St Patricks Day Project
St Patricks Day Residency
Skibbereen Kerala Community
8 January to 18 March 2024
Studio 3
https://uillinnwestcorkartscentre.blogspot.com/2024/04/southern-star-little-piece-of-kerala-in.html
The Skibbereen Kerala Community has been awarded the St. Patricks Day Residency at Uillinn for 2024.
There are over 70 members of the community in Skibbereen. Malayalees have been part of our community in Skibbereen for the past 20 years. The majority of the community members work in healthcare settings in Skibbereen, Bantry and Clonakilty. The Skibbereen Kerala Community was formed to celebrate the culture of Kerala.
Image credit: Sandhya Zachariah
As a recognition of the Skibbereen Kerala community’s creativity and its contribution to Skibbereen, members of the community group were awarded the St. Patrick's Day Residency at Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre for 2024. The residency ran from 8 January to 18 March 2024, and includes an artist studio and a bursary towards creative activities and cultural investigations.
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Throughout their residency, the members exhibited great commitment to learning and sharing their skills and cultural experiences. Together, they created beautiful Pookalam; flower carpets, artworks and models, reflecting their cultural heritage.
The group engaged with several local artists; taking part in creative writing, textile and photography workshops. Members also shared their skills with the wider community, giving a children’s Pookalam workshop to create a large flower carpet using the colours connected with St.Patrick’s Day. They also held open studio events with information on their cultural heritage and traditions. INSERT QUOTE
Coming up to St Patrick’s day, the community was very keen to showcase music, dance and rituals integral to their cultural celebrations. SWARA, which roughly translates as ‘Self-shining’. This took place on Saturday 9th March in Uillinn’s main ground-floor gallery.
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The event showcased music, dance, costume, and martial arts from the South Indian region of Kerala. The show was a free event and tickets were completely booked out with a waiting list. We had approximately 90 people in attendance, including participants.
The programme included Kerala dance forms, children’s dancing, a short 10-minute workshop in teaching Thiruvathira steps to the audience, a Saree draping demonstration, a martial arts performance, and a wonderful fashion show of costumes from the region.
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To conclude the residency, there was a studio exhibition from 9 to 16 March , sharing the accumulated work for all to come along and see.
The residency was supported by Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre in partnership with Cork County Council and with support from The Arts Council.
Date |
Activity |
Description |
| Throughout Feb and March | Kathakali Face Spice Collage | Members of the public are invited to attend open studio sessions where they can help to create a Kathakali Face from Keralan spices. |
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Sat 17th Feb |
Art workshop Children Age 4 - 7 yrs |
12:30 to 13:30 - Pookalam Workshop for Young Children (ages 4 to 7 yrs) Members of the community will be present to speak to the children about the Pookalam tradition. Children will be shown a number of approaches to making paper flowers that will be added to the Pookalam. email Petrina at learning@westcorkartscentre.com to book |
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Children Age 8 - 12 yrs |
14:00 to 15:00 - Pookalam Workshop for Senior Children (ages 8 to 12 yrs) Members of the community will be present to speak to the children about the Pookalam tradition. Children will be shown a number of approaches to making paper flowers that will be added to the Pookalam. email Petrina at learning@westcorkartscentre.com to book
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Through Feb and March |
Artist workshops with the Skibbereen Kerala Community. |
A number of local artists will facilitate workshops with members of the Skibbereen Kerala Community at Uillinn. These include: E.R. Murray - Writing workshop for children and adults Julia Zagar, - Textile Art workshop Kate McElroy - Creative Photography Workshop |
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Sat 9th March |
Cultural Event in Uillinn |
Live Kerala traditional costume, martial arts and dance performance . More details to follow. |
WCAC acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Cork County Council in making these residencies possible.
