A New Face at the Linenhall
The lovely Jackie Lyons has joined us for the next few months. She’ll be answering box-office and general queries calls, so do be nice to her. Behind the scenes she is looking after the books while Maura is on leave. Maura is perfectly fine. She’s taking personal leave and will be back in the summer.January-February Workshops a Hit!
We had a busy workshop programme for January & February at the Linenhall. Oisin Herraghty’s Stage Lighting Workshop series proved very popular and was over-subscribed with a waiting list in operation. Comments from lucky participants who got places included “It was well worth doing, thought it was fantastic”; “Brilliant, you learned so much in four weeks”; and “Excellent communicator, gave a great insight into lighting production”. Our Beauty Queen of Leenane workshops which complemented London Classic Theatre’s production of the show in our theatre a couple of weeks ago, was also hugely popular. We were delighted to hear from one participant that “for someone who never participated in theatre it makes me cry out for more!”. There are lots more workshops on offer in March and April so check them out.Arts Worker Position at the Linenhall Arts Centre
The Linenhall Arts Centre, programmes high-quality arts workshops for all the community across a range of art forms. The Linenhall is currently seeking applications for one position on a FÁS funded Community Employment Scheme which supports its Visual Art Programme for Schools.Candidates shall:
(1) be skilled in the area of visual art;
(2) have good communications skills;
(3) be prepared to work as part of a team;
Experience in workshop facilitation and/or experience working with children would be an advantage.
If you are interested and meet FÁS community employment eligibility criteria (please check with your local FAS office) send a current CV and cover letter to: Visual Art Programme for Schools, Linenhall Arts Centre, Linenhall St, Castlebar, Co Mayo. Closing Date 12 Feb 2010. Please note applicants should be available for interview on 18th and 19th February 2010.
Happy New Year from all of Us
We’re off to a flying start here at the Linenhall. Bookings for our January February programme are at a steady pace and our team is keeping warm during this very cold snap: Maura’s thermals are ensuring that her warm heart keeps her cosy (as well as keeping everyone else happy); Marie’s new shoes are keeping her feet toasty; Orla has a bun in the oven to keep her warm; Oisin is in a sweat slaving over the hot grill in our café; and Ian is in India - definitely the hottest member of the team this month! As for the rest of us we’ll keep you posted.Looking forward to seeing you all at the Linenhall in 2010.
Gift Vouchers Available
Why not give a gift voucher this Christmas. Our vouchers can be used to buy tickets for all events in our programme. In fact, check out our January/February listings and you might be tempted to buy tickets for some of our upcoming events.Loads of Lovely Art
We have had a brilliant submission for the Mayo Artists Show this year. Veronica Bolay has been very busy over the last few days making her selection and next week Malcolm Smith has the unenviable task of getting the whole lot up on the walls. But come what may it will all be ship shape for the official opening on Friday, 4 December 7.30pm.National Campaign for the Arts - Petition: Need 10,000 signatures by Friday 27 November
Time is ticking away with the Budget coming up on December 9. There are many ways you can support the National Campaign for the Arts including meeting your local politicians and joining your local arts worker group but one of the quickest and easiest things you can do is to sign the petition herePreston Reed had “a magical night” at the Linenhall
There’s a great buzz about the Linenhall this week with three performances (all with practically full houses), a film screening, two exhibitions and our Visual Art Programme for Schools on the go. We’re being kept on our toes. Preston Reed said he had “a magical night” last night, and we’re looking forward to the Lawnmowers tonight. Onwards and upwards..jpg)
Take Your Seat at the Linenhall 9-14 November
Take Your Seat is a week-long promotion of performing arts events in over 30 venues around Ireland. Check out the Take Your Seat website for more details.
An assembly of Artists and Arts Workers
A fine number of artists and arts workers turned up at the Linenhall on Saturday to show their support for Mayo Campaign for the Arts, calling on the Government to continue to support arts funding in the upcoming budget.Mayo Campaign for the Arts Update
A report on the meeting which took place at the Linenhall last Tuesday appears in this weeks Mayo News. Check it out.
Owl and Pussycat Gallery Tours
We've a fab exhibition in our gallery this month called The Owl and the Pussycat. Created with a young audience in mind, artists Cathy Hack and Gráinne O'Reilly have delved into Edward Lear's nonsense poem of the same name, to come up with some fantastic visual interpretations for this show. We're having great fun during the gallery tours and workshops which are taking place as part of our Visual Art Programme for Schools in conjunction with The Owl and the Pussycat exhibition.Mayo Campaign Update
We are now up to 123 members which is brilliant - so keep spreading the word and do register with the Mayo Arts Workers group on Facebook. The Tommy Marren interview has been rescheduled for tomorrow, just to keep Marie on her toes.Mayo Campaign for the Arts
Mayo Campaign for the Arts was established last night at a very lively meeting here in the Linenhall. If you would like to join the campaign you can contact us on email; linenhall@anu.ie or simply give us a call and we will add your name to the list and keep you informed of all that's happening.Mayo Arts Workers National Campaign for the Arts Open Meeting
National Campaign for the Arts Open Meeting, Linenhall Arts Centre, Tuesday 6th October @ 8pm. We're trying to get in touch with all the artists, arts workers and general enthusiasts to galvanise us into taking action about the proposed arts cuts. If you can't make the meeting then send on your email address to linenhall@anu.ie and we can keep in touch and let you know how things are progressing.National Campaign for the Arts
We're supporting the National Campaign for the Arts. For more information see the National Campaign for the Arts website www.ncfa.ie or listen to Colm Toibín on Morning Ireland last week.
Culture Night a huge success
Culture Night surpassed all our expectations here at the Linenhall last night (Friday 25th Sept). We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and we hope everyone who visited did too. A big thanks to everyone who sang for their supper, the local voluntary arts organisations who presented their wares, and to all our workshop facilitators who volunteered their services for the night.Culture Night Tonight
We’re polishing our suits and shining our shoes to welcome all and sundry here tonight for culture night. We have a selection of lovely treats on offer and a free glass of wine if you’ll sing us a song.
Schools Back - We’re thrilled
There’s a buzz about the Linenhall gallery these days. The primary schools are back after summer break, and our Visual Art Programme for Schools is in full swing again. We’ve two new members on the artistic team behind this programme this term. Kate McKeon and Claire de Berry join Denise Clarke and Marianne Heemskerk, and together they are designing and delivering a lively programme of gallery tours and workshops for primary schools.What’s on in Castlebar? Lots for Music Lovers!
Hot tickets at the moment are for Gerald Peregrine and Cathal Breslin’s Cello and Piano duet this Thursday, 10th September. Damien Dempsey on September 28th is now Sold Out, and Elaine Madden’s first solo vocal performance on Thursday week, 17th September, is rapidly heading that direction. Give us a buzz on 094 9023733 and our box office staff will sort you out!Catch it on our web-site first
From mid-September we’ll be posting up-coming events to our website as they are programmed. So keep an eye here, and be the first to get news of great events not to be missed. For theatre, music, dance, visual arts and arts workshops in Castlebar, the Linenhall is where it's at!Cleaning up our act!
Yesterday afternoon we put a formal strategy in place to keep all our computers in ship shape, and to keep our IT consultant, Chris, happy! It’s a stringent regime of cleaning up, backing up, and scanning… Maura’s keeping some Nurofen in her drawer in case of particularly stubborn viruses (we anticipate tamiflu won’t be necessary)!
RoolaBoola Brochure at the Printers!
Plans for this year’s RoolaBoola Children’s Arts Festival are at a very advanced stage. Orla is breathing a sigh of relief as she sent the completed version of this year’s brochure to the printers this morning. The RoolaBoola brochure will be available from early September and will go out to everyone on our mailing list with our regular September/October Events Programme.
States of Flux
After a couple of days of careful arranging and re-arranging, Betty Gannon’s exhibition is up! Betty, Ian and Malcolm Smith did a great job with the hanging and the show looks fantastic, well we think so anyway. Come see for yourself. Official opening Friday 7th August at 7.30pm, all welcome.The World Fleadh
Things are hotting up for The World Fleadh this August bank holiday weekend here at the Linenhall Arts Centre. Oisín is busy getting our theatre ready for what promise to be four great gigs over the weekend . See you there.Unfortunately, due to factors outside our control, the Con Kelleher photographic exhibition has been cancelled. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Summer Art Camps 2009 – A huge success
The Linenhall was a-buzz with creativity all throughout July for our annual Art Camps. Walking through our foyer area at finish up time, it was not surprising to meet a child carrying a life size alien painting, or skipping along singing a song from Roald Dahl’s Cinderella The Musical, or even explaining to mammy in full voice how they created a print with a fish! It was a fun few weeks. We’d like to extend a big thank-you to our fantastic volunteers Mary Garry, Sally Rooney and Brigitte Bark, who helped with signing people in and lunch supervision. Thanks also to all our wonderful workshop facilitators. We’re looking forward to next year already.
Self Portraits from Mayo Schools Launch
There was a great turn out for the offical opening of the Self Portraits from Mayo Schools exhibition today, Tuesday 7th July. A big congrats to all the young artists whose work features in the exhibition. The show resulted from the Linenhall's ongoing Visual Art Programme for Schools. Here's Séimí pointing to his work of art. As well as attending the launch in the Linenhall he also travelled to see the exhibition when it was on show at the Belfast Children's Festival.The World Fleadh
We are just now finalising our programme for The World Fleadh. Castlebar hosts the Fleadh this year and we anticipate a right old knees up. If you want a sneak preview of what's coming to town over the August Bank Holiday weekend check out www.theworldfleadh.com. Meanwhile we will have full details posted here in the near future.Back from Sunny Edinburgh
Orla is just back from the 20th Bank of Scotland Imaginate Children’s Festival in Edinburgh. This year’s Imaginate festival was particularly inspiring. Of the 12 shows and one work-in-progress presentation Orla saw during her three days there, she’s delighted to report that the majority of them would be welcome inclusions the RoolaBoola programme. The festival provided a great opportunity to see shows with a view to including them in RoolaBoola, as well as to meet and share ideas with theatre practitioners and Children’s Arts programmers from all over the world. Just in case it sounds like a lot of work, be assured that she did manage to fit in a couple of social drinks, some shopping and even a little lounging in the sun, in the famous Meadows area of the city.Summer Camps Are Here Again!
We are delighted to announce ARTCAMP 2009, the Linenhall Arts Centre’s Summer Programme of quality arts activities for young people. These extremely popular week-long courses will be under the guidance of experienced community artists and teachers working with the Linenhall. So get creative this summer and join in the fun!Please note that to ensure a quality experience for all participants places are strictly limited and BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL. Due to the popularity of these camps, early booking is advised. Booking and further details from the Linenhall Arts Centre, Tel: 094 9023733.
Check out ARTCAMP 2009 on our Workshops section now!
