ARTS PROJECTS
BRIGID SLIABHNAMHAN CLOAK
Inspired by the well known story of St-Brigid’s expanding cloak, Theresia has devised a collaborative project which invites women from South Tipperary to elevate the feminine energy in the world by contributing ‘field patches’ to a large 32 square meter cloak. This vestment will be assembled in the New Year and unveiled in a ritual procession in time for St-Brigid’s day, the new official national holiday on the 1st February. Funded by Creative Ireland
collage of ‘field patches’ made by South Tipp women
INDIGENOUS
Part of Clonmel Applefest, this performance-based street Arts project was devised to develop a harvest festival procession & went ahead in a modest scale given the uncertainty and ongoing limitation of Covid restrictions; an open call in January 21 and elicited 21 participants for the initial 4 Zoom seminars with folklorist Billy Mag Fhloinn (also director of Pagan Rave); the team stabilised to about 15 regular participants who worked outdoor through the Spring & Summer with Billy and coordinated by Theresia; public interface took place during heritage week and in early September, when members of the public were invited to join in several activities: weaving willows unto our Caim Coracle, decorating artefacts, writing grief messages for a grief ritual and several masks and costumes workshops. The final procession attracted approx. 50 members of the public in addition to 30 participants/ performers who walked in procession through Irishtown to the river, witnessing a choreographed grief ritual and the launch of the Caim Coracle unto the Suir, topped by an impromptu finale performance at Suir Island car park.
OPERATION EDNA
In the Spring of 2021, I was invited by Deej Fabyc of https://www.live-art.ie/ to take part in a collaborative project with 5 Irish-based & 5 British-based artists on the theme of EDNA, Methusaleh’s mother exploring what age means within the larger geological perspective. Through bi-monthly meeting, ideas and motifs were developed on Zoom culminating in a live online performance based on 8 silmutaneous performances in 8 locations. Funded as part of Bealtaine Festival by Tipp county Council.
AIN’T I A WOMAN - 2019 CULTURE NIGHT
During the month of September, 7 female artists reflected on Sojourney’s truth powerful speech and responded to its modernity by exploring issues close to their own hearts & creating new work. This event is a follow-up on Guschlbauer’s recent research exhibition at the Arts Centre: Women of the Resistance: Activism, Protest & Practice which through documents, objects and images, explored the 1916 - 1923 revolutionary women’s acts of defiance: via marches, protest, banners and skirmishes, they drew attention to the issues that they cared passionately about.
During her three week-long residency, Theresia hosted three braiding circles at which Sojourney Truth’s ‘Ain’t I a woman’ slogan emerged and strongly resonated, bringing about this evening’s event. It is also a response to Professor MacAuliffe’s call for an exploration of new paradigms for women’s voices, an opportunity for women’s artists to delve into the long line of women’s rights activists in Ireland and around the world who have given voice to their frustration, anger and pain in various manifestations and look at themes that may not be explored readily in the public realm. A hundred and fifty years on, this is the response of contemporary Irish women artists to another women’s plea for justice and equality.
Participating artists: Paulette O’Donovan, Catherine McVicker, Breege Phelan, Aislinn O’Keeffe, Sheenagh Geoghegan, Theresia Guschlbauer, Brigid Teehan
Special thanks to South Tipperary Arts Centre & Tipperary Arts Office for their support. Additional support from An Arts Council Arts Participation bursary.
ISLAND MUSINGS
In May 2018, I was awarded a Create R&D grant to research the potential of the ‘Acropolis’ rubble mound which had pride of place on Clonmel’s Suir Island for the past ten to fifteen years. The inquiry led me to undertake many visits to the Island, interview a number of stakeholders, take a few walks on the Island with local environment champion Shay Hurley and ecologist Mieke Muylliard.
We also made a short film with Eimear King and held a farewell exhibition to the mound for Culture Night at the Arts Centre, while organising a series of ‘hogweed blitzes’ with members of the Suircan Community Forum. You can read about this investigation on my blog:
http://musingsandintrusions.blogspot.com/
APPLE TREASURES
In the Summer 2017, 2cando Arts successfully pitched for a research grant to explore the rich apple heritage of Clonmel and its hinterland. over a three months period, we met and interviewed many stakeholders and visited a wide range of sites and locations. the project coincided with an invitation to take up residence in the South Tipperary Arts centre and culminated in a project exhibition in September, as well as in a special apple tree trail for Culture Night. The research process was documented by videographer Eimer King and involved the participation of Louise Garcia as writer, guest performer & MC. We have since started a fully-fledged festival and orchard planting programme. more info: www.clonmelapplefest.ie
Since then, we have started a fully fledged Festival of Food, Nature & Heritage called Clonmel Applefest which has its own dedicated website: http://clonmelapplefest.ie/ and you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram @clonmelapplefest. Our programme includes a year-round appletree-planting project which has been quite popular:
Braided encounters
A participative textile arts project commissioned by Ennis Street Arts Festival in conjunction with Clare County Council, the project involved over 60 people over a three day residency and 40 children from two schools. The output from the braiding sessions were assembled into larger, stronger braids which were then installed at Monastery Park near the Glór arts centre and culminated in a community picnic and music event.
SWEET SIXTEEN & other COMMUNITY BRAIDING projects
Braiding is an apt metaphor for connectedness, diversity, layered meanings and is also a deeply enjoyable activity that combines social interaction with a meditative sense of flow. In 2015, artist Theresia Guschlbauer picked up her private braiding practice to work with a number of groups in a range of settings. In 2016, Theresia continued this work in a number of community settings developing her concept of 'community braiding' whereby people braid together in a wide range of shared time and space contexts.
Sweet Sixteen included working with users of the St-Mary's Daycare centre where the 1916 legacy was explored with the participants, which led to some moving testimonies and dedications. Other settings in which Theresia brought her community braiding included an outdoor medieval event, a workshop with the Girl Guides around empowerment, a public braiding session for Positive Mental Health Week as well as outdoor and institutional settings in Callan as part of Aibhainn Rí Festival. Theresia is looking to develop this practice towards more ambitious projects in 2017.
Women of the Rising - Rising of the Women
An Arts project for women, girls, ladies, ‘ole ones’, lassies and ‘hussies’.
“What a wonderful evening. I admire your determination to push out the boundaries. I was delighted to play a small part in making the event a great success. Congratulations on your vision and facilitation – a woman of action
Ellen O’Donnell (Winnifred Carney) Manager, CYTE, Clonmel”
This project aimed to commemorate the Women of the Rising - the ‘boldest and most unmanageable revolutionaries’ - exploring their deeds and spirit and celebrating their coming out of the dark ages of ignorance and forgetfulness. Each participant took part in a workshop with artist Theresia Guschlbauer at which a brief illustrated Irish women’s herstory was presented and biographies of 1916 women were picked for the purpose of adopting one woman to later impersonate at a re-enactment of a 1916 photograph. The event was followed by a cabaret during which some of the participants presented their historical selves.
Creative writing workshop and photo re-enactment event at Raheen House Gardens on 6th July 2016. Photographs by John Kelly.
LOCAL HERO 1916 commemorative project
In the Spring 2016, Theresia worked with trainees from NLN to investigate the theme of heroism and what this might mean to young people today. Using historical texts, poems, newspaper clippings and images & exploring Celtic Iconography, the project culminated in two stone carving sessions in Clonmel's Denis Burke park with sculptor Philip Quinn, during which harvested words and images were transferred unto two large boulders.
HOWLING Wolf Moon Sessions
A site specific multi-disciplinary collaborative installation in Old St-Mary's Church with Maurice Caplice, visual and sound artist, Brian Byard, musician, Paul Kelly, lighting and film artist, environmental artist Lynn Mather and Theresia Guschlbauer, textile artist. The collaborative process aimed to enhance the resonances of the space and to echo each other’s work to offer a truly immersive and sensual experience.
Taking into account the time of year and the synchronicity of a Full Moon on Culture Night (16th September), the five artists offered an extensive artistic ‘session’, combining exhibition, concert, participative activities and interactive experimentation centering around the theme of ‘Howling to the Moon’, using multiple approaches and media to explore this theme. Central to the evening was an interactive wolf drawing by Maurice Caplice, which members of the public were able to ‘fill’ with miniature figures. A pre-recorded soundscape of ambient sounds by Maurice Caplice, drawing on his large LP collection was overscored by a live performance by Brian Byard.
A further installment of the project took place during Designfest 2016 as a site-specific installation in Channon's Forge with live interactive projections.
Riverrun haiku & mural Project, Clonmel
Through her involvement with Suircan Community Forum, Theresia set up a collaboration between three Clonmel primary schools and the environmental activist, teacher and photographer Shay Hurley to look at the habitat along the river Suir and compose Haiku inspired by it. Theresia and artist Lyn Mather selected 30 haiku and included these on the 60 meters long mural which they designed and painted with the help of 30 volunteers on the concrete flood defence wall in Denis Burke Park.
Film kindly made by Snap Media in conjunction with Tipperary County Council and Junction Festival.
River Murmurs
A 2010 collaborative project with Lyn Mather; filmed by Snap Media