IT Sligo Architecture graduates have unveiled a vision of a vibrant multi-arts facility for Cavan.
They have come up with a range of designs that illustrate how the landmark old Town Hall could function as a contemporary arts space and performance venue.
The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys TD, opened an exhibition of their designs which also featured innovative, and related, collaborative work by Fine Arts and the Architecture students entitled “In Between”.
The architectural design and refurbishment work was an academic exercise by students who graduated in October with a BA (Hons) Architectural Design RIBA Part 1. Their four year course specialises in “repurposing” existing buildings from their traditional function to a new and sustainable re-use while retaining their character in their surroundings.
IT Sligo is also the only centre in the west of Ireland that offers a degree in Architecture which is validated by the internationally renowned Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Members of Trans-arts and the Gonzo Theatre, two Cavan groups who provided the Town Hall project brief, hope it will also have a practical benefit.
“There is a desperate need for an arts hub in Cavan” said Trans-art’s Siobhan Harton, a visual artist whose main practice is installation.
“We hope that the concepts the students have devised around our brief about how the Town Hall might take on a new life as a theatre and artists’ residency facility, along with the related collaboration by the students, will help to fuel discussion about the need for a new arts venue.”
The Architecture and Fine Arts students jointly explored ways in which the Town Hall’s environs, including the nearby Abbey grounds and park, could accommodate and chime with a new identity for the Town Hall.
“We were thinking along the lines of how the Abbey lands could be used perhaps for ‘Shakespeare in the Park’ or children’s arts festivals and the like,” Siobhan explained.
Bernadette Donohoe, Programme Chair for Architectural Design at IT Sligo, said: “The project was a perfect example of the type of professional work that we train our students for.
“Each of the 12 students had to engage fully with the brief, visit the Town Hall, appreciate its context in the town’s heritage and daily life and then create imaginative and empathetic designs to accommodate the client’s vision and the building’s integrity.”
Louis McManus, Lecturer in History of Art and Design IT, said: “The collaboration formed a module of our third-year course. An important benefit was that it gave both sets of students the opportunity to step outside their own disciplines and interact collaboratively with others, as they will have to do in their future careers.
“ ‘In Between’ was curated by Marianne O’Kane Boal and Ciaran Mackel in conjunction with staff from Fine Art and Architecture and was well received when it was first showcased last February as part of the ‘Exploring Spaces’ exhibition at the Braid Arts Centre in Ballymena.”
IT Sligo will hold an education information ‘Roadshow’ in the Cavan Crystal Hotel on Thursday December 11 from 4pm-7pm. It is the last in a series of four held in towns in the region in recent weeks. They give students, parents and teachers the opportunity of talking face-to-face with Institute staff about a range of issues, for example grants and fees, degree courses on offer at IT Sligo, accommodation and sports facilities.
PICTURED:
Minister Humphreys with IT Sligo students and lecturers, Trans-art and Gonzo Theatre members, acting Co.Manager Ger Finn and Cavan Arts Officer Catriona O’Reilly (Photo courtesy of Cavan Arts Office: photographer Lorraine Teevan)
