An Post GPO Witness History Public Art Commissions &
Children's Memorial Commission
Curators Valerie Connor and Ruairí Ó Cuív
Embodied
Photo Luca Truffarelli
Dancers Emma O’Kane, Jazmín Chiodi, Jessica Kennedy & Megan Kennedy (junk ensemble), Jessie Keenan, Liv O’Donoghue and Sibéal Davitt. Directed by Liz Roche. Produced by Dublin Dance Festival.
STORMY PETREL/GUAIRDEALL
Photo Ros Kavanagh
THEY ARE OF US ALL
Permanent Sculpture
Photo Ros Kavanagh
Chronology of Announcements 2015-2016
Public Art Commissions, September 2015
An Post Media Centre
An Post has announced that the recipients of the GPO: Witness History Public Art Commissions are Dublin Dance Festival - which will develop six new dance solos titled ‘Embodied’ - and a visual arts collaboration between artists Alanna O’Kelly, Brian Hand and Orla Ryan - who will produce a contemporary art work titled ‘Stormy Petrel/Guairdeall’.
Through an Open Call earlier this year, individuals and organisations across the Arts were invited to respond to the 1916 Proclamation and its contemporary resonance.
An Post has announced that the recipients of the GPO: Witness History Public Art Commissions are Dublin Dance Festival - which will develop six new dance solos titled ‘Embodied’ - and a visual arts collaboration between artists Alanna O’Kelly, Brian Hand and Orla Ryan - who will produce a contemporary art work titled ‘Stormy Petrel/Guairdeall’.
Through an Open Call earlier this year, individuals and organisations across the Arts were invited to respond to the 1916 Proclamation and its contemporary resonance.
Barney Whelan, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs thanked everyone who took part in the Open Call process. He added:
The commissions now move into the development phase and we look forward to sharing them with visitors to our new GPO: Witness History Centre from April next year.
GPO: Witness History, currently under construction in the eastern courtyard of Dublin’s GPO will be an engaging, interactive visitor attraction bringing history to life through technology, video and authentic artefacts. Opening at Easter 2016, its special effects, soundscapes and heartfelt stories of real people in extraordinary circumstances will captivate visitors of all ages and interests.
‘Embodied’ by Dublin Dance Festival is a series of six new dance solos by female choreographers Jazmín Chiodi, Sibéal Davitt, junk ensemble (Jessica Kennedy & Megan Kennedy), Liv O’Donoghue, Jessie Keenan and Emma O’Kane. These ‘physical proclamations’ will be performed in the GPO and will be directed by leading choreographer Liz Roche. Photographer Luca Truffarelli will work with the choreographers to document the dance works for an exhibition.
Benjamin Perchet, Director of Dublin Dance Festival said about 'Embodied':
Benjamin Perchet, Director of Dublin Dance Festival said about 'Embodied':
We are honoured and excited that Dance has been given the opportunity to respond to this seminal moment. We are delighted that the selected female artists will present their unique and contrasting interpretations of the Proclamation to a diverse audience. We would like to thank the team at An Post and the GPO: Witness History for this important public art commission.
'Stormy Petrel/Guairdeall’ is a collaboration between visual artists, Alanna O’Kelly, Brian Hand and Orla Ryan. The project comprises a series of art works that will include performance, sound and artists’ publication.
Orla Ryan, on behalf of the collaborating visual artists, said about ‘Stormy Petrel/Guairdeall’:
Orla Ryan, on behalf of the collaborating visual artists, said about ‘Stormy Petrel/Guairdeall’:
Our collaboration begins with the symbolism of the Stormy Petrel, the world’s smallest seabird, as a metaphor for someone who is an avatar of change and whose appearance announces an oncoming storm. In 1916 the stormy petrel was an international symbol of revolution and the anti- colonial imagination. We are looking at the role of women couriers as ‘human telegraphs’, who memorised the Proclamation on their journeys out of Dublin on Easter Monday morning. Once the rebellion had started, getting back to Dublin was not straightforward.
An Post have appointed curators Ruairí Ó Cuív and Valerie Connor to advise and manage the GPO Witness History Public Art commissions.
Media Contact: Anna McHugh - Head of Corporate Communications, An Post. Tel. 00353 (0)1 7058832
Media Contact: Anna McHugh - Head of Corporate Communications, An Post. Tel. 00353 (0)1 7058832
Children's Commission, February 2016
An Post Media Centre
An Post announces a Children’s Commission for GPO, a new permanent sculpture is installed in the eastern courtyard of An Post’s newly developed €10m visitor centre GPO Witness History. Artist Barbara Knezevic has created the artwork entitled ‘They are of us all’, commissioned as a reflection on young lives lost through conflict and a commemoration of the children who died during Easter Week 1916 in Dublin.
‘They are of us all’ was selected through a limited competition when artists were invited to propose an artwork to remember the children killed during the week of the Easter Rising in 1916. The initiative was the culmination of extensive independent research initiated by broadcaster Joe Duffy.
Anna McHugh, Head of Corporate Communications at An Post and the GPO Witness History Project Team, congratulated Barbara Knezevic on the commission and thanked all the artists who had taken part in the process. She added:
An Post announces a Children’s Commission for GPO, a new permanent sculpture is installed in the eastern courtyard of An Post’s newly developed €10m visitor centre GPO Witness History. Artist Barbara Knezevic has created the artwork entitled ‘They are of us all’, commissioned as a reflection on young lives lost through conflict and a commemoration of the children who died during Easter Week 1916 in Dublin.
‘They are of us all’ was selected through a limited competition when artists were invited to propose an artwork to remember the children killed during the week of the Easter Rising in 1916. The initiative was the culmination of extensive independent research initiated by broadcaster Joe Duffy.
Anna McHugh, Head of Corporate Communications at An Post and the GPO Witness History Project Team, congratulated Barbara Knezevic on the commission and thanked all the artists who had taken part in the process. She added:
This permanent sculpture for the Children of the Rising is cocooned right in the heart of the GPO; their stories are woven throughout our unique exhibition and they will always be remembered here. This area of the city was their playground and we are still on ‘their patch’.
This permanent sculpture for the Children of the Rising is cocooned right in the heart of the GPO; their stories are woven throughout our unique exhibition and they will always be remembered here. This area of the city was their playground and we are still on ‘their patch’.
Barbara Knezevic lives in Dublin and is currently based at Temple Bar Gallery and Studios. She explains that ‘They are of us all’ takes the form of 40 limestones placed on a mirrored steel surface, each stone a tribute to each child:
Barbara Knezevic lives in Dublin and is currently based at Temple Bar Gallery and Studios. She explains that ‘They are of us all’ takes the form of 40 limestones placed on a mirrored steel surface, each stone a tribute to each child:
The small scale of the stones is intimate and their reflections evoke the individual tragedy of the loss of a child as well as the universal nature of grief. As the artwork memorialises an aspect of the Easter Rising previously overlooked, the intention is to represent the gravity of these bereavements alongside the more public history and legacy of the 1916 Easter Rising.
The small scale of the stones is intimate and their reflections evoke the individual tragedy of the loss of a child as well as the universal nature of grief. As the artwork memorialises an aspect of the Easter Rising previously overlooked, the intention is to represent the gravity of these bereavements alongside the more public history and legacy of the 1916 Easter Rising.
GPO Witness History opens on March 29th, 2016. See www.gpowitnesshistory.ie for more details and booking. The new visitor centre is expected to attract more than 30,000 visitors per annum.
The artist would like to acknowledge the expertise and assistance of George Cooke at Natural Stone Supplies; Anton Patrescu, Stonemason; Jason Ellis, Artist; Brian and Paul Hanna at Hanna and Sons, Fabricators; and Tony Magennis at MagTrans. Curators Ruairí Ó Cuív and Valerie Connor were contracted to advise on and manage the GPO Witness History Children’s Commission.
Other exhibitions by Barbara Knezevic in 2016:
11/03/16 - Duality of Form, Solstice Arts Centre, Meath, curated by Mary Cremin.
12/03/16 - Object Wars, ArtBox, Dublin.
08/04 to 17/05/16 - Ajar, Gallery Augusta HIAP, Helsinki (2-person exhibition with Jaana Laakkonen).
06/08 to 13/09/2016 - City Agents, EKKM, Tallin, Estonia curated by Jussi Koitela.
November 2016: Solo exhibition, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Dublin.
Media Contact: Anna McHugh, Head of Corporate Communications, An Post. Tel. 00353 (0)1 7058832 / 086 2530697
GPO Witness History opens on March 29th, 2016. See www.gpowitnesshistory.ie for more details and booking. The new visitor centre is expected to attract more than 30,000 visitors per annum.
The artist would like to acknowledge the expertise and assistance of George Cooke at Natural Stone Supplies; Anton Patrescu, Stonemason; Jason Ellis, Artist; Brian and Paul Hanna at Hanna and Sons, Fabricators; and Tony Magennis at MagTrans. Curators Ruairí Ó Cuív and Valerie Connor were contracted to advise on and manage the GPO Witness History Children’s Commission.
Other exhibitions by Barbara Knezevic in 2016:
11/03/16 - Duality of Form, Solstice Arts Centre, Meath, curated by Mary Cremin.
12/03/16 - Object Wars, ArtBox, Dublin.
08/04 to 17/05/16 - Ajar, Gallery Augusta HIAP, Helsinki (2-person exhibition with Jaana Laakkonen).
06/08 to 13/09/2016 - City Agents, EKKM, Tallin, Estonia curated by Jussi Koitela.
November 2016: Solo exhibition, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Dublin.
Media Contact: Anna McHugh, Head of Corporate Communications, An Post. Tel. 00353 (0)1 7058832 / 086 2530697
Public Art Briefing Session, 2015
Welcome to the briefing session. Straight away, you’ll be taken to view the new courtyard, which is now under construction, then walk back through the building to the Public Hall. There will be a cup of tea and,once seated, presentations on the commissioner’s perspective by Barney Whelan, Director of Communications at An Post and Stephen Ferguson, Assistant Secretary of An Post, on the GPO during the Easter Rising. Ruairí Ó’Cuív and Valerie Connor will then outline the requirements for submissions and some first thoughts about the Proclamation as the chosen starting point for the commission.
The briefing session is an opportunity to share information, ask and answer questions, stimulate conversation, listen and circulate ideas. An edited recording of the session will be made available online to enable those unable to attend to have access to the information and Q&A.
What is the 1916 Proclamation? It is both a thing made of ink on paper, an artifact that we have kept and copied – and it is an event, a voice on the street, an intervention, history and a conjuring up of the future. There continue to be many interpretations and re-iterations of the words and competing claims made on the ideas and aspirations. It continues to call out for attention as it did when it was read out for the first time ‘on the steps of the GPO’.
In the ‘vernacular’ and the everyday telling of the story, the reading of the Proclamation is staged on the ‘steps of the GPO’. But the GPO has no grand or elevated steps between the street and itself. The threshold is a modest one. The elevation of the floor inside over the level of the street is slight. In making the Proclamation, the steps beneath it were hurried ones taken in the dark and padded about while fashioning ad hoc lettering on an old press, until that became a stride into the Easter Monday sunlight, carrying the promise of better times into the street and broadcast into the ears and sensibilities of passers-by. Surviving the missteps and sidesteps of politics and nation, it speaks to the world of freedom, equality, and urges – takes the first step.
Like a public address system, the GPO amplifies. The State of the Nation is declared time again in the commentary and contents of letters, cards and parcels – the state of the place – as much as in that singular historic annunciation of 1916. The building itself is a threshold between the state and the people, the country and the city and a place where people mix, things are saved and sorted. It is a place of distribution and transmission, reception and collection.
The orders and disorders of the Easter Rising remain in the records of the postal service archives in Ireland and the U.K., our national archives and libraries, and further afield. There are many told and imaginary scenes as well as before and after photographs, yet while some thrive through recirculation others do not. There is a feeling surely that next year may be overwhelming. That the state has too often inhabited the personal, private, and public life of ‘the people’, huffing and puffing and gobbling ‘the people’ up. And so many ‘Proclamations’! Marginalia and auction room paraphernalia.
In terms of the cultural context, there is a wealth of existing and upcoming research about the well-known, not so well-known, overlooked and revised aspects of the life and times of people when the 1916 Proclamation was written, printed and performed into our history and memory. It is with a feel for the weft and the weave, the fold and the flair, that this Open Call invites the interest of artists to newly consider the place of this post office in relation to all that ‘the Proclamation’ is and can be imagined to be.
For further reading about the impact of the events of Easter Rising 1916 on the GPO, please see Stephen Ferguson’s books ‘GPO Staff in 1916’ & ‘The GPO: 200 Years of History’, both Mercier Press.
Ruairí Ó’Cuív and Valerie Connor, Curators
Deadline for proposals is 4pm, Wednesday 13th May 2015. Late entries cannot be considered.
The submission requirements are described in full in the An Post Public Art Commissions Briefing Document (see below) and applications must be sent to GPO Witness History Public Art Commissions, An Post Communications, GPO, O’Connell St. Lower, Dublin 1.
________________
Acknowledgements | Kavanagh Tuite Architects, Stephen Ferguson, Barney Whelan, Anna McHugh, Eimear Breen, Jennifer Reilly and all at the GPO.
Circulated at the Public Letters Office, GPO, Dublin. Wednesday, 15 April, 7 – 8.30pm.
The briefing session is an opportunity to share information, ask and answer questions, stimulate conversation, listen and circulate ideas. An edited recording of the session will be made available online to enable those unable to attend to have access to the information and Q&A.
What is the 1916 Proclamation? It is both a thing made of ink on paper, an artifact that we have kept and copied – and it is an event, a voice on the street, an intervention, history and a conjuring up of the future. There continue to be many interpretations and re-iterations of the words and competing claims made on the ideas and aspirations. It continues to call out for attention as it did when it was read out for the first time ‘on the steps of the GPO’.
In the ‘vernacular’ and the everyday telling of the story, the reading of the Proclamation is staged on the ‘steps of the GPO’. But the GPO has no grand or elevated steps between the street and itself. The threshold is a modest one. The elevation of the floor inside over the level of the street is slight. In making the Proclamation, the steps beneath it were hurried ones taken in the dark and padded about while fashioning ad hoc lettering on an old press, until that became a stride into the Easter Monday sunlight, carrying the promise of better times into the street and broadcast into the ears and sensibilities of passers-by. Surviving the missteps and sidesteps of politics and nation, it speaks to the world of freedom, equality, and urges – takes the first step.
Like a public address system, the GPO amplifies. The State of the Nation is declared time again in the commentary and contents of letters, cards and parcels – the state of the place – as much as in that singular historic annunciation of 1916. The building itself is a threshold between the state and the people, the country and the city and a place where people mix, things are saved and sorted. It is a place of distribution and transmission, reception and collection.
The orders and disorders of the Easter Rising remain in the records of the postal service archives in Ireland and the U.K., our national archives and libraries, and further afield. There are many told and imaginary scenes as well as before and after photographs, yet while some thrive through recirculation others do not. There is a feeling surely that next year may be overwhelming. That the state has too often inhabited the personal, private, and public life of ‘the people’, huffing and puffing and gobbling ‘the people’ up. And so many ‘Proclamations’! Marginalia and auction room paraphernalia.
In terms of the cultural context, there is a wealth of existing and upcoming research about the well-known, not so well-known, overlooked and revised aspects of the life and times of people when the 1916 Proclamation was written, printed and performed into our history and memory. It is with a feel for the weft and the weave, the fold and the flair, that this Open Call invites the interest of artists to newly consider the place of this post office in relation to all that ‘the Proclamation’ is and can be imagined to be.
For further reading about the impact of the events of Easter Rising 1916 on the GPO, please see Stephen Ferguson’s books ‘GPO Staff in 1916’ & ‘The GPO: 200 Years of History’, both Mercier Press.
Ruairí Ó’Cuív and Valerie Connor, Curators
Deadline for proposals is 4pm, Wednesday 13th May 2015. Late entries cannot be considered.
The submission requirements are described in full in the An Post Public Art Commissions Briefing Document (see below) and applications must be sent to GPO Witness History Public Art Commissions, An Post Communications, GPO, O’Connell St. Lower, Dublin 1.
________________
Acknowledgements | Kavanagh Tuite Architects, Stephen Ferguson, Barney Whelan, Anna McHugh, Eimear Breen, Jennifer Reilly and all at the GPO.
Circulated at the Public Letters Office, GPO, Dublin. Wednesday, 15 April, 7 – 8.30pm.
Public Art Open Call, March 2015
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