THE CONFINEMENTS of the lockdowns and the severe limits on travel have restricted us all to our own localities, and for many that means passing by the same places, the same objects, and the same sights.
Day in, day out, it can become a routine of repetition, the familiar becoming invisible, a feeling that there is nothing new to see in what you pass by and through every day.
However a new, fascinating new walking tour of Galway - The Lighthouse Project - fusing art, literature, sound, movement, and mindfulness, seeks to challenge that and encourage us instead to see Galway with new, fresh, and appreciative eyes.
Beacons of light
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The Lighthouse Project was designed by Galway based curator Dani Gill, the former director of the Cúirt International Festival of Literature, and now the artistic director of the Ennis Bookclub Festival and National Audience Development Officer for Words Ireland.
This collaborative literary/art project is a self-guided walking tour through Galway city, starting at the Town Hall Theatre and continuing towards the Mutton Island Lighthouse. Walkers will be guided by a bespoke soundscape/audio track by local theatre maker Mairéad Ní Chróinín; a zine commissioned from writer Sarah Maria Griffin; street art by artist Shane O’Malley; and a colourful map designed by illustrator Gala Tomasso.
The origins of the idea stem back to last year when Dani [pictured below] won a tender process with the Western Development Commission to design a literary tourism performance model for the Wild Atlantic Way, as part of the wider European Spot-Lit.eu project.
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“When I won the tender, I examined a series of maps to look at what might be interesting, and as Galway is on the coast, I began to think of lighthouses,” Dani tells me during our Monday afternoon interview. “That reminded me of one of my favourite books, To The Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf, which is the story of a family, generations in time, and personal journeys, as well as the idea of a beacon and something you go towards.”
Dani began researching lighthouses in Ireland, and was provided with books on the subject by the Westside Library. “I thought about our relationship with the land and with the sea and how a lighthouse is a connective point between them,” says Dani. “I also looked at the nautical miles out to sea, and how each lighthouse has its own radius.
'Whether you are a tourist, or are here a long time, this is about observing a space in a different way'
“I decided to focus on mapping inland, the mirrored distance of each lighthouse’s nautical miles to sea, drawing a circle around each one, and creating a ‘zone’, within which, an artistic project exists. The idea becomes about the journey to the lighthouse - a lighthouse is a focal point, movement always towards it - and about claiming and mapping a space for creativity.”
A multimedia walking tour
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The Lighthouse project will also run in Sligo, Mayo, Meath, Louth, and Donegal. The Galway leg of the project will see participants take a one hour journey, starting at the Town Hall, and moving alongside the River Corrib, stopping at a number of Cúit poetry plaques along the way. As they go, they will listen to an audio track (which can be downloaded onto a phone ) created by Mairéad Ní Chróinín.
'I want to show that writing is dynamic and that it has a place in civic and public art. Writing is overlooked as a means to explore space'
“Mairéad is interested in immersive theatre and the Galway route will deal with mindfulness,” says Dani, “so whether you are a tourist, or you are here a long time, this is about observing a space in a different way, how it changes when you move through it, and being aware and mindful of all that as you are doing so.”
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There will also be a zine featuring a stand-alone piece of writing by Sarah Maria Griffin for people to read along the route. “You are being brought on a journey by the artists involved,” says Dani. “A huge thing about the Lighthouse Project is that it is literary focussed. I want to show that writing is dynamic and that it has a place in civic and public art. We see sculpture and street art in those spaces, and it’s good we do, but writing is overlooked as a means to explore space.”
As people approach South Park and Mutton Island, they will encounter artwork by Shane O’Malley. Even separate from the Lighthouse Project, walkers in the area have been noticing his works and photos of them have appeared on social media.
A new perspective
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Dani hopes the Lighthouse Project will allow people to see a well known route and sights afresh, and experience it as though for the first time.
“Despite designing the route myself, when I did it, it was a unique experience,” says Dani. “Along the way I discovered a mini-waterfall I’d never come across before. Where we live is magic, Galway is a lovely place, there is a lot to see and notice around us in the small details. We have all been confined during the lockdowns, and it’s hard to see anything new in a place you are familiar with, but this is all about seeing and finding something new in a place you know well. I want people to say after being on this, ‘I thought this was familiar to me, but it’s not.’
The Galway route will remain active for the summer with digital and printed packs available via https://www.danigill.com/mutton-island-route, the Tourism Office, Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop and Dubray Books. Packs cost €5 and include: a zine, a map, a link to the audio file and a Lighthouse Project badge. See also instagram.com/lighthouseprojectireland
