Illuminate
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| Artist Name(s) | Ruby Wallis & Gerard Glynn |
| Artwork title | Illuminate |
| Context/Background | In December 2011 Galway County Council's Arts Office created a panel of artists from which a number of exciting and innovative Public Art Projects were commissioned. This panel allowed Galway County Council to plan a broad, cohesive and meaningful programme that responded to a number of themes, communities and contexts.
Based on the success of this panel, Galway County Council invited artists to be included on a new short term panel from which candidates could be shortlisted to develop proposals for individual commissions and projects in 2013-14. Galway County Council stipulated that commissioned Public Art projects and programmes must ‘add to the local cultural landscape and be in line with international contemporary art practice’. Furthermore, the Public Art Programme must endeavour to ‘connect with citizens of all age, nationality and ability’, across four programme strands;
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| Description | Illuminate was an exhibition which was presented at Nun’s Island Theatre, Galway from 20–28 September 2013. The exhibition was the result of the artists’ year-long public art project and residency with The Brothers of Charity ‘That’s life’ arts programme. Weekly sessions were devised in consultation with ‘That’s Life’ staff. The participants of ‘That’s life’ ranged from people with mild intellectual disabilities to people with severe intellectual disabilities and autism. Participants engaged in the process of drawing with light through whole body movement and improvised dance patterns. Each participant was invited to take part and respond to the process in their own individual way, with responses ranging from small hand movements to large physical gestures. Sessions throughout the year were documented using film and sound recordings, which provided the material for the subsequent exhibition. The exhibition took the form of a dual channel video, projected onto two five meter wide screens, which were set at an angle to each other. One screen was dedicated to the artwork produced, while the other screen conveyed the subject’s engagement with the screen. |
| Mediation | Ruby Wallis ‘Digital Inclusion’, Visual Artists News Sheet Jan/Feb 2014 http://www.illuminatearts.org/uploads/9/8/7/6/987618/illuminate_-_digital_inclusion.pdf |
| Biographies | Ruby Wallis is an exhibiting artist who works with film and photography. She is currently completing her doctoral studies at The National College of Art and Design. http://www.rubywallis.com/biography.html Gerald Glynn is an engineer, programmer and web designer who freelances and studies at The National University of Ireland Galway. |
| Commission Type | Local Authority |
| Commissioner Name | Bernadine Carroll, Public Art Officer, Galway Co. Council |
| Commissioning process | Curated Panel Selection. The appointed selection committee included independent curators, appropriate experts and local and community representatives. |
| Project commission dates | April 30, 2012 - September 27, 2013 |
| Public Presentation dates | September 19, 2013 - September 27, 2013 |
| Partners | The Brothers of Charity |
| Artform | Visual Arts |
| Art Practice | Arts and disability |
| Funded By | Galway County Council |
| Percent for art | Yes |
| Budget Range | 10000 - 30000 euro |
| Project commission start date | 30/04/2012 |
| Project commission end date | 27/09/2013 |
| Location | Nun's Island Theatre |
| County | Galway |
| Town | Galway |
| Street Address | 23 Nun's Island, The Claddagh |
| Website | www.illuminatearts.org/ |
| Content contributor(s) | Web Editor |
| Public engagement | One of the key ambitions of the exhibition was for the work to reach a wider audience, and that the marginalization of people with disability in terms of levels of engagement be dissolved. Claude Madec of ‘That’s Life’ stated that “People with intellectual disabilities engage with their individual creative sense and a new experience like this can be transformative”. A public panel discussion took place on 26th September, 2013, at Nun’s Island, Galway to reflect on the practice, process and issues related to the project. Panellists : Gerald Glynn, Ruby Wallis, Claude Madec, Bernardine Carroll and Chris Wallis, chaired by Vicky Smith |
| Associated professionals / Specialists involved | Galway City Arts Office The Galway Arts Centre Jon Reynolds and Claude Madec of ‘That’s Life’ - The Brothers of Charity arts program Arts and Disability Ireland |