As part of this project, we are commissioning writers and visual artists to work with the port communities and project staff to explore stories and themes relevant to the history and culture of the five port towns and the journeys made across the Irish Sea.
The creative work arising from this research and engagement will then be displayed and exhibited locally and further afield as appropriate, with the support of the project team, and in some cases, local partners. It is hoped that some of the work generated will be displayed permanently in the local area, for example in local libraries, heritage centres, port terminals or railway stations. Reproductions or mediations of the work will be included in one or more publications documenting the work and the creative process. Some of the work so far includes:
David Begley: The Wexford Whale and Other Stories
The purpose of this work will be to both deepen the knowledge and appreciation of the history and culture of the five port towns and crossings among local communities. During the process of making the work, artists and writers will take part in public workshops or events organised by the project team.
The work in this collection of material deals with a variety of crises past, present and future through a creative lens, from plastic pollution to migration to the fragility and mutability of the ties that bind us across the Irish Sea. They range in genre from sculpture to sound art and poetry to participatory art, poetry and storytelling.