An exhibition of non functional baskets by award winning basket maker Joe Hogan opened on Friday September 9^th.

On opening night, Joe gave a talk on the tradition and contemporary practice of basket making and was a wonderful opportunity to meet this remarkable basket maker and gain an insight into his practice.  To view pictures from the talk and opening click here.

"I was drawn to basketmaking because willow growing provided an opportunity to live rurally and develop a real understanding for a particular place . Over the last 30 years I have found it a very satisfying occupation. I aim to make work to my own standards since this is what is fulfilling and keeps me wanting to spend time in my workshop. I take some time each year to try new ideas and to make new designs but I also value repetition and the fluency it develops.

For the past 10 years or so I have become increasingly interested in making non-functional baskets, some of which involve the use of found pieces of wood. I also sometimes use twigs with cones or catkins on them. This work is prompted by a desire to develop a deeper connection to the natural world." Joe Hogan, 2010

The Dunamaise Arts Centre will open its third Open Submission exhibition with the new name ‘level’ on Friday 17th July featuring work by selected artists. An exciting new development in the Dunamaise Visual Arts programme, both in its approach and its curation, the exhibition will feature 28 pieces which have been selected by guest curator Bernadette Madden. The artists exhibiting include Cora O’Brien, Brendan O’Flaherty, Bernie Masterson, Bennie Reilly, Conor Walton, Aoife Barrett, Stephen Lawlor, Joe Dunne, Bridget Flinn, Mary Burke, Stephen Lawlor, Eoin MacLochlainn, Lorraine Walsh, Joe Dunne, Cora O’Brien, Myra Jago, Paul MacCormaic, Heidi Nguyen, Maria O’Brien, Angela Fewer, Eileen Mills and Balazs Keresztury.

February 18 - March 19, 2011

The quayside in Carrick on Suir where Bernadette Kiely grew up informed her deep connection and fascination with ‘the river‘, her life being regulated by the constant presence and flux of the river Suir. From a young age she often witnessed heavy flooding on the quay and the powerful natural force of the river imprinted itself strongly on her mind.
Since then Kiely has moved from the banks of the Suir to the quayside of the Nore, a fast moving volatile river, also subject to regular flooding. While she makes work based on the elements of air, fire and earth including growth and decay in nature it is to the element of water in the form of the river she consistently returns, making drawings, paintings, photographs and more recently video.

"I visited Japan in 2008 and was just so moved by what I saw at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I feel passionately about the nuclear threat and this work creates a calm and peaceful environment for people to come in and contemplate the meaning of what was done and what the future holds"

Stacia Blake, 2011

PIECE WORK FRIENDS 2011 is an exhibition by Laois artist Stacia Blake and friends which opened on 11th August. The work displayed will then be donated and sent to the Peace Parks in Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan as a symbol of peace and friendship.