Open Studios
Open Studios presents six artists to making new work in and for the Catalyst gallery space over four weeks.
The selected artists transformed the Catalyst gallery into a creative laboratory, investigating contemporary studio practice through relocation of the studio into a gallery - a space in which audiences were invited to chat, observe and engage with the artists’ processes.
Week 1
tit tat ‘Disco Olympics’
tit-tat is a collaborative effort between artists Jude Bennett and Ruth McCullough. tit-tat put on live events that they find inspiring and fun, bringing extraordinary delightful art events to the public. During the week tit tat will be designing, developing and creating a temporary sporting installation. On closing event on Saturday 22nd November tit-tat will have the disco olympics with events such as techno sprint, disco ball shot put, wrestling, and sequined sac race ending the night with a Wedding Disco! tit-tat strive to bring a little bit of friendly rivalry mixed with ridiculous sporting fancy dress and silly games. Let the Games begin!
Week 2
Ben Craig & Sinéad Bhreathnach-Cashell
Ben Craig ‘Goodie Boxes’
Ben Craig will be giving away all his stuff as presents for free; toys, videos, tapes, books and a lot of other little things. He will bring his stuff round to the gallery and sort through it. Each present will be beautifully wrapped and a tag will be attached to each one with his email address on it. The week will close with a lunchtime event on the Friday where visitors are invited to take presents.
Sinéad Bhreathnach-Cashell ‘Plunder’
Sinéad will take on the roles of Builder and Pirate, plundering the surrounding area for treasure in her umbrella boat and construct a pirate’s lair out of Belfast’s debris. During this time she will fill a section of the gallery with sand and ask people to hide treasure in it, for herself and others to search for. Using the Catalyst Archive Sinéad will create video dominos /video Jenga with vhs tapes. Sinéad will close her activities along with Ben Craig with the lunchtime event on the Friday afternoon.
Week 3
Revati Mann
London-based artist Revati Mann will create an immersive environment with materials collected from Belfast: personal affects, found objects, fabricated objects. Over the course of the week, she will be creating a space that allows for free associations of colour, shape, movement and form; balloons, cardboard, trinkets, images, slide projection, sweet wrappers....an open ended impermanent space, welcoming and engaging. A space to spend time in.
Week 4
Cian Donnelly ‘Vampire on his hands and knees’
Donnelly will be working and performing within an enclosed space created in the gallery. Inhabiting the character of Daniel Cullen, a man who following the death of his wife and child has retreated to this room and made pieces in remembrance of the family he has lost. The two-week period will culminate in a closing performance, with songs from The Order of the Golden Ghost, a choir of artists and musicians.
This project will for the first time bring together all the aspects of Donnelly’s practice: song, painting, works on paper and storytelling.
