Fan Nóiméad
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| Artist Name(s) | Gareth Kennedy |
| Artwork title | Fan Nóiméad |
| Context/Background | Following a consultation process undertaken by Galway Arts Office, a brief was developed for a public art commission for Headford, Co. Galway, which sought to engage the Headford Men's Shed project in realising a public art work for the town. Artist Gareth Kennedy won the commission, based on a plan to explore notions of 'meitheal' (collective labour), and the idea that the manufacture of a structure within the town would create a sense of social ritual and focus for the men over a 6 month period. The proposal aimed to employ vernacular materials and traditional hand-skills and processes in the realisation of a contemporary design. Members of the Men’s Shed group were completing an Irish Currach boat with a traditional boat-builder Patrick Connolly of Connemara when Kennedy first met them. Due to the excellent rapport the men had with Connolly, Kennedy proposed a continuation of this working relationship. The men - who had diverse backgrounds and skills - were insistent in applying their labour to make a useful structure as a civic gift to the town, conceived originally as a bus shelter, which the town lacked. Connolly led this process, employing the materials, processes and techniques used in the manufacture of the Galway Hooker - an iconic boat and emblem of Galway. Following discussions between Connolly, the men, the commissioners and Co. Council engineers, the artist drafted a final design, which would draw on the material culture of the Galway Hooker, but would manifest as a contemporary structure. |
| Description | ‘Fan Nóiméad’ (Wait a Minute) is a contemporary pavilion, designed and made in collaboration between Headford Men's Shed, traditional boat builder Patrick Connolly and artist Gareth Kennedy. The pavilion (1.8m x 3.5m x 2.3m) was constructed using all native-grown Irish Green Oak and Larch which was felled in 2014, and was made entirely on location in Headford, on premises offered to the men as a workshop and gathering space. |
| Mediation | The work was featured in local and regional newspapers and was unveiled as the centrepiece at Headford's annual festival, Headfest, by the newly inaugerated Rose of Tralee, Maria Walsh. Aspects of the project will also feature in a solo show and publication by Kennedy at Galway Arts Centre in January 2015. |
| Biographies | Gareth Kennedy's work explores the social agency of the 'handcrafted' in the 21st century, and generates 'communities of interest' around the production and performance of new material cultures. Deploying an anthropological approach as an operational aesthetic, these works draw on the particular social, cultural and economic histories of a location. Outcomes typically include architectural or designed structures, hand crafted objects, as well as live performative events which bring these physical entities to life within specific public contexts. Kennedy has produced and shown work both nationally and internationally. His practice to date includes public art work, educational projects, exhibitions, residencies and collaborations. In 2009, he co-represented Ireland at the 53rd Venice Biennale along with artist Sarah Browne. Recent public manifestations of his work include creating an 'invented tradition' out of IKEA furnitures for Gnneveguilla in Co. Kerry for a Kerry County Council percent for art public art commission, touring his exhibition Folk Fiction across Ireland and a public art work in Saint Petersberg, Russia (2011-2013). In 2014 he has also produced a significant and acclaimed solo exhibition entitled The Uncomfortable Science with ar/ge Kunst Gallerie Museum in Bolzano/Bozen in the South Tyrol in Northern Italy, as well as Post Colony, a film project examining the cultural, historical and environmental histories of Killarney National Park using the invasive species Rhododendron x superponticum as a medium. Kennedy also works on another distinct artistic practice called Kennedy Browne in collaboration with artist Sarah Browne. |
| Commission Type | Local Authority |
| Commissioner Name | Marilyn Gaughan - Galway County Council Arts Officer |
| Commissioning process | Two Stage Open Competition |
| Project commission dates | August 25, 2013 - August 23, 2014 |
| Artform | Visual Arts |
| Funded By | Galway County Council |
| Percent for art | Yes |
| Budget Range | 10000 - 30000 euro |
| Project commission start date | 25/08/2013 |
| Project commission end date | 23/08/2014 |
| Location | Moyne Villa |
| County | Galway |
| Town | Headford |
| Content contributor(s) | Web Editor and Gareth Kennedy |
| Public engagement | The final pavilion structure was paraded through the town on a truck by a team from the county council, and fixed in place using brackets sponsored by a local engineering firm. The final location is a green public amenity space, frequently used by local walkers and sports teams. The pavilion was launched after a procession through the town by the Men’s Shed members and other local people. It was officially unveiled by the 2014 Rose of Tralee as a centrepiece of the local Headfest community festival. In 2015, Galway Co. Council will fund a series of open-air performances entitled ‘Picnic in the Park’, where live music will be played from the pavilion to audiences, with proceeds going towards the Headford Men's Shed and other local initiatives. |
| Associated professionals / Specialists involved | Patrick Connolly – Traditional Boatbuilder Headford Men's Shed Marilyn Gaughan and Galway County Council Arts Office Galway County Council Engineering and Roads Department Moynevilla FC Headford Fás Larkin Engineering |
