Chillin’ in Uillinn
Skibbereen will be the backdrop for 2 partnership residencies this spring as a pair of talented artists set their sights for west Cork.
Both residencies support artists seeking opportunities to research and develop their practice and to engage with Uillinn arts centre, local communities and the general public. Each artist will be given 4 weeks’ use of studio space at Uillinn as well as a stipend of €2,500.
Artist Toma McCullim has been awarded the Cork County Council/Uillinn Artist Residency for 2023, running from 4 April-1 May. During her residency, Toma will continue her work with Traveller women.
She said: “This residency is about unsettling the culture space. It asks the building to go on a journey. I am inviting in Traveller women to create with me a place of imagination. This is a fire which buffers and beoirs meet and whiden. This is a crossroads, a meeting place, an intersection. This is a cooking pot. This is a withy bender. This is a ferment of ideas.”
Following Toma’s time at the centre, fellow artist Sharon Dipity will begin her Bealtaine Cork County Council/Uillinn Artist Residency, running from 3 May to 3 June.
Sharon’s project is called ‘The Line has Two Sides’ and she will share her work with the public via several events over the course of the residency including a Bealtaine event at Uillinn towards the end of the residency period.
Sharon said she wants to develop the drawn line through mark-making, movement, and word using different parts of her body to draw and move with. “I particularly want to look at creating movement with an older body with its various limitations and old injuries and to embrace and transcend these limitations to create my own fluid vocabulary of movement and gesture,” explained Sharon.
Welcoming the announcement of the residencies, Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr Danny Collins said: “Toma McCullim is an exceptionally talented artist. Her work is powered by a strong belief in social justice and environmental ecology. We look forward to seeing the outcomes of her work with members of the Traveller community in West Cork.
“Sharon Dipity has a wealth of experience whilst bringing a fresh approach to her work, and I have no doubt this residency will be a huge benefit to the arts in West Cork and the county as a whole. Bealtaine, a nationwide festival supporting creativity as we age, is a vital part of Cork County Council’s creative calendar each year.”