The Model announces an eclectic and diverse, multidisciplinary artistic programme for 2020. Highlights include The Sea Around Us, a major thematic exhibition, which brings the work of John Akomfrah (Ghana/UK), Forensic Oceanography/Forensic Architecture (UK), Shaun Gladwell (Australia) and Susanne M. Winterling (Germany) together in Ireland for the first time. Two ambitious new commissions are also announced - Ciara Phillips (Canada/Ireland) will explore the possibilities of communal and solo print-making both at The Model and in local communities; while Michael McLoughlin (Ireland) will respond to Sligo’s unique music ecology, with a particular focus on the audiences and artists of the Showband era. We present new work by Wagner/DeBurca (Brazil/Ireland) and a solo show with Mary-Ruth Walsh (Ireland). At the same time, we continue our in-depth programme of social engagement through our ongoing work with new communities, former refugees and those living in the Direct Provision system, as part of Sligo Global Kitchen; and through a new Artist-in-Residence partnership with Sligo University Hospital.
The Sea Around Us
Saturday, February 29–Sunday, May 31, 2020
John Akomfrah (Ghana/UK), Forensic Oceanography/Forensic Architecture (UK), Shaun Gladwell (Australia), Karen Power (Ireland), Susanne M. Winterling (Germany).
Curated by Emer McGarry
The Sea Around Us is an ambitious, large-scale exhibition that explores our complex relationship with the ocean through installation, film, participation, and sound. John Akomfrah’s epic 2015 film Vertigo Sea and two video-investigations by Forensic Oceanography and Forensic Architecture bookend a conversation on humankind’s interactions with the sea; while Susanne M. Winterling’s planetary opera in three acts, divided by the currents, 2018 creates a sensual, immersive and intimate moment to explore the relationship between marine ecology, climate change, and the Capitolocene through an ecological worldview. The show is accompanied by a specially commissioned piece of new music by composer Karen Power based on the Sligo seaboard’s unique sonic profile and an essay by artist Rosie O’Reilly (Ireland).
Supported by Hazelwood House, the Goethe Institut Irland, Ecclesiastical Insurance, and the Arts Council Music Project Award.
Mary-Ruth Walsh; Skin Deep
Thursday, June 11–Sunday, August 16, 2020
Mary-Ruth Walsh’s Skin Deep is a newly commissioned body of work launching nationally at The Model. Through collage, film and sculptural installation, the artist will extend her interest in architecture, and explore skin as a substance and a metaphor.
Supported by the Arts Council Touring and Dissemination of Work Scheme.
Michael McLoughlin; To our Friends and Patrons
Saturday, August 29–Sunday, October 25
The Model has commissioned artist Michael McLoughlin to create To our Friends and Patrons, a project that explores the social structures, interactions, and assemblages that underpin Sligo's music ecology, and which were initially fostered by our first youth subculture, the Showbands. Focusing on memory and the genealogies of bands, musicians, promoters and audiences, this multi-disciplinary project, includes participative elements as well as an audio-cartographic installation that represents social interaction in sculptural form.
Wagner/DeBurca
Saturday, August 29–Sunday, October 25
A newly-made film installation by the internationally acclaimed Brazilian/Irish collective Wagner/DeBurca. This new film work explores ideas of Irishness, belonging and exile as expressed through our relationships with Traditional Irish Music.
Supported by the Arts Council Touring and Dissemination of Work Scheme.
Ciara Phillips
Saturday, November 7, 2020–Sunday, February 28, 2021
Ciara Phillips creates the first Irish iteration of her ongoing, collaborative, Turner-Prize nominated artwork Workshop. This multi-pronged project deals directly with the power of creative engagement both for the individual and within a collaborative environment. Unfolding over the course of a year and involving an extended residency, the project will culminate in an exhibition of solo work and collaboratively made prints.
Supported by the Arts Council Visual Art Project Awards.
Artists in Residence 2020
Andy Parsons – Sligo University Hospital
Ciara Phillips – The Model
Michael McLoughlin – The Model
Karen Power – Composer-in-Residence, The Model
