Midland artists, Úna Cahill and Ciarán Mac Domhnaill, have completed their community art project titled ‘Recaptured and Draped’.
This inclusive project gave members of the public the autonomy to be creative and give participants a free, engaging and positive experience with emerging artists in the Midlands.
The project revolved around a four-part series of virtual workshops centred on mindfulness and creativity. Painter and visual artist Úna Cahill demonstrated how to paint and decorate textiles while encouraging the digital participants to value the characteristics of found materials and their ability to transform sustainably.
Participant Ciara Baker described the experience as a way of “connecting with other people and the sense of togetherness that came from knowing that our paintings will be sewn together to create a physical tapestry of artwork that documents our time together”.
This opinion was mirrored by Luke Casserly who found the workshops to be “a very centering experience in which the project coordinators created a relaxed and informal atmosphere over the hour which drew on ideas of poetry, mindfulness and meditation as a way of accessing creativity.”
This project was made possible by grant funding from Creative Ireland and Westmeath County Council with additional resources made available by Viking Tours.
The final tapestry of ‘collected memories’ is on public display and is currently placed on the mast of Viking Ship in Athlone and visible every evening at Athlone Town Marina until the end of October.
