Louis le Brocquy exhibition for Ballina Arts Centre is delighted to present this exhibition of work by Louis le Brocquy selected works from the Niland Collection, on loan from The Model Arts and Niland Gallery, Sligo. This exhibition consists of a number of the lithograph brush drawings le Brocquy created as illustrations to Thomas Kinsella’s 1969 translation of the Irish legend, the Táin Bó Cuailgne (The Cattle Raid of Cooley ), published by Dolmen Press.
The Táin is the centrepiece of the eighth century Ulster cycle of heroic tales. It tells the story of the great cattle raid, when the armies of Medb and Ailill, queen and king of Connaught, invaded Ulster with the intention of carrying off the great brown bull of Cooley. The book is illustrated with 31 lithograph brush drawings by le Brocquy, 15 of which are in the Niland Collection. The Táin has been hailed by scholars as the greatest Irish artist’s book of the 20th century. Scholars have noted that these illustrations with their precise, pared-down mark-making had a great influence on much of le Brocquy’s later work, and thus have argued that the Dolmen commission was central to the artist’s career. The Táin, by Louis le Brocquy, will be officially opened by poet Sean Lysaght on Wednesday October 8 at 8pm. All welcome.
Ballina Film Club autumn programme
Ballina Film Club autumn programme opens on Tuesday October 7 at 8pm, with My Kid Could Paint That, Amir Bar-Lev’s poignant documentary about Marla Olmstead, a sweet little four-year-old girl in New York who appeared to have an extraordinary talent for abstract art. Her mother Laura was a dental hygienist and dad Mark was a keen amateur artist who had evidently dabbled in various styles. Little Marla's big, ambitious, swirling canvases were exhibited at a nearby coffee shop, and people were buying them.
The media picked up on the story and soon Marla's paintings were selling for five-figure sums; she had become the modern art world's sensational child prodigy. When the media started asking questions about who was actually creating the paintings, the truth began to surface. Amir Bar Lev’s film began as a documentary about an astonishing prodigy, but turned into a painful, even tragic story of family’s dysfunction and denial. Adm: €7 (seasonal membership rates available ).
Puppet making workshops for children
Ballina Arts Centre Children’s workshop programme continues through October with a series of puppet making workshops for children with Carmel Balfe, on Saturday October 11, 18 and 25.
This exciting, fun-filled workshops series will allow children to explore their creativity as they make puppets for Halloween. Artist Carmel Balfe will show the children a number of different puppet styles, working from initial ideas, through character development and finally the finished puppet itself. The children will also learn about puppetry performance. This workshop has a Halloween theme and children can make their own scary characters. Carmel Balfe is an artist and puppeteer based in Kilkelly, Co Mayo. Times: 10.30am to 12.30pm: seven to 10 year olds; 1.30pm to 3.30pm: 11 to 13 year olds. Ticket price €36 for three sessions. Pre-booking for all workshops is essential.
Hilarious theatre for Ballina
The acclaimed Bruiser Theatre company make a welcome return to Ballina this month with The Case of the Frightened Lady, at Ballina Arts Centre Thursday October 9, 8pm.
The play tells the fantastic story of Edgar Wallace. The year is 1932 and Fleet Street editor Wallace gets a desperate call from his publisher. With only a weekend to produce a new novel, The Case of the Frightened Lady is the hilarious account of the antics of the Wallace household while devising plot, storyline and final denouement, each creating characters that flit in and out of reality and fiction. The melodramatic, choreographed farce and the chills and thrills of the 1930’s British thriller genre provide scope for Bruiser to unleash their unique brand of high energy, physical theatre. Presented in association with Yew Tree Theatre. For further information, please contact Ballina Arts Centre, phone 096 73593, e-mail [email protected]
