.

The aim is to develop the exciting and innovative curated programme of outdoor events, taking place throughout Co. Offaly, in anticipation of the opening of the new Arts Centre for the town next year. In the Open | Faoin Spéir – Offaly will generate a sustained and curated programme of multidisciplinary, inclusive arts activity in public or open spaces in towns and communities around Ireland until the end of April 2022.

A special day out for music enthusiasts and families is happening on the Easter weekend, Saturday, April 16 called ‘Music In the Open’ with Music Generation Offaly/Westmeath and Donlon Dance Company! 

This series of musical workshops and dance performances taking place in the surrounds of Lloyd Town Park in Tullamore, invites the public to participate in Drum Circles and will have a feast of other musical treats including an intergenerational Ukulele session with local musicians Andy Spearpoint and Darren Brown.

Taking place between 12-4pm, it’s the perfect event for all the family.  It’s a beautiful time of year to visit the Tullamore Town Park, as well as experience and learn more about great thrilling music and dance!  Pre-booked tickets for these workshops are available for free on the www.birrtheatre.com website. Spaces limited, so book now!

Fresh from the Irish Museum of Modern Art a project entitled Rewind FastForward Record. This project explores contemporary issues around being LGBTQI+ in Offaly and hidden histories of some of Irelands' most infamous gay and lesbian heroes and is facilitated by Hannah Tiernan and Brendan Fox. An exhibition of flags designed by Midlands Youth Group LGBTQI+ during a series of workshops will take place at Aras an Chontae from 19th to 30th of April. www.intheopenoffaly.ie.

The facilitator Hannah Tiernan is a researcher, writer and visual artist. She holds a BA in Photographic Media and an MFA in Art in the Contemporary World from NCAD and is the assistant editor at GCN Magzine. Her key area of interest is contemporary Irish LGBTQ+ history and expanding voices within the Irish LGBTQ+ community.  From 2018 to 2020, Hannah was a researcher on the ACTIVE ARCHIVE - SLOW INSTITUTION initiative with Project Arts Centre and was the lead researcher for the Queer-in-Progress Timeline display in 2020. 

"In the Open |Faoin Spéir and Spectacular Vernacular emerges from the foundations of artistic cultures that already exist between our towns and in County Offaly; examining the traditions of Offaly and its rural arcadia through the lens of the contemporary practitioners who live there or artists and culturalists whose practice may be associated with the locale. These featured artists share a united association with new blood, new cultures and potential that will look sharply to a shared future and consider, what collective legacy may be possible for our community to envisage today?"

For more information on the above artists and their In the Open |Faoin Spéir and Spectacular Vernacular projects TAP HERE. 

For more on In the Open | FaoinSpéir and Spectacular Vernacular, visit www.intheopenoffaly.ie  or TAP HERE.