Summer Craft Fair: Calling Quality Craftmakers
We are delighted to be hosting the annual Summer Craft Fair on Saturday 11th July in the Linenhall Theatre. From 10am-6pm that day visitors will be able to view (and purchase!) the wares of around 30 of the foremost exponents of craft from all over Ireland. A range of top ceramics, woodcraft, leather work, jewellery, textiles, metalwork and more will be on show, offering an opportunity to meet the makers, buy direct and pay the makers’ prices. It’s also a great chance to find that ‘something special’.If you’re one of the many regional craftmakers and would like to be a part of the Craft Fair, contact Alex Nicholson (087 6320705 , email: alecman@eircom.net ) or Brendan Murphy (087 6987340 , email: murphyshalfacre@eircom.net ). Closing date for applications is 9th May.
Can You Help?
We had a great response to our call for help in January and we’d like to extend a big thanks to everyone who offered to volunteer at the Linenhall. Throughout February volunteers did fantastic work. Thanks to Caroline Felle, who manned our box-office; Neasa McGarrigle who assisted our community arts team in the delivery of the February Visual Art Programme for Schools; Eileen Everard who helped out with our art workshops for 2 – 4 year olds; and finally Nick Devaney, and Anne Cresham who were invaluable when it came to preparing our March/April Brochure mail out. If we have not taken up on your offer to volunteer, never fear, there will be plenty more work to do throughout the year and we will be working our way through the volunteers list as needs arise. Anyone who would like to add their name to the list simply give us a call at 094 9023733.Search for RoolaBoola Corporate Sponsor
The Linenhall Arts Centre is in search of a Corporate Sponsor for its amazing Children’s Arts Festival RoolaBoola. Last year 5,000 children and their families attended RoolaBoola events. Support from a Corporate sponsor will ensure that we can build on this success and that the festival goes from strength to strength and continues to engage and enrich the children in our community. Perhaps you work for a company who would be interested in coming on board as a RoolaBoola partner, you may even be that Corporate Sponsor we are looking for! Spread the word and get in contact with us at 094 9023733.CAN YOU HELP?
Do you have any spare hours you can give us? If you have experience working with children or enjoy office work you might be invaluable.We’ve just had our grant cut, both by the Arts Council and Castlebar Town Council which is making life a little difficult at the moment.
You might be in a position to help keep the storm clouds at bay and ease our funding shortfall by volunteering. We would love to hear from you.
PAINTING WORKSHOP SERIES FOR TEENS
Nine young teenagers have been learning about some of the processes involved in creating a large-scale painting, here at the Linenhall Arts Centre. Over the past number of weeks they have been planning their work, and getting to grips with some of the techniques and methods used by professional artists. They will finish their masterpieces next week, Wednesday February 11th. The series was designed by and is under the guidance of artist Grainne O'Reilly.Can you Help?
Do you have any spare hours you can give us? If you have experience working with children or enjoy office work you might be invaluable.We’ve just had our grant cut, both by the Arts Council and Castlebar Town Council which is making life a little difficult at the moment.
You might be in a position to help keep the storm clouds at bay and ease our funding shortfall by volunteering. We would love to hear from you.
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Visual Art Programme for Schools continues in January
The Linenhalls Visual Art Programme for Schools is focusing on Lucy Hill and Almha Roche's exhibtion Crickets Sing with their Legs this month (January). Our community arts team is delivering gallery tours focusing on particular aspects of Lucy and Almha's work including themes and inspiration, application of paint, texture, colour and mood, and composition. Children's reactions to the work have been varied. Lucy Hill's piece ``Erasing Names I`` attracted much reaction: ``It looks like the streams and when you look at the circles they look trapped``; ``If you turn the painting around it kind of looks like the sky with stripes``; ``The marks look a bit like Ogham``. One child was curious to know if the works were created in the Linenhall Arts Centre and another pointed out that the piece ``Erasing Names II````looks like she painted it with her fingers``. Following the gallery tour, the children have been taking part in a workshop in which they experiment with using paint on a variety of surfaces.
Happy Christmas
The staff of the Linenhall Arts Centre would like to wish a very Happy Christmas to all our friends. See you all in the New Year.The Linenhall closes for Christmas at 5.00pm on Tuesday 23rd December. OPEN from Monday 29th December to Wednesday 31st December at 3.00pm. CLOSED January 1st. Reopens Friday 2nd January.
Artist Gráinne O’Reilly has been busy adding some Christmas cheer to our Coffee Shop. Who’s who? Answers on a postcard (only joking!).
Linenhall Gift Vouchers - The Perfect Gift!
The Linenhall Arts Centre is pleased to offer Gift Vouchers, which are redeemable against any events in the Linenhall’s programme. For something a little different, why not consider a gift through us?Contact the Linenhall Arts Centre for further details.
Craftmakers’ Christmas Fair
Saturday 13th December, from 10.00am-6.00pmThe Craftmakers’ Christmas Fair brings together around 30 of the foremost exponents of a diverse selection of crafts from all over Ireland to present their distinctive wares for your delectation, delight and purchase. A range of top ceramics, woodcraft, leather work, jewellery, textiles, metalwork and more will be on show, with an opportunity to meet and buy direct from the makers themselves. The Craftmakers’ Christmas Fair is quickly becoming a firm favourite with people searching for top quality distinctive craft products. Looking for that special Christmas gift? Look no further!
Craftmakers’ Christmas Fair takes place at the Linenhall Arts Centre on Saturday 13th December, from 10.00am-6.00pm. Mark it in your diary!
Visual Art Programme for Schools continues throughout November
The Linenhalls Visual Art Programme for Schools is focusing on Stephen Rinns exhibition Intimate Ground this month (November). Our community arts team is delivering gallery tours focusing on particular aspects of Stephen's work including the materials and techniques used, as well as discussion about the colour palettes he employs, and the composition of some of the pieces. They also consider Stephen’s creation of what he calls “painted spaces” and his “focus on abstract values which truly evoke the essence of an area”. Children’s reactions to his work have been varied: “Some of the paintings are very abstract”; “Maybe his memories are a bit fuzzy”; “It’s like the Guinness” (referring to his piece “Winter Ground”). Following the gallery tour, the children have been taking part in a workshops in which the idea of creating a visual representation of the essence of a space is reflected on. The children have then been creating their own abstract interpretation of a space using collage to create a three dimensional boxed space.RoolaBoola: A Big THANK YOU
So, another brilliant RoolaBoola done and dusted! And as that very dust settles and life at the Linenhall Arts Centre returns to business as usual and what we somewhat ironically refer to as ‘normality’, we’d just like to offer a big vote of thanks to all our sponsors and volunteers for their support:our sponsors: Mayo Leisure Point, Castlebar Credit Union, Lough Lannagh Village, McDonald’s Castlebar, TJ Gaughan Construction Company Ltd., Elephant Bean Bags, Baxter Healthcare;
our funders The Arts Council, Mayo County Council, Castlebar Town Council, Fáilte Ireland, Ireland’s West;
the assistance of An Garda Síochana, Civil Defence, HSE Rural Training Centre Castlebar, Bata Fada, Mayo Artsquad, The Tweed Centre Castlebar, Fahey’s Hardware, Woodies DIY, TF Royal Theatre & Event Centre, St. Patrick’s Boys School, Bettina Peterseil and drummers, our Transition Year volunteers, Access>CINEMA, Children’s Books Ireland, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norwegian Association for Performing Arts, all those who donated books to the Stories Room, all the volunteers for Lough Lannagh Lights, and all who made this another brilliant RoolaBoola experience!
And, last but not least, to everyone both young and old who came along and supported all the events so enthusiastically. Thank you all!
AIB Prize for Visual Artists: Invitation to Submit
The AIB Prize is a major annual prize open to all visual artists born or resident in Ireland who are in the early stages of their careers. The 2009 AIB Prize is €20,000. Entries may only be made from publicly funded venues, and the Linenhall is inviting eligible artists to make a written submission to the Linenhall accompanied by a CV and up to 8 images (slide or CD ROM) for initial selection, from which an artist will be chosen for formal submission by the Linenhall. Submissions should be addressed to the Linenhall and marked “AIB Prize”. Closing date for submissions is 12th November 2008.Craftmakers Christmas Fair
Saturday 13th December, from 10.00am-6.00pmThe Linenhall hosts the latest Craftmakers’ Fair on Saturday 13th December in the Linenhall Theatre. The Craftmakers’ Christmas Fair brings together around 30 of the foremost exponents of a diverse selection of crafts from all over Ireland to present their distinctive wares for your delectation, delight and purchase. A range of top ceramics, woodcraft, leather work, jewellery, textiles, metalwork and more will be on show, with an opportunity to meet and buy direct from the makers themselves. The Craftmakers’ Christmas Fair is quickly becoming a firm favourite with people searching for top quality distinctive craft products. Looking for that special Christmas gift? Look no further!
Craftmakers’ Christmas Fair takes place at the Linenhall Arts Centre on Saturday 13th December 2008, from 10.00am-6.00pm. Mark it in your diary!
Minister Cullen visits the Linenhall
Minister for the Arts Martin Cullen popped in to the Linenhall in early September, during a brief visit to the county. Marie brought him on a tour of the building and the Linenhall’s facilities impressing on him the need for additional funding for next year. However Minister Cullen suggested that due to the current economic climate government funding for the arts is not looking very promising for 2009.Over the last number of weeks we’ve been busy gathering together reports on the past year’s activities to support our annual revenue grant application for the Arts Council of Ireland. We naturally believe we provide an exemplary arts service to the community and we hope that the Arts Councils funding decision for the coming year will reflect this fact!
Waiting for Godot
We had a full house, and a waiting list that would fill another house, for The Gate Theatre’s national tour of Waiting for Godot which visited the Linenhall on September 23rd last.The response we received in relation to the show demonstrated a very healthy interest in theatre in the region. We hope that all of our regular theatre fans who didn’t manage to get tickets were not overly disappointed. Keep an eye on our brochure for more theatrical gems coming your way soon.
The Linenhall’s Visual Art Programme for Schools 2008-2009
The 2008/2009 Visual Art Programme for Schools got off to a great start this September. 393 children from 6 schools were introduced to the exhibition “Female Artist of the Twentieth Century from the Niland Collection”. With guidance from our team of artists, Denise Clarke, Catherine Cronogue and Marianne Heemskerk the children discussed the different practices and traditions of the women artists, the materials and methods they used, and the different art styles featured in the exhibition. They also learned that selected artists Mary Swanzy, Evie Hone and Manie Jelliett, were some of the first Irish artists to be part of the Cubist art movement.Following the gallery tour the children created their own cubist-style art works. Each child drew a still life composition from a variety of angles, with each drawing overlaid on the previous one. The children then coloured the resulting piece according to shape rather than object.
RoolaBoola Schools Shows
RoolaBoola Schools Shows are almost booked out. However we do have some spaces for very small class sizes (less than 10 including teacher). Any interested teachers can contact the RoolaBoola box office on 094 9028886.Linenhall Arts Centre New Website
We’re delighted to announce the launch of our new website on Monday 1st September. This project has been gestating for some time now, and we hope you like what we’ve finally come up with. The web address remains the same ( www.thelinenhall.com ) but the content has been changed and rearranged. The website is for you, so we’d like to hear from you if there is anything you think works particularly well, or if there is anything else you would like to see included. Log on, get surfing, and spare a thought for our web designer Emmet Connolly who’ll now be putting his feet up in the evenings!So check out our new look!
www.thelinenhall.com
Office Make-Over
Over the next few days the Linenhall’s Office is being gutted to make way for a new workspace for our hard working director Marie and our fabulous administrator Maura. The shiny new office will be all systems go on September 8th. We really look forward to having a more comfortable, user-friendly space in which to meet and greet you, during office hours. Watch out for the new uniform also! (Only kidding).Linenhall Film Club Information - New Prices
Annual Membership: €5 (Membership covers one guest)Cost per ticket: €7
Autumn Season package: €30 for all 6 films (see Film Club brochure for details)
PRE-BOOKING OF FILM TICKETS: From this season we are also inviting you to PRE-BOOK your Linenhall film tickets the same as for shows - so you can be sure to get the seat you want! Why not avail of our new service?
Calling All over 65S Who Like to Dance!
The Linenhall Arts Centre is exploring the possibility of running a series of dance workshops for over 65 year-olds in Spring 2009. In order to ensure that these workshops meet your needs/wishes we would now like to hear from you. What sort of dance would you like us to focus on: Old-time Waltzes; Ballroom Dance; Swing; Salsa; Set Dancing; Sean Nós Dance; or any other suggestionsr? What length of a workshop would suit you? We are hoping to run the workshops on a Friday morning in the Linenhall’s theatre space… is this a suitable time? Have you any other suggestions?You can let us know by sending us a letter for the attention of: Orla Henihan, Linenhall Arts Centre, Linenhall St, Castlebar, Co Mayo, or by phoning Orla at 094 9023733.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Roolaboola - Help Us Create the Magic!
Preparations for the RoolaBoola Children’s Arts Festival are at an advanced stage here at the Linenhall Arts Centre. RoolaBoola is one of the country’s finest arts events for children, catering to almost 6000 children and their families each year. There are a number of ways in which you can help us out:- Donate a Children’s Story Book to the Roolaboola Stories Room
In 2008 we are planning a children’s literature programme as part of RoolaBoola. For this new element of the festival we are creating a “Stories Room” where children can drop in and read from a selection of children’s books, and we have also invited a selection of special guests to read their favourite children’s stories in the stories room over the RoolaBoola weekend. We are now inviting members of the public to donate their used / unwanted children’s story books to the RoolaBoola Stories Room. Books can be dropped in to the Linenhall Office (upstairs in the gallery) any time up to Wednesday 22nd October. (After RoolaBoola, all donated books will be passed on to St. Vincent de Paul, Castlebar.) - Seeking Adult Volunteers: Lough Lannagh Lights
We are looking for adult volunteers to assist with marshalling duties at our night-time lake-side fireworks spectacle Lough Lannagh Lights, taking place on the evening of Monday 27th October (Bank Holiday) as part of this year’s RoolaBoola Children’s Arts Festival. We will need volunteers for a maximum of 2 hours on the night, and also for an INDUCTION MEETING on Thursday 16th October at 8.00pm in the Linenhall Theatre. It is very important that you let us know your names in advance of the meeting, so if you are interested, please contact the Linenhall as soon as possible. Help us make it happen! - Calling Artists: Make a Light Sculpture for Roolaboola’s the Ant Farm
The Rural Training Centre (RTC), Castlebar is teaming up with the Linenhall Arts Centre to present a light sculpture arts event entitled The Ant Farm as part of RoolaBoola Children’s Arts Festival. The event will take place at the RTC, Humbert Way, Castlebar on Friday 24th October at 7.00pm. Admission FREE, all welcome. For further details see the RoolaBoola brochure which will be available from early September at the Linenhall Arts Centre.
There is an opportunity for artists interested in making light sculptures to come to the Rural Training Centre, to make their own light sculpture on the theme The Ant Farm. Artists will work on their own steam, however, in order to learn making techniques, artists who are not familiar with working with willow and tissue paper are welcome to observe artist in residence Tom Meskell creating pieces with his workshop participants. Making days at the centre will take place from 10.00am - 4.00pm Monday 20th October - Thursday 23rd October in the RTC. Taking part is FREE and all materials are provided. PLEASE NOTE: places are limited and pre-booking is essential. Contact Tom 086 1508141 as soon as possible.
