Mayor Eamonn Maloney on behalf of the Members of South Dublin County Council will officially present a publication documenting the Mythic Journey and Short Shorts projects to participating artists in County Hall Tallaght on Wednesday 8^th November at 6.15 pm.

Background to Mythic Journey and Short Shorts

                    The funding for this programme came from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Governments Per Cent for Art scheme, as a result of housing refurbishment in the areas of Donomore and Killinarden.

                    An extensive process of community consultation resulted in the decision to commission, through the Councils Per Cent for Art programme In Context, artist Mary ORourke and Mark Cullen and Brian Duggan of Pallas Studios to undertake art projects in these areas in 2003.

                    South Dublin County Councils Arts Office, together with Artworking, an independent arts consultancy firm administered the projects.

                    It was agreed by the Arts Office, Artworking and the artists involved that a publication to mark the projects would be very worthwhile. The purpose of the ceremony on 8^th November 2006 is to mark the publication and present it to all those directly involved.

                    Below please find further information about the two projects:

Mythic Journey by Mary ORourke

Mythic Journey became the title of the project led by Mary ORourke. The project was specifically aimed at adults, and was undertaken with a group of women who originally formed the Donomore Refurbishment Committee and later became the Donomore Arts Group. The project was based on a desire by the women to establish a connection with the history of their area. Through research, the women discovered that Killinarden lay on the ancient Royal Road from Tara, a traditional hunting path used by Fionn Mac Cumhaill and the Fianna. The group decided to create a series of childrens costumes from the time of the Fianna, retaining the notion of identity as an important part of the project and making links between local and national history. The project involved a transfer of skills from artist to group: costume design; making the fabric which involved wool making, weaving, looming and silk making. The project produced four costumes for children based on the style of costume that would have been worn by the Fianna. An exhibition was organised in Killinarden Enterprise Centre, where the women displayed the costumes, demonstrated the equipment, spoke about their experiences and used photographs to tell the story of their mythic journey. They also arranged workshops for groups of school children.

Killinarden Short Shorts by Mark Cullen and Brian Duggan

Killinarden Short Shorts was led by artists Mark Cullen and Brian Duggan of Pallas Studios. Young people in the Killinarden area were recruited through local secondary schools for the purpose of participating in a project that resulted in the production and screening of eight 10-minute films, shot and edited digitally. During the course of the project, participants were introduced to a variety of film practice and learned technical aspects of film production. The young people acquired a background to contemporary film culture as well as a range of film-making skills including camera techniques, storyboarding, framing, scripting, production, lighting and editing, and performance skills such as acting and improvisation. A public screening of Killinarden Short Shorts was held in Killinarden Enterprise Centre, Killinarden Community Centre and Tallaght Community Arts Centre in 2003.