Session
5

 

CFCP
NEW VOICES
OF IRELAND
SERIES 8

Against The Odds 2:
Open Studios

Diviane Helena

Diviane still 2 Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity

Six videos, inspired by virtual meetings between two female artists and their exchange and studies about ancestry, femininity and traditional sacred rituals from Ireland and Brazil.

Barbara O’Meara

Barbara headshot e1612003862574 Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity

Mobile phone videos & art installations. Filmed in synchronicity with Diviane in our different places of residence to communicate a sense of interconnectedness despite Covid-19.

Intro

The project was born from a partnership between the Brazilian dancer and multidisciplinary artist Diviane Helena and the Irish visual artist Barbara O’Meara. Both developed a collection of six videos, three videos each, inspired by their virtual meetings in which they immersed themselves in dialogue and studies about ancestry, femininity and traditional sacred rituals from Ireland and Brazil. The videos are also a response to the restrictions we are living at the moment due to Covid-19. The artists worked from separate locations due to the current restrictions. Their subjective implication made this project happen from an intimate place.

THE NATURE OF FEMININITY #1, 2021
The piece “The Nature of Femininity # 1” is a tribute to Iemanjá. The artist Diviane sought to investigate the facets of femininity and fertility from her encounter with the sea and the relationship with an object. On the one hand, the object becomes a platform where she remains fixed in one place and seeks to balance herself between relaxation and tension. On the other hand, the object becomes a vessel, an empty place where fluidity finds space.

THE NATURE OF ANCESTRY #2, 2021
In the piece “The Nature of Ancestry #2” the artist accessed personal affective memories to connect with her ancestors of Italian-Brazilian descent who lived in a village in the interior of Brazil and worked in the cultivation of grapes for wine making. Their ancestors had to plant, harvest, and step on the land and a lot of grapes to survive. The work is also a recognition of the trajectory followed by women of other generations who had intense contact with the land and its healing and ritualistic properties. It is a tribute to the rituals of our ancestors and a manifesto for their rescue and resignification.

THE NATURE OF CIRCLES #3, 2021
In the piece “The Nature of Circles #3” the artist started from the idea of a sacred circular geometry in the construction of gestures and movements, respecting what the natural space offered at that present moment. The artist was inspired by the winter solstice to honour the sunlight and the shadows, playing constantly with those polarities alive in our humanity.

For ‘New Voices of Ireland 2020’ my partner was Diviane Helena, a Brazilian Artist with whom I had a deep connection discussing and sharing ideas of culture and sacred ceremony. After research we concluded with the idea of making 3 videos pieces in synchronicity pertaining to the rituals of our Ancestors, incorporating the Divine Feminine and Nature. We agreed to film at the same time in our different places of residence to communicate a sense of interconnectedness despite Covid-19 Restrictions. It was imperative for me that my videos, all made on my mobile phone, were created at a particular time and place which left me at the mercy of the weather with an acceptance of letting go of any control over the filming. Channeling the immediacy of the elements brought rawness to the pieces and for me raised questions of how insignificant our existence is on this planet. Filming over the power of the wind felt like a metaphor for the challenges we are facing as a species living with this uncontrollable global pandemic. There was a sense of just being, of survival, perhaps a metaphysical connection to common ancestors. I used language as part of the rituals speaking in English, Irish (my Native Tongue) and Brazilian Portuguese and also incorporated pure unrefined rhythmic sounds using handmade musical instruments to release energy and create movement. Many of the simple natural artifacts were handcrafted by me or handmade ensuring authenticity. Rich symbolism was also present as with 3 spoons representing Maiden, Mother, Crone and the ceremonies performed in circles which are symbols of no beginning or ending.

‘Winter Solstice’ – Irish Celtic Ceremony – 21st December 2020 – Under a Full Moon I perform a pre dawn ceremony to mark the great cross quarter of the Celtic Calendar, the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, which marks the beginning of the Celtic New Year and the return to light. In the depths of darkness this time was honoured by our ancestors in sacred ritual over 5000 years ago at the prehistoric site Newgrange, the great womb, to welcome the return to light. This time of year is related to the Goddess and the feminine. Serendipitously, an astronomical event, the great conjunction of the Christmas Star, the closest alignment of planets Jupiter and Saturn in 400 years was also occurring. Chanting “Return to Light, Let Light Return” using a shamanic drum representing a human heartbeat, moving in sacred circle around the flames of a fire on 4 quarters of gold to represent the 4 Seasons of the Celtic Wheel. Acknowledging the great seeding of life beneath the earth growing in darkness, there is acceptance and surrender to ritual and the elements. In this piece I love the tension and contrast between the silent photo stills as opposed to the howling wind and rain. I embrace and honour both the light and darkness. All is one. Materials: kindling sticks, antique cauldron, gold leaf handmade paper, handmade organic shamanic drum, headdress, Amber jewelry, gold handmade shawl & dress.

‘Yemanja’ Afro Brazilian Sea Goddess – New Year’s Eve – 31st December 2020. An Afro Brazilian Festival brought to Brazil by African Slaves hundreds of years ago, ‘Yemanja’ Goddess of the Sea, is an African Water Protecting entity also considered in other religions as the female ‘Mother of the World’ from which everything is created. Worshippers call on her to bring prosperity and good health in this New Years Eve traditional ritual. People wear white for harmony and adorn in white flowers as they dance, sing and pray with floral offerings, gifts and letters to the Sea Goddess, hoping they will be blessed. Green foliage signifies health and a single white rose is often given as a gift. Again on the day of a full moon I use wooden Silver Birch music sticks in a sacred circle calling out in Brazilian Portuguese “Bem-Vinda Yemanja Rainha do Mar” Welcome Yemanja Queen of the Sea. I place a Raku Fired Mother Goddess figure on a woven willow boat with white flowers, foliage, cones, white shells and stones as offerings to her. The ceremony takes on a life of its own in the uncontrollable wind beside crashing waves. I have to accept the power of nature is beyond my control with an offering of oats to the Goddess. The flowers are then offered to the sea to honour of Yemanja. Materials: Hand woven harvested willow boat, seasoned wooden music sticks of Silver Birch, handmade Raku Fired Mother Goddess, Handmade Star, wild flowers/foliage, white shells/stones, sage incense, and white garments.

‘Nollaig na mBan’ – Women’s Christmas – 6th January 2020. This is a time balance, of the half moon, of equality, I bring together Irish/Brazilian traditions to honour our female ancestors with a tea/coffee ceremony. Nollaig na mBan in Ireland is a time when women traditionally had a day off from their domestic chores and the men took over the housework. In the past women gathered together to share food and drink with storytelling and song, it was bad luck to take down Christmas decorations before the 6th January. In Brazil in everyday life women served coffee, in Ireland women served tea, both beverages introduced by way of colonialism in the 18th century. Many of our female ancestors had lives of hardship and servitude with little time for festivity but they had rituals such as divination of tea leaves/coffee grains. Most were not born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Filming this was very poignant as I place teapots, coffeepots, cups on my Great Grandmother’s enamel kitchen table I think of her strength and dignity and of all the women who have gone before, serving them ‘Cupan Tae’ (Irish Gaelic) and ‘Café Puro’ (Portuguese). Hand stitched aprons and a knitted tea cozy are an acknowledgement of women’s craft & skills often undervalued in the past. Most of the vessels were gifted to me by women folk and I use a branch from the Christmas tree to cleanse the energy. ‘Slainte’ (Good Health/ Irish Gaelic) ‘Beber Boa Saude’ (Drink Good Health/Portuguese).

The Work

The Podcast

The Artists

Diviane Helena

DANCER, CHOREOGRAPHER & MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST Artistic director, choreographer, performer, writer and psychoanalyst. Diviane develops artistic research through her methodology entitled Sensorygraphy. The focus of her artistic work is on the poetic language of sensations, challenging modes of interaction between bodies, spaces and subjectivities.

She has experience in solo creations, in partnerships with Brazilian and European artists, and in community art projects.

Artist selected for “New Voices of Ireland 2020”. Awarded the “Prêmio Festival Funarte Acessibilidança
Virtual 2020” as creator-interpreter of the work “Do Avesso”.
Artistic director and coordinator of the “de coreto em coreto” project supported by Profice – Programa de Fomento e Incentivo a Cultura do Estado do Paraná, Brazil.
First class honours in Master of Arts in Art Therapy at Crawford College of Art & Design / Ireland, 2018-2020, awarded “The Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship”.
Resident artist of the Teacher Artist Partnership programme 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 with support from the Arts Council.Artist in exchange at the School of Visual Arts in New York/USA, 2019 with support from Crawford College of Art & Design.

Diviane studied Professional Dance at Firkin Crane The Home of Dance in Cork, Ireland between 2018 and 2021, Artistic Dance Research at Universidade Estadual do Paraná between 2015 and 2018 and Contemporary Dance at Universidade Federal Technological do Paraná between 2013 and 2014.

Postgraduate in Psychoanalysis: theory and practice. Bachelor in Psychology and Psychologist Training at the Universidade Federal Paraná. 

Barbara O’Meara

BARBARA O’MEARA – is a professional visual artist with a B.A.(Hons)Degree in Fine Art Painting and a Post Graduate Higher Diploma in Community Arts Education both from the National College of Art & Design. Her community work includes various collaborative/socially engaged projects such as ‘Portraits of Pain’, N.C.A.D.’s Public Art Programme with Coolmine Rehabilitation Group at I.M.M.A, Northern Ireland’s Re-Generate Project and ADVIC Advocates for Victims of Homicide, a bereavement support charity.

Her socially engaged practice includes ‘Na Leanai’ Children of 1916-Dublin Remembers 2016 with Five Lamps Arts Festival, ‘B.O.R.N. Babies of Ravaged Nations’ 2017 at The Point Depot, a social commentary concerning the plight of women and children worldwide informed by media coverage of specific events. B.O.R.N. exhibition included audience participation with a Celtic healing ceremony where women and children from many nations were represented.

From 2017 – 2019 she designed, facilitated and curated the Tuam Baby Blanket ‘Stitched With Love’ a two year voluntary creative project where hundreds of women from Ireland and abroad hand crafted white squares to commemorate the Tuam Babies creating a baby blanket of 796 squares ‘The Covering’. In 2018 in a memorial event it was laid out over burial site at Tuam Mother & Child Institution by survivors and families during an ancient Celtic midwives ceremony. ‘The Covering’ is now exhibiting with ‘Stay With Me’ touring exhibition and in 2019 the blanket was shown at KOLO International Women’s Non Killing Cross Borders Summit in Sarajevo where women survivors of the Bosnian War held it in a healing circle. In 2019 it was also part of the Christina Buckley Centre exhibition ‘Our Living Bereavement’ highlighting institutional abuse in Ireland at both Tallaght Library and Inspire Gallery Dublin.

Open Call

 

Call for submissions for visual arts and multidisciplinary projects by or involving migrant and culturally diverse artists for the Centre for Creative Practices’ 2025 programme

Deadline – 25/02/2024

Intro

Open Call | Centre for Creative Practices Programme 2025

The Centre for Creative Practices invites submissions from PROFESSIONAL migrant and culturally diverse artists and local artists working with culturally diverse artists for our 2025 visual arts and multidisciplinary programme. We especially welcome participatory, collaborative, multidisciplinary and experimental proposals by individual artists and collectives. All projects have to include an artist’s talk and a participatory workshop for audiences.

We are inviting project proposals for two strands of our programme:

  • New Voices of Ireland Series
  • Third Space

The
Programme

THE NEW VOICES OF IRELAND SERIES aims to offer broad audiences a unique chance to engage with high-quality work by selected migrant and culturally diverse artists of various disciplines.

THIRD SPACE – collaborative projects between migrant and culturally diverse artists

Artists’ fees, production and marketing costs will be covered, and curatorial and production support will be offered by CFCP for the selected project. Up to 10 projects will be selected.

How to
apply

Interested artists should submit ONE SINGLE PDF document containing the following information:

  • Project/Exhibition proposal – 500 words max
  • CV/History of artistic practice – max 1 A4 page
  • 6 images of recent work – with titles and medium, where appropriate with dimensions
  • Artistic workshop proposal
  • Project budget
  • Proposed timeline venue

Please submit your proposals via email to monika@cfcp.ie In the subject line please state: Programme proposal 2025, CFCP

Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch via email monika@cfcp.ie or just give us a call at 086-6084020.

The submission deadline is Sunday – 25/02/2024. Late applications will not be accepted.

CFCP

 

 

Centre for Creative Practices Ltd. (CFCP) is a not-for-profit, national development and resource organisation for migrant & culturally diverse artists in Ireland.

CFCP is committed to professionally supporting, effectively showcasing and developing the talent of migrant artists, offering tailored artistic and capacity-building programmes, mentoring, and resources, and helping artists to access the local arts scene and build sustainable careers.

Migrant-centred and migrant-led, CFCP is acknowledged as a pioneer and catalyst for promoting cultural diversity, intercultural collaboration and exchange.

Join In

BACKGROUND TO THE NEW VOICES OF IRELAND SERIES

The New Voices of Ireland Series is a flagship project of integrative, cultural practice between migrant and local artists as well as audiences curated and presented by the Centre for Creative Practices.

The New Voices of Ireland Series aims to:

  • Connect creative talent from new communities and various social groups from all over Ireland
  • Give migrant and culturally diverse artists an opportunity to share their work and talent with a wide local and international audience
  • Engage artists to express their views on social challenges and the role of culture in modern society through artistic practice
riding the giants Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity

The New Voices of Ireland Series is kindly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.

Queries: If you have any questions, please contact monika@cfcp.ie or call 086-6084020         

Alpha Eosin Red Ink on Vinyl Co polymer 2.2 x 2.2 cm 2015 M Geddis Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity
Alpha Graphite Ink on Vinyl Co polymer 2.2 x 2.2 cm 2015 M Geddis Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity
Bare Life 260cms x 260cms Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity