Local authorities are one of the most important commissioners of public art in the country and all have invested deeply in permanent art works and projects over the years. However, Kilkenny is one local authority which is taking a more diverse, inclusive and community-focused approach.
Kilkenny’s vision for public arts is to ensure that people who live in and visit Kilkenny experience captivating, challenging and culturally diverse high-quality public art projects, explains Mary Butler, the local authority’s long-serving Arts Officer.
Mary Butler, Kilkenny County Council’s Arts Officer.
“People tend to assume that public art means permanent works, such as statues and sculptures, often along a roadside. However, Public Arts has the potential to be so much more, and we are embracing that in Kilkenny,” according to Mary.
“By commissioning theatre makers, dancers, visual artists and filmmakers we are enabling artists across art forms to connect authentically with the people of Kilkenny, creating work that excites, challenges, and inspires.
“The work of the Arts Office supports artists and connects communities through a wide range of arts activities. Our work is developmental and empowering and as part of our Public Arts Programmes, we’re very much working to ensure that the projects we are progressing have community engagement at their core,” she adds.
‘ALL TO PLAY FOR’
Among the ongoing, community-focused programme in Kilkenny is Fearghus Ó Conchúir’s All to Play For, a short dance film celebrating Kilkenny’s deep-rooted hurling and camogie traditions. It premiered at the end of May to an invited audience of those involved in the project, amongst them, the featured sporting heroes from the county.
The project was commissioned under Kilkenny County Council’s Public Art Programme 2024-2027, and was funded by the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage and Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.
Fearghus Ó Conchúir’s ‘All to Play For’, which celebrates the source and energy of former hurling and camogie stars, premiered in Kilkenny in May. Pictured at the launch was choreographer, Fearghus Ó Conchúir. (Photo: Dylan Vaughan)
The stories told can be similar in every county, making it a true celebration of Ireland’s camogie and hurling heritage, Mary Butler added. Plans for public screenings are now well underway.
Kilkenny-based theatre company Asylum Productions is also engaging with the local community ahead of The Alice Project, an epic reimagining of that most notorious of local stories; the tale of Dame Alice Kyteler and the Kilkenny Witch Trials of 1324.
A major public performance will take place in August, with the story being told in five different parts, in five different locations across the city during Kilkenny Arts Festival. The search is on locally for a community dance act, a community choir and actors for a group of witch hunters.
CONNECT, INSPIRE, ENGAGE
Work will also continue into next year on Córa, by Michael Gallen, a multi-disciplinary project blending choral music, documentary, poetry, design, and animation to craft an evocative film about the heritage of Irish healing practices.
Pauline O’ Connell’s project From Hide to Heel explores and celebrates the intertwined leather and shoemaking traditions in Kilkenny. It tells the story of Padmore and Barnes, the boot factory in Kilkenny.
Mary Hilda Cavanagh, Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, said; “Kilkenny County Council is proud to support such public art. Our approach to investment is not defined by permanence alone, but by its ability to connect, to inspire, and to engage. It is something we are committed to building on — continuing to broaden the scope of what public arts can be, and who it is for.”
Mary Hilda Cavanagh, Cathaoirleach, Kilkenny County Council, pictured at the launch of the ‘All to Play For’ cinematic dance film with Angela Downey, sister of Ann who featured in the film. (Photo: Dylan Vaughan)
