2021

Nicola Moran – Circus Artist in Residence |  October – December
An Táin Arts Centre’s Creative Residency Programme is open to established artists from all artistic disciplines from or based in County Louth, looking to develop their practice in a community setting. The aim of the residency is to assist artists and creative practitioners to research and develop new work and give them the time and space to develop their practice in a supportive and vibrant environment. During the residency creative practitioners are provided with a financial stipend, studio space, mentoring and administrative and publicity support. #antainartists 

Nicola Moran is an aerialist, contortionist and contemporary jeweller from Dundalk, Co. Louth. Nicola earned a BA in Fine and Applied Art, specialising in silversmithing from the University of Ulster, Belfast. She previously worked in New York as a metalsmith for Artemis Quibble And now creates at her studio space in the Irish design shop, Dublin.  Nicola recently exhibited in the Pinned exhibition with ACJNI in Craft NI, Belfast.

Working professionally as an aerialist and acrobat, Nicola makes bespoke street shows both nationally and internationally with Feathers Ensemble Company and performs regularly with Aerial cirque.  Nicola performed a vertical dance off a 65 meter crane in the show Elevate by Aerial Cirque, an aerial gravity-defying for Culture night, Dublin. Nicola’s circus journey has taken her all over the world training with renowned teachers and artists, most recently Danzaire and Los almendros in Costa Rica.

Last year she was awarded the Ignition residency, a collaboration between Dance Ireland and Dublin Circus project and funded by the Arts Council, Ireland.  Nicola also received the Circus bursary award from the arts council of Ireland while also holding independent residencies at venues across Ireland and Europe. Nicola will take part in Marina Abramovic’s ‘Cleaning the house’ masterclass for one week in Greece as research into durational performance and will continue this research into the residency at An Táin Arts Centre.

As a circus artist and fine and applied artist, Nicola is deeply interested in the research of both disciplines, and passionate about ways to combine the two. Exploring concept development through experimental conversations between body, form, and material. Red Torc is an example of the work she is developing, and will continue this research with the equilibrium between body, sculpture, movement and audience.

Follow her progress on Instagram @shur_luck and on Facebook @nicolamoranart #antainartists

---

Jinx Lennon – Punk Poet in Residence | June – August

Jinx Lennon Recently seen on the Tommy Tiernan show and released his newest album ‘Liferafts For Latchicos’. Jinx Lennon’s work is a unique blend of punk poetry, folk punk and garage rock, filtered through psychedelic open tuned folk influences. His newest album deals with growing up at the Irish Border and Irish society in general.

Follow their progress on Facebook, Instagram & #antainartists across all platforms.

Jinx was in residence in An Táin Arts Centre during June, July and August 2021.

 

Click on the image below to hear Jinx Lennon talk about his plans for his residency.

 

 

 

 

---

Zoë Conway – Trad Musician in Residence | March – May
Zoë Conway effortlessly combines a background steeped in Ireland’s rich aural music tradition with a strong founding in classical music. She has toured worldwide and has appeared in many prestigious concert halls including Carnegie Hall, New York, The Kremlin Palace, Moscow and The National Concert Hall, Dublin. Her versatility as an instrumentalist has allowed her to perform across a broad range of genres, from guest soloist with world renowned orchestras, to touring with Riverdance and working with mainstream international acts such as Rodrigo y Gabriella, Damien Rice, Lisa Hannigan, Nick Cave and Lou Reed among others. 

She has recorded on major film soundtracks including award winning Float Like A Butterfly (Samson Films 2018), Artemis Fowl (Disney 2020), Finding You (Red Sky Studio 2021) and Riverdance The Animated Adventure (Universal 2021).

“I’m just thrilled to have been offered this residency in my local arts centre, An Táin Arts Centre. It is perfect timing for me, as all concerts and touring have been cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic, so it is the ideal time to focus on creativity and composing new music for the future. This will be my first ever residency, and although I appreciate the financial support, being given the space and time to simply create is what I am most excited about! I’m also looking forward to being part of the community at An Táin Arts Centre, meeting other artists and developing the connection I’ve had with this building and staff over the years in Dundalk.  

I hope to have time and space to create new music in the contemporary Irish music landscape. I intend to start work on a new commission for the RTE Concert Orchestra which will develop the sound of Irish traditional music and classical music coming together with a fresh edge and more filmic sound to my writing. I’d like to experiment with electronic pre-recorded layers and use a loop station to layer violin and vocal sounds – something I’ve always wanted to do, but never had the time! I will also work on new compositions inspired by Irish language poetry, especially poems collected in my local area including Dundalk, Ardee, Omeath and South Armagh. Hopefully after three months, I’ll have plenty of new material to perform in Ireland and abroad when we are able to travel again!” – Zoë Conway 

Zoë was in residence in An Táin Arts Centre during March, April and May 2021.
Follow her progress on Facebook, Instagram & #antainartists across all platforms.

April 2021 – Update 

Very happily ensconced here as musician in residence in An Tain Arts Centre!  I’ve just finished my first commission of a collaboration with Orlaith Cullinane and Fiona Keenan-O Brien – Motion Marks – now live on the streets of Dundalk.  For the rest of my three month residency, I’ll be focusing all my energy on composing a major piece for the RTE Concert Orchestra.  I’m hoping that I’ll be able to share this new work with everyone next year, all going well, but for now, here is a piece I just composed, inspired by having time to get close to nature during lockdown – ‘Cooley You Beauty’.  Hope you’re all doing okay and hope you enjoy it!

Click on the image below to hear Zoe perform ‘Cooley You Beauty’. 

 

 

 

 

---

2020

Fiona Keenan O’Brien – Dance Artist in Residence | August – October
Fiona Keenan O’Brien began her professional dance training at the College of Dance, Dublin and graduated in 2002 with a diploma in dance. Subsequently, she gained her BA in Theatre Dance in 2006 from Fontys Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in the Netherlands. Fiona continued her studies and graduated with a first-class Honours Masters in Contemporary Dance Performance from University of Limerick in 2007.

Fiona’s solo practice will include a continuous schedule reserved to create her own innovative choreographic work; dancing through the senses. The research and development phase allows her to specifically challenge our perception of the five senses and explore how movement can inhabit and translate new experiences. Fiona will present a work-in-progress in an informal studio setting, inviting the audience to engage in a shared feedback discussion, with a view to responding and reworking her choreography.

Fiona was in residence in An Táin Arts Centre during August, September, and October 2020. #antainartists

Residency Blogposts
August 2020 | Blogpost #1
September 2020 | Blogpost #2
October 2020 | Blogpost #3