counting the days... #KAF11

The circling has been done, the tickets bought and I can't wait for the kick-off of this year's Kilkenny Arts Festival. The programme is a fantastic mix of "something for everyone"- Dance, Theatre, Music, Literature, Visual Arts, Craft and Street Performance, Kids workshops- 9 days Full of Culture with a capital C. Living right in the centre we get the best of  the atmosphere and buzz around the city during these 10 days of August. With all its pop-up galleries, exhibitions and street art performances Kilkenny turns into one big cultural sweet shop. I am so excited, I don't even think about the "more-than-our-flat-can-handle" number of friends we've invited to come to visit us during that time.

Next to the various gallery openings and visual arts treats available throughout the festival following are my personal MUST sees:

• The artist Angela O'Kelly will curate Modified Expression Exhibition at the NCG. And it's all about books, paper, written word! - check!
• Eric Sweeney& 3epkano -The Cabinet of Dr Caligari- a brand new live score to the silent cinema masterpiece- all in an amazing and a bit scary atmosphere
• Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - the name says it all, but have a look here also...

• TC Boyle - the sarcastic and vibrant author in talk about his latest book (*shall read before the talk...)

• Kaleidoscope- an informal concert of classical and contemporary music in the beautiful grounds of Kilkenny Design Centre 
• Body Duet - a thrilling way of ending my Arts festival. 

See you in Kilkenny!!!

quick, before it's over! Irish Craft Portfolio @ NCG

Last Friday I revisited the National Craft Gallery for another little stroll around this year's Irish Craft Portfolio exhibition. This is the fifth edition of the programme showcasing the best in Irish craftsmanship putting Ireland yet again on the map for International Contemporary Craft.

This year, as ever, the quality of the work and skill involved is truly captivating, the connection to nature and landscape ever so visible. Various media from wood and porcelain through glass, black diamonds and precious metals to discarded plastic bags reflect great consideration for the material and appreciation of the making process. The pieces live each their own life and tell their own story, and at the same time converse with each other in a quiet language of passion, skill and patience. Every time I visit the NCG I find myself enchanted by the beauty of their timeless form, it makes me want to touch them and feel their warmth. I can smell the sea, feel the breeze on my face, run my fingers through the grass and hug the trees. The mood created by these objects and their energy are for me the ultimate proof that the border between arts and crafts has long disappeared. Craft can be equally challenging and exhilarating. 

It would be impossible to chose my personal favourite, but I am very inspired by Jack Doherty's soda fired porcelain pieces. Using his One clay, one colouring, one firing process, Jack chooses  to present the material which we associate with lightness and delicacy in such strong, robust form whilst still managing to capture its simplicity and elegance. The contrast within his own work is wonderful, and his work gains another dimension once put into perspective with other pieces, like f.e. Frances Lambe's Sea-Life forms or Nuala O'Donovans work.

My personal favourite of the Portfolio 2011 Jack Doherty

The participants of the Irish Craft Portfolio are selected annually by an international jury of gallerists, curators and experts and their work is promoted nationally and internationally through exhibitions and publications. The exhibition is accompanied by the elegant issue of Irish Crafts Portfolio Catalogue.

Complex porcelain piece by Nuala O'Donovan

You can visit this exhibition at the NCG until 11th May and I cannot recommend highly enoug htheir monthly Late Date (an informal tour of the exhibitions-every last Friday of the month). On Friday 29th April @ 6pm you will have the pleasure of a tour with Rhythm and Roots Festival Director John Cleere with musical assistance from Hans Chew. Do check it out!