COMMONAGE: Artists + Architects re-imagining Callan
Away from the bustling cities are the small towns that planners, architects and politicians often forget. These small towns are neither the hubs of the global financial industry nor are they the high-tech centres of their countries. They are towns where ordinary residents experience the vagaries of the global economy and the impacts of global climate changes. But they are also towns from which we can learn how to develop a sustainable future….
‘Small town sustainability’, Heike Mayer and Paul L. Knox, Birkhauser (2009)
Leading Irish artists and architects are taking an experimental approach to re-imagining the built environment of Callan town and providing a valuable opportunity for rethinking the role of public and collectively owned space in post-boom Ireland. New research work created for COMMONAGE includes interventions, publications, drawings, tours, events and video work installed in Callan from July 31st - August 8th 2010.
Curated by Rosie Lynch, Tara Kennedy and Jo Anne Butler, the participants are: Rhona Byrne, Gerry Cahill, Culturstruction (Jo Anne Butler & Tara Kennedy), The Good Hatchery (Carl Giffney & Ruth Lyons), Home University of Roscommon and Leitrim (Carol-Anne Connolly, Dominic Stevens, Natalia Beylis, Stephen Rennicks and Willie Stewart ), Henrietta Williams, Lisa Cassidy and Gabriella Kiss, Dominic Lavelle, School of Architecture UCD (1st Year).
The changing role of ‘community’ in the context of Callan town is particularly pertinent. The growth of the town was long accompanied by Augustinian Friars who operated a Friary for over half a millenium until dwindling numbers recently forced its closure. The Augustinian land and buildings were then given by the friars to the newly formed Callan Community Network to be used as a civic amenity.
Callan is also home to two ‘life-sharing communites’ (Camphill Community Callan and L’Arche Community), the innovative KCAT Art & Study Centre, as well as one of the last independent agricultural co-operatives active in South Leinster.
COMMONAGE is a distinct architectural strand of the Callan Abhainn Ri Festival - A Community Festival of Participation and Inclusion initiated by Callan Community Network which runs from the July 30th to August 8th 2010. COMMONAGE is the first in a series of architectural re-imaginings of Callan town to be undertaken in partnership with the Irish Architecture Foundation, School of Architecture UCD, and KCAT (Kilkenny Collective for Arts Talent, in a groundbreaking process initiated by Patrick Lydon.
