International Artist Selected For Art Commission In The Midlands

Friday, 25 August 2023 15:56

Two community engagement events will be hosted in Offaly next month.

An international artist has been selected for an art commission in the midlands.

The project will be based in Lough Boora Sculpture Park in Offaly,

Hardeep Sahota will be collaborating with photographer Tim Smith on the project and they will be carrying out research and will host community engagement events in Tullamore in September.

The first event, Your local stories about work industries, will take place on Monday 4th September, 2pm – 4.30pm at Esker Arts, Tullamore.

There will be a presentation of the artists work and how it is inspired by local work industries. Afterwards people will have an opportunity to share their stories of their working lives.

Those who have worked with textiles, peat-harvesting, farming, distillery or any other industry are invited to attend.

The second event Have a Go - Dance and Light-painting! will take place on Monday 4th September, at 6.00 -7.30pm at Esker Arts Centre, Tullamore.

Artist Hardeep will teach Indian Dance as well as the basics of ‘painting’ with light with support from photographer Tim.

The workshop is open to dancers of all ages, style and abilities.

This project will explore individual dance styles through light-painting where you will explore long-exposure photography using digital cameras and lights.

The commission is part of Art in the Landscape, a project led by Offaly County Council in collaboration with partner organisations Bord Na Móna, Lough Boora Sculpture Park, Mayo County Council and Visual Artist Ireland.

The project takes its inspirations from Lough Boora Sculpture Park in County Offaly and the Tír Sáile Sculpture Trail in North Mayo, two of the largest sculpture park/ trails in Ireland.

Visual Artists Ireland Get Together will be taking place at Esker Arts in October 2023 and is affiliated to this project.

This project is funded by the Arts Council’s An Invitation to Collaboration Scheme.

Helen Pheby, Curator, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, has been engaged to curate the artists commissions and overall curatorial direction of the project.

Hardeep Sahota is a multidisciplinary artist and academic known for his work in the field of Bhangra.

For his exhibition, ‘Bhangra Lexicon’ at Yorkshire Sculpture Park he collaborated with photographer Tim Smith to capture dance, body movements and gestures associated with Bhangra, using coloured lights and long- exposure photography.

Tim Smith Yorkshire based freelance photographer who combines editorial and commercial work with exhibition, publishing and mixed media projects.

He’s a member of Panos Pictures, which is a London-based agency that represents photojournalists worldwide who document issues which are under-reported, misrepresented or ignored.