Public Art

County Hall – Commission, Interact, Integrate 2000 – 2003

In 2000 the council wanted to match the standard and gauntlet presented by the design of the new county hall and so demanded that the council itself make a major contribution to the provision of public art for the building. The Council, Arts Officer Rory O’Byrne and then County Architect David O’Connor ran a two stage competition short listing a variety of prolific artists, inviting them to meet on site with architects and planners, given advice and a fee to make their proposals. These commissions mirrored the young forward thinking local authority committed to the inclusion of art in the lives of its staff and visitors to the council. The three works coming from this commission are well respected and are thought to present a positive corporate image.

This work was integrated into the architectural fabric of the new county hall. Vivienne Roche, using the concept of Water/ Source relating to Swords produced a plaster and glass 2 dimensional work “ Flow” which is a major addition to the Councillors Chamber. The piece is integral to the room, organic  in appearance and compliments the function of the chamber where the flow of information is key.

Vivienne’s work often alludes to organic, found, coastal formations. This work is a much loved feature in the council, impressing all visitors to the chamber and providing an elegant backdrop for photographs.

Mary Fitzgerald created unique tapestries which span the height of the building, flanking each side. Inspired by the theme of water the artist devised and wove the work on site giving passers by and staff a great insight into the artist’s process

Daniel and Una have a long standing reputation as artists who work in the community so to realise their project “Open Ground” they used the opportunity to encourage the local community to be part of their vision for their County Hall Commission. The artists ran workshops out of a converted shop in North Street. Advertising in local papers, among council staff and schools the community were invited to create their own “seed pods” which would contain the wishes of the citizens of Swords for the town’s future. The artists also devised their own larger scale ceramic pieces which were inspired by the themes and stories passed on by the participants about the town during the workshops. All the works sit perfectly together in a sculpture garden at the front of County Hall and are a much loved addition to the building.

Arc- A Per Cent for Art Scheme Fingal County Council & Dublin City Council 2003 – 2005

This project arose from Per cent for art arising from Dublin City & Fingal County Council’s Water Services Schemes. The Dublin Bay Project and The North Fringe Water Supply Scheme. Artworking were contracted ( Artworking  headed by Jenny Haughton Public Art Specialist, Arts Council). Curators were approached to select artists for particular areas in the two counties. Following a period of research into the areas Amy Plant (U.K) and Gerard Byrne (Irl) were selected for Fingal. Themes of mobility, mapping linking different parts of the county were prominent.

 A DVD on all of the four projects and their process is available for research purposes.

 Contact Caroline Cowley Public Arts Co-ordinator. Ph: 01 870 8449, E:   caroline.cowley@fingalcoco.ie.

After visiting Fingal, Amy plant conceived of an idea to transform an old holiday caravan and brand it the “Multi Stop Shop”. The Multi Stop Shop was a mobile facility that travelled around the county stopping for a time a different towns; through the shop the artist invited the public to get in touch with her if they had a skill, something to sell, an idea, a cause or needed a meeting place. This call was met with huge interest in Fingal, the shop sold local produce, jams, and crafts but also became a mini publishing house for local writers and poets to distribute their work, for youth groups to record music (A CD “Songs from the Van” was produced) It became a meeting place, a site for debate and welcome addition to the rural landscape. In the end the Multi Stop Shop was given to a local group and the project still resonates with the people who engaged with it. Amy’s work could be described as activist, relational, community engaged meaning that the public are the centre of the work with the artist as the catalyst.

Gerard Byrne spent several months documenting the architecture of market gardening activity in the rural areas of Rush & Lusk, that of the Glasshouse. During this project the artist produce 20 exquisite pictures housed in a special archive box. The box and it’s contents toured for some time on Fingal’s Mobile Library Service, the main areas covered by service are the towns featured in Gerard’s Photographs. The box is available to the public and is accompanied by a detailed publication and essay on this theme.

100 Wishes/ The Wish Path

In recent years the per cent for art scheme* has been adopted by the Department of Education, so that money is available to the school to commission new artwork for any newly built school up to a capped limit. Schools often approach the public art section to gain advice on the commissioning process. In 2005 Ballyboughal National School acquired a sum of per cent for art funding and so the arts office agreed to match the amount and assist them in the public art process. We advertised an open call to artists, made a short list and invited 3 artists to make a presentation to the selection panel at the school.
Artist Bernie Leahy was selected and worked with the range of class groups at the School over a two year period. The workshops centred on the children’s wishes both present and future. The children completed drawings to accompany their wishes and Bernie, embroidered these drawings into a large wall piece for the school and transferred the images onto Perspex stepping stones which form “The Wish Path” at the front of the school. The drawings and wishes were so enjoyable, the arts office also commissioned a special publication to coincide with the launch of the project. This project was completed in 2007.

Vincent Browne, one of Ireland’s most prolific sculptors was commissioned in 2005 to create a unique work which would enhance the pond and the newly built Civic Offices. Vincent won the commission with his model “ The Tree of Life”.The Tree of life is constructed in bronze with hand welded bronze leaves. The structure represents the double helix a symbol associated with the structure of DNA, the building block of human existence. The sculpture reflects in the water and against the glass quietly interrupting its environment. It is a symbol for a growing county and for a young, progressive council.

Douglas Mooney is perfecting this innovative sculptural experiment to site 5 wind moving, solar powered Poppies on the M1 Lissenhall exit. This feat of engineering requires vigorous testing and sourcing expertise outside Ireland. We are committed to seeing this project through as we are committed to supporting innovation in sculpture and public art as part of our policy.

Douglas Mooney / Installation of prototype sculpture from Fingal Arts on Vimeo.

In 2006 Fingal County Council Arts office advertised nationally and internationally for artists to submit their interest in becoming part of a Public Art Panel for Fingal. Using funding from the Department of Environment Heritage and Local Governments Per Cent for Art Scheme, the council was in a position to commission new work which would represent Fingal’s rich heritage, landscape, society and culture. Visual artist Dan Dubowitz (UK) & choregrapher Fearghus Ó Conchúir (IRL) were selected and began the process with extensive site visits in the county.It was clear that they were both particularly taken with the Martello towers and began to research their history, their use and their owners, filming each of these unique buildings from a rooftop perspective.  A fitting creative partnership was formed between these artists that has resulted in the first visual art and dance collaboration to occur in this way in Ireland.   To create this piece a camera was placed at the tower’s former cannon point and moves slowly on a motorised tripod to take in twelve revolutions of movement and landscape, to correspond with the presence of the twelve towers. Fearghus intercepts the filming with movement capturing the character and feeling of each place.

 Fingal’s landscape is beautifully represented in these films through the choreography and the inclusion of a variety of Fingal’s local characters. Joe from the Howth Radio Museum Martello Tower demonstrates morse code, Dorothy from Rush recalls her fond memories from her days living in a tower, and in other towers children play.

For this exhibition the Martello towers are symbolically united in Fingal. Ó Conchúir and Dubowitz have approached the towers as a family that has drifted apart but are temporarily reunited in this work.The work generated great interest in the media with coverage on the RTE Six One News, a feature on TG4's Imeall, Irish Times and Herald Features.The project was close to hearts of the Skerries people,many of which volunteered to mediate the tower at weekends during its summer run.Over the weekends stories of the tower emerged, visitors pinned old images of the tower and wrote suggestions on the wall as to what might be next for the building. The last day of the project ended with a heritage event with an historical talk on the towers,a personal account of the project by Fearghus and visit from Senator Fergal Quinn whose father owned the Red Island Holiday Park and spent summers himself in the tower.As for the future of the building Fingal County Council have been approached by DIT to discuss the possibility of using the tower as a live project for students on issues of conservation architecture, quantity surveying, the aim being that they could research and cost a potential renovation.

Tattered Outlaws of History / Public Arts Project from Fingal Arts on Vimeo.

“A band of Bouffonss ( outcast Clowns from god-knows-where) take over Draiocht studio to present a show based on the “real life” Blanchardstown Centre. Their anarchic play brings you on a phantasmagorical travelator ride through the contemporary suburban shopping experience, where everything is there,but what you want seems just out of reach”

As part of the programme of public art commissions under the Per Cent for Art Scheme, we worked with the Ciaran Taylor and Carpet Theatre Company on a site specific theatre performance titled The Blanch.The performance was based on the day to day activities and characters of the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. Ciaran Taylor explains that the performance was based on observations and conversations which took place on field trips to the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre where he decided to create a  band of Bouffon clowns whose human characters are grotesque in appearance and caricature normal social behaviour. The show was advertised as part of the Draiocht programme with tickets free to all for each night.
The show enjoys a second run at this years Fringe Festival with further performances at axis, Ballymun.

Carpet Theatre Company – The Blanch from Fingal Arts on Vimeo.