Regional Cultural Centre
Letterkenny, Co. Donegal

Exhibition Curator MARIE BARRETT

The first part of the tour opened at the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, on Friday 8 May 2015, with guest speakers Finola Brennan, Donegal Women's Network, and Annette Patton, Donegal Community Development Alliance, and opening remarks by Eilís Ní Chaithnía, National Women’s Council of Ireland's Membership Development Officer.

Marie Barrett, exhibition curator, said: 
I am delighted to have been invited to curate ‘STILL, WE WORK’, in Donegal with the support of the Regional Culture Centre. Working closely with the artists and the National Women’s Council of Ireland has allowed me to develop new cross-sectoral collaborations that will articulate and explore some of the key issues for women in the wider context of socio-political debate within a cross- border region 
Orla O'Connor, Director of the NWCI, said:
The recent strike of the Dunnes Workers is just the latest manifestation of a dangerous erosion in the quality and security of jobs that women are experiencing. As a unique collaboration of artists and NWCI, this exhibition recognizes the paid and unpaid, seen and unseen work that women do and highlights the intrinsic links between women’s work and the inequalities that women widely experience in society. STILL, WE WORK provides an exciting opportunity for artists and NWCI members to come together, share their experiences and build a discussion about women, work and equality today. 
In June the exhibition travelled to Callan, Co. Kilkenny, and was curated by Rosie Lynch, Hollie Kearns and Monica Flynn, with partner Kilkenny County Council and presented as part of the Abhainn Ri Festival. In October, the exhibition travelled to Limerick and was curated by Michele Horrigan, with partner Limerick City Gallery and supported by Dance Limerick and The Hunt Museum.  The tour has been made possible through the financial support of an Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon Visual Arts Touring Award.

STILL, WE WORK – NWCI LEGACY PROJECT TOUR: REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN’S WORK at the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. 12th to 23rd May.

Location of the Artworks

Marie Barrett curated the exhibition in the main galleries at the RCC and thanks Eilis Lavelle, Curator-in-Residence, for her assistance. For the first time all the work by all the artists was on show simultaneously. Regional Cultural Centre is located off the Port Road in Letterkenny.

Additional Programme

Talks

​Saturday, 9 May, 2pm / RCC
'Broken Biscuits I'
An illustrated talk as part of the Remote Photo Festival by Valerie Connor, Legacy Project Curator, about her research in the development of the 'legacy project', and the thinking behind the final touring exhibition 'Still, We Work'.

Saturday, 23 May, 3pm / RCC
'Artist's Talk'
With Anne Tallentire as part of Remote Photo Festival about her practice as an artist and educator and her approach to her work, 'From, in and with', commissioned for 'Still, We Work'. 

Workshops

Saturday, 9 May / Galleries at RCC
Vagabond Reviews led a workshop based on themes of Kindness, Belonging and Organising and experiences represented in the text and image panels made for their project '(In)visible Labour Factorium'. 

Saturday, 9 May / Galleries at RCC
Miriam O'Connor led a workshop where a set of postcards were produced by the group and added to the exhibition materials. In keeping with the legacy project's aspirations that the exhibition would be 'generative', that is generate more content, items, and forms of exhibition making as it passes from curator to curator and group to group. Then postcards were designed by Oonagh Young and a small print-run was made. The images and text were devised with Miriam and each of the participants in the workshop have a set of the postcards. 

Saturday, 23 May / Education Room at RCC
Fiona McDonald, artist and architect, ran a workshop to make a 'Support Surface', designed by her as a functional object that may be used in many ways by adults and children, to organise or to play. In the process of making something together, the group open up avenues of discussion about ideas and concerns as well as problem solving. Fiona is the designer of the crate that protects the exhibition when in storage and in transit.

Marie Barrett - Exhibition Curator, Letterkenny

Marie Barrett is an artist and cultural director. With family links to the garment industry in Donegal, Marie Barrett was a participant in Vagabond Reviews’ (In)visible Labour Factorium. She is a founder/director of North-55, a socially engaged visual arts organisation that engages divergent communities on civic issues on a cross-border basis, fusing cultural and aesthetic pursuits with community development processes. Across the region, Marie and North-55 work to establish coalitions with other arts, community and statutory organisations through long-term partnerships to create a cultural corridor, where innovative ideas are visualised and articulated. Her work has taken place nationally and internationally, and has included Sitework public art project, Orchard Gallery, Derry, the International Studio Programme (P.S.1.), New York, and the Artists Work Programme, Irish Museum of Modern Art.She has been the recipient of several national and international awards including the Alice Berger Trust Award (Berlin), and the Cultural Relations Travel Award (Quebec). Barrett has previously carried out extensive research into socially engaged art practice, through the Arts Council’s Community Arts Development Scheme. She also has on-going involvement in international conferences and seminars that address issues relating to socially connected ways of making art. These included New Zones for Critical Practice in Art Salford 1994, Chimera, Sydney 1995, Littoral, Dublin 1998 and InSite, San Diego/Tijuana, 2001. www.north-55.com 

Venue and Launch

Marie curated STILL, WE WORK for the two main galleries upstairs at Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny.

The launch event took place at RCC, 5pm, Friday 8th May, with opening remarks by Eilis Ni Chaithnia, NWCI Membership Development Officer and guest speakers, local activists, Annette Patton and Finola Brennan.

Partners and Supporters

The Director of the Regional Cultural Centre [RCC] is Shaun Hannigan. The building opened in 2007 and specialises in exhibitions, music, film and community arts. It is operated by Donegal County Council and receives annual funding from the Arts Council and Letterkenny Town Council. The RCC has an extensive education and community arts programme. 
It coordinates Bealtaine for Older People in Donegal in May of each year, which usually consists of over 100 events countywide including exhibitions, films, theatre, readings, storytelling, concerts, workshops and special projects in partnership with DCC Cultural Services, Age & Opportunity and others. The RCC plays a significant role in a number of other festivals and events including One Donegal Cultural Diversity Month, Social Inclusion and Disability Awareness Weeks, and Culture Night. The Centre is also the venue for regular and ongoing workshops and events held by cultural, educational, community development and health organisations throughout the year. Youth arts events in the RCC and countywide are organised with a range of partners such as Donegal Youth Services, Donegal Youth Council, Youthlink, YMCA, Letterkenny CDP and Donegal Travellers Project. Among the highlights of a wide-ranging youth programme is the Transition Year BEO Rock Music project led by Colaiste Ailaigh Letterkenny. regionalculturalcentre.com