Artists and Community in South Dublin join together to UNWRAP Christmas
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Artists and Community in South Dublin join together to UNWRAP Christmas
UNWRAPPED is an annual winter celebration.
Children, young people, and communities of all ages join professional artists to ‘unwrap’ the festive winter season through a combination of music, performance and visual arts.
Oscar Wilde’s short story ‘The Selfish Giant’ is the inspiration for UNWRAPPED 2012. It is the story of a giant who has a beautiful garden that remains in a permanent state of Winter because he refuses to share it with others. One day, children sneak into the garden to play. The giant notices that amidst the wintery garden trees begin to blossom one by one, because of the presence of the children. He learns how selfish he had been.
Artists and participants invite audiences of all ages to literally journey with them through the garden of ‘The Selfish Giant’ in an exciting and imaginative promenade event involving animation, puppetry, music and visual arts that brings the story’s themes of friendship, love, and generosity of spirit to life.
Date: Saturday, December 8th 2012
Time: 3:45pm – 5pm
Location: Meet at Tallaght Library
The event begins in Tallaght Library where innovative theatre company, Monkeyshine Theatre will tell audiences the story of ‘The Selfish Giant’ through a specially commissioned performance involving young performers commissioned for the event.
Audience members then become part of the story. Led by musician Michael Buckley, they will journey with participants and artists in a lantern lit promenade through the Giant’s garden in Chamber Square at County Hall, Tallaght. The promenade will move from the Library, to the Civic Theatre and culminate in the official lighting of the County’s Christmas tree by South Dublin County Mayor Cathal King, beside RUA RED, South Dublin Arts Centre). Lanterns have been created by members of the community with the assistance of artist Maeve Clancy.
Audience members will be immersed in the garden through paper cut window displays and hangings as well as the projection of animation work by artist Maeve Clancy and through musical performances by St. Jude’s Parish Junior Choir, Templeogue; St. Mary’s Senior School, Rowlagh; St. Kilian’s Children’s Choir Kilnamanagh; Suburban Sounds choir led by Carol Keogh and St. Mark’s Church Choir, Springfield. The Giant, now generous having learned the importance of kindness, will make an appearance and greet the audience welcoming all to enjoy his garden. The Giant has been designed by artist Tadashi Kato with the assistance of artist Jackie Gray.
The event will conclude with a reception in the foyer of RUA RED, decorated with a series of paper cut snowflakes by artist Maeve Clancy.
UNWRAPPED has been taking place since 2010 through a creative partnership between South Dublin County Council Arts Office and Corporate Services Department; South Dublin Libraries; Tallaght Community Arts; Alternative Entertainment; Contact Studio; Civic Theatre, Tallaght; RUA RED, South Dublin Arts Centre and South Dublin County Music Education Partnership.
Further information
Contact: Margaret Pierce, South Dublin County Council PR Unit
mpierece@sdublincoco.ie or 01 414 9000 ext 6025
Find us on FACEBOOK at UNWRAPPED South Dublin
http://unwrappedsouthdublin.wordpress.com
Artists Involved:
Maeve Clancy is a Dublin-based artist who works in animation, installation and comics. She creates work for children and adults using cut paper, story and drawings. She has worked on music videos for singer Lisa Hannigan, mounted solo exhibitions and written both fictional and historical comic stories. In August 2012, she was commissioned to create a cut paper installation for the Tall Ships festival Dublin through Dublin City Council Arts Office. She is currently working on South Dublin County Council's Unwrapped festival and a solo exhibition for children at the Riverbank Arts Centre in Co Kildare.
Monkeyshine Theatre creates ingenious theatre for young audiences. Based in County Sligo, their productions aim to take audiences on a journey where they can experience something unexpected, something magical and most importantly something memorable. The company, led by Kareen Pennefather and James Jobson, works as an ever-changing ensemble of performers, musicians, artists and technicians. We are passionate about our multi-disciplined creative process and as a team we are continually sharing and developing skills. Monkeyshine Theatre was established in 1999 and has toured throughout Ireland both North and South, as well as to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Glastonbury Music Festival and above the arctic circle to the Stamsund international theatre festival in Norway.
Tadashi Kato is a Wicklow based visual artist and designer who works in costume and 3D construction with young people and adults. He trained at Setsu Mode Seminar: Fashion Illustration Arts School.Tokyo Japan between 1986 -1989. He worked as a designer facilitator for LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) on a number of site specific projects including Wayan Gulat Balinese Gamelan artists and the French pyrotechnique company Group F. He has worked with Helen Hugel of Helium Theatre Company, Tallaght Youth Theatre, Tallaght Community Arts and The Source Summer School in Thurles.Tadashi designed and made the illuminated cloaks for Unwrapped 2011. In June 2012 he designed and made kamishibai (Japanese paper theatre) for Message In A Bottle an international youth arts exchange project in June 2012.He is currently designer for The Haunted – Halloween Parades in Clondalkin and Tallaght 2012. He is working in association with Monkeyshine Theatre for Unwrapped 2012.
Jackie Gray is a mixed media artist living and working in Dublin. Her work is concerned with snapshots of the real world and its transient habits. Using sound, video, sculpture and drawing, Gray’s work deliberates on the ambiguous divide between the observed and the imagined. She graduated with a BA (Hons) in Visual Art Practice, IADT in 2009.Recent exhibitions; WBMilbank Gallery, New Zealand, 2010, 2011, Ormond Studios 2010, 2011, Wicklow Garden Festival, 2011, OPW, St Enda’s Park, South Dublin, 2011. Curation; Susan Walsh,A Progression of Light, Ormond Studios, The Drawing Project, Dun Laoghaire 2012.
Michael Buckley – Saxophone, Clarinet Brother to renowned sax player Richie and cousin to one of Ireland’s most respected jazz guitarists Hugh, Michael is a member of the legendary Buckley dynasty of jazz musicians from Dublin. He has been playing from an early age and is regarded as ne of the country’s best and most innovative young musicians. He works mostly as a session player, but has also fronted his own ensembles and played as part of bands such as Minuano, Dopamine, Isotope and . Michael has played with many of Ireland’s finest performers in concert and on record and contributes horn arrangements to many contemporary recordings.