Creating art in Skibb
The first recipient of a new 2 month arts residency in West Cork was announced this week.
Visual artist Dominic Thorpe was selected from 167 other applicants for the Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre Residency Award, which will see him spend 8 weeks creating art in Skibbereen this summer.
Established by Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre and the Germany-based Crespo Foundation, the residency is open to contemporary visual artists based outside Cork and encompasses a purpose-built studio at Uillinn, accommodation in Skibbereen, travel costs, and a weekly stipend of €350. The residency will run from 22 July-16 September.
Dominic works in performance art, as well as drawing, video, photography, installation, and relational processes. He has shown his work widely, including at Bangkok Cultural Centre, Galway Arts Centre, the Golden Thread in Belfast, Mobius in Boston, Gallery Michaela Stock in Vienna and the SASA Gallery in Adelaide.
His work has addressed a range of critical content, most recently focusing on collective memory and perpetrator trauma. Dominic has regularly engaged with artist-run initiatives as well as inclusion and education-based projects and organisations, as well as having worked in a number of public collections, including the collection of the Arts Council of Ireland.
Dominic said: “I am hugely grateful and honoured to be the recipient of the Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre Residency Award, supported by the amazing Crespo Foundation. I look forward to focusing on my work in the context of such a wonderful arts centre and beautiful part of the country.”
Uillinn Director Ann Davoren said: “Uillinn provides a vibrant creative hub and an extensive programme of exhibitions, residencies, performances and events. There is a strong emphasis on making connections, networking and working with our geographical, social and community contexts. We are excited to welcome Dominic to Uillinn to support his practice and development of new work, and his engagement and sharing with the arts community and wider community of Skibbereen and West Cork.”