Woman Making Waves
at the Leitrim Design House .
On Thursday the 8th of May the Leitrim Design House will present an exhibition of drawings created by the WILL/WAVE Partnership. Women from Leitrim (WILL - Women Living Independently in Leitrim) and Fermanagh (WAVE - Women Making WAVES) have come together to creatively engage with the self-image of women with and without disabilities in a cultural and artistic context, building on the Peace and Reconciliation process.
To accompany the exhibition Kathy O’Leary a member of the Leitrim Design House and facilitator with the WILL/WAVE Partnership will present a workshop around the theme of “Identity and Women”, “Shared Spaces and experiences”. Kathy will endevour to address the issues facing women with disabilities through the artwork of surrealist painter Frida Kahlo.
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), one of the most influential Mexican painters of the middle twentieth century. From 1926 until her death, the painter created striking, often shocking, images that reflected her turbulent life. She did not originally plan to become an artist. A polio survivor, at 15 Kahlo entered the premedical program at the National Preparatory School in Mexico City. However, this training ended three years later when Kahlo was gravely hurt in a bus accident.
The day long workshop and exhibition at the Leitrim Design House aims to develop positive relationships between the participants North and South of the border by focusing on the shared experiences of women with and without disabilities.
“The Partnership is ready to open up to the public having built up relationships through Art and Drama. They would like to work on the theme of shared spaces/experiences and the event at the Leitrim Design House is a building block for this work” says Kathy.
A presentation on the life and work of the artist will be followed by a self portrait drawing workshop.
A viewing of the academy awarding winning film FRIDA will take place in the afternoon at Carrick Cineplex. The artwork made during the workshop will be exhibited with a body of work recently made by the women from the Partnership.
As part of the workshop the group will also look at the work of Scottish Artist Chrissie Orr As a practising artist for the past thirty years her focus has been on producing work for and with communities. Her work is based on the premise that the artist, when directly involved with the community, can address complex issues and bring people together in a shared experience. It is her belief that art can transcend politics, cultural barriers and socio-economics.
Her project in Arizona worked with Native American and Hispanic Youth from treatment Centres to create a safe space for Youth in trouble. These adolescence were suffering from alienation of their ancestors and had turned to gangs and killing each other through conflict. Through working with these Youth she uses photography to raise issues of Peace and the Peace Process and the concept of what Peace meant to them.
The artwork made during the workshop will be exhibited along with a body of work recently made by the women from the WILL/WAVE partnership. This exhibition “Identity and Women” will be shown at the Leitrim Design House as an installation on panels similar to the projects developed by Chrissie Orr. The idea to expand and travel the exhibition to other public venues in the region.
This exhibition will be shown at the Leitrim Design House from the 8th to the 22nd of May. The WILL/WAVE Partnership is funded through the Leitrim County Councils Task Force.
The Leitrim Design House aims to engage with the wider community through organised events and activities to accompany its lively exhibitions programme. If you are interested in getting together to creatively engage with other women and explore the self-image of women with and without disabilities in a cultural and artistic context please contact the Leitrim Design House on 071 96 50533.
This day long workshop will take place on the 8th of May 11am to 5.30pm. Admission is free please book early to confirm your place.
