Throughout the month of April, Ballina Arts Centre will host World/interior, an exhibition of new work by London-based artist Laura Gannon.
World/interior includes a series of new films and drawings exploring Gannon’s ongoing interest in the body and architecture, ranging from the modernist designs of Eileen Gray to the exploration of the interior of an uninhabited house, the house itself becomes the central character.
Accompanying the films is a series of drawings and sculptures using the motifs of the body and the stage. A native of Ballina, Gannon is drawn to what happens to the body within architecture, the private rituals and traditions that occur within a building, how the building itself is a living entity and does not stay static when unoccupied, the gradual disintegration that takes place has a violent beauty of its own.
World/interior will be officially opened by Alice Maher on Thursday April 8, at 8pm.
Ballina Film Club: Let the Right One In
Ballina Film Club’s spring programme will continue to present the very best in world cinema with Let the Right One In, at Ballina Arts Centre on Tuesday April 6, at 8pm.
Directed by Tomas Alfredson and starring Kare Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson, Let the Right One In is an angular and lusty teen horror movie based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s best-seller in which lonesome 12-year-old Oskar (Hedebrant ) becomes smitten by a young female vampire named Eli (Leandersson ). After initiating an adorable romance in the snow-coated forecourt of their glum housing complex, they soon realise that both of them are baying for blood. He’s privately fantasising about stabbing up his school yard tormentors with a pocket knife and she needs to sate an appetite for the red stuff that keeps her from dropping dead… again.
Alfredson’s light, subtle, direction makes the courtship elements all the more tender and the staccato scenes of extreme violence all the more disturbing. The bashful, impassive, hue of the central performances also gives the film an anything-could-happen edge: Feelings of anger and desire don’t provoke hysterical outbursts but remain bewildering within the minds of the juvenile cast. Admission is €7 and seasonal membership rates are available.
Song writing workshops at Ballina Arts Centre
On three consecutive Saturdays in April, 10, 17, and 24, Ballina Arts Centre will host a song writing workshops series, aimed at beginners and more advanced songwriters. Singer-songwriter Dennis McCalmont will lead this exciting workshop series exploring the basics of song writing. Over the course of the three weeks, McCalmont will work with beginners and the more advanced participants on elements of the craft and how they can improve and develop as songwriters.
Dennis McCalmont has been writing, recording and performing for more than 10 years. He has performed all over Ireland and the UK, and released a number of recordings including the Songs of Perfection EP which received great reviews and considerable airplay.
This workshop is open to teenagers and adults. Times: 10.30am to 2.30pm. Ticket price €60 for three days. Pre-booking for all workshops is essential.
