The Bealtaine Gathering 2023
MusicAlive’s Kevin O'Shanahan is delighted to be part of the lineup for the Bealtaine Gathering 2023. Kevin will be participating on the artists panel: "Diversity in our work - how can we avoid tokenism?" speaking about the Creative Enquiry project, Cork.
Kevin O'Shanahan, a musician and Waterford Institute of Technology Business Studies graduate (1993), works on diverse, participatory music/arts and health projects. As the founder and Director of MusicAlive, Kevin has garnered Arts Council awards for impactful works such as "Egress," created with visual artist Marie Brett for the Alzheimer Society of Ireland. Awarded an MSc from University College Cork in 2013 for research on music making's benefits in mental health recovery, he shares insights through publications and conferences in Ireland and abroad. Alongside his nursing role specializing in recovery and the arts, he manages the 49 North Street mental health initiative in Skibbereen. Kevin will speak about Music Alive’s involvement in the Creative Enquiry project.
Further detail about The Bealtaine Gathering 2023
Are you an individual, an artist or a member of a group that organises Bealtaine Festival events in your community? Age & Opportunity, producers of the Bealtaine Festival, invites you to join us in Dublin, at the National Gallery of Ireland on November 15th, for this year’s Bealtaine Gathering. This event will be a chance to connect with other organisers, hear about inspiring projects and reflect on a shared vision of creativity as we age, as well as planning for Bealtaine 2024!
The theme for the day is Community, Diversity and New Directions in our work and we have put together an exciting line up speakers to explore these topics. The Bealtaine Gathering will also be a key opportunity for attendees to network, share experiences and give feedback on their challenges and needs as we look ahead to 2024.
Artistic Director of Bealtaine Festival, Dr. Tara Byrne said: “The Gathering is such an important part of the Bealtaine Festival schedule as it both looks back (at the previous festival) and forward to the next. This year in particular we’ve worked hard to make it as relevant as possible to our Bealtaine partners and we hope our deep dive on diversity and community will provide new insights on ways to work as well as some practical tips that even the most seasoned of arts organisers might need.”
The keynote address Diversity Works Both Ways: Reciprocity is Vital will be given by Conny Groot, (Netherlands), who has worked extensively on inclusive arts projects that have brought together communities from different backgrounds. Her passion is to generate both cultural and social impact by stimulating the exchange of narratives through film, music and storytelling.
We will also be showcasing projects which exemplify building creative communities. Dance artist, Katy Hewison (Dance Limerick) will present on The Golden Flood of Memory, a moving intergenerational dance performance which was part of Bealtaine 2023. Community development worker Richie Keane will be telling us about the creative work of the members of Fatima Groups United as emerging creators. Curator, art historian and writer, Catherine Marshall will speak about the power of artist collectives through her work as a member of Na Cailleacha. Lucy Medleycott (Irish Street Arts, Circus and Spectacle) will ask us to consider new artforms with her innovative yet practical ideas for circus projects with older people.
The afternoon will draw together the main themes of the day, with Oein DeBhairduin, artist and Traveller Culture Collections Development Officer with the National Museum of Ireland chairing a discussion on diversity in our work. The panel will featuring Carmel McKenna (Munster Academy of Irish Dance), Han Tiernan (researcher and producer) and Kevin O’Shanahan (Music Alive, Cork). Writer, Laurence McKeown, (Belfast), a recent winner of the Age & Opportunity Creative Ageing Writing Bursary, will provide a final thought for the day.
Also as part of the line up, the Creative Enquiry project (Cork), will launch their report on the arts, access and older people, and as part of this, there will be a very special performance from the project ‘Built on Bridges’ which features dance soloist Kevin Hayes, and the Mayfield Men’s Shed Choir directed by Susan McManamon with ‘Statio Bene’. ‘Built on Bridges’ was a largescale dance performance exploring themes of home, identity and migration in connection with Cork City that premiered at the Cork Midsummer festival in 2023. This very special excerpt is especially provided for the Bealtaine Gathering, not to be missed!
Visit www.bealtaine.ie for tickets for the day which are €15/10* with lunch provided.( *if cost is a factor in accessing this event, please get in touch with: arts@ageandopportunity.ie or (01) 805 7709.)
What Next? Arts and Ageing Resources
What Next? is a programme about arts and ageing. It consists of an eight-part podcast series, three online workshops, and an e-publication involving the Cork City and County organisations Cork Midsummer Festival, MusicAlive, and SIRIUS as well as the artists Marie Brett, Helga Deasy and Susan McManamon, and Colette Lewis. These resources provide a toolkit for those working with older people, whether artists, programmers, or policy makers. What Next? is initiated by Cork City Council and managed by SIRIUS.
The podcast series, produced by the journalist Ellie O’Byrne, tells the story of four artists and members of the community with whom they collaborated in exploring questions around the relevance of local know-how, traditions of lore, and agency through co-creation. The online workshops focus on planning programming in relation to older people, and are delivered by representatives of the organisations with the facilitation of Ellie O’Byrne and SIRIUS director Miguel Amado. The e-publication, edited by Miguel Amado with Emma Dwyer, includes a summary of learnings, findings, and recommendations, with contributions by the artists, the organisations, Ellie O’Byrne, and the critic Joanne Laws.
“What next?” is a question posed by consultant Terre Duffy in the publication that accompanies Creative Enquiry – Arts and Older People. “This was not the first ambitious project with a solid oversight partnership, curious host organisations, and skilled and experienced artists, utilising a tried and tested person-centred collaborative model for engagement with older people,” notes Duffy. “However, what this creative enquiry has demonstrated yet again is the value of engagement with the arts for older people. Unless there is commitment to deliver on the recommendations and learnings, there is a risk of this becoming another great case study for another great creative enquiry in a few more years.” What Next? answers this call and provides practical outcomes that go beyond presenting case studies.
What Next? is an outcome of Creative Enquiry – Arts and Older People, a project initiated by Cork City Council that explored new approaches to arts engagement with older people in 2019. The project consisted of three residencies involving the same artists and organiations: Marie Brett with Cork Midsummer Festival, Helga Deasy and Susan McManamon with MusicAlive, and Colette Lewis with SIRIUS.
What Next? Arts and Ageing Resources and Creative Enquiry – Arts and Older People were initiated by Cork City Council and funded by The Arts Council Invitation to Collaboration Scheme with the support of Age & Opportunity, Cork County Council, and the Health Service Executive.
Subscribe and listen here [https://theartsandageingpodcast.libsyn.com]
Creative Enquiry - Arts and Older People
Creative Enquiry - Arts and Older People is an investigative collaborative venture that creatively explores fresh approaches to arts engagement with older people and advances best practice models.
The focus of the Creative Enquiry was three artist-residency and older-people engagement projects, hosted by arts organisations MusicAlive, Cork Midsummer Festival and Sirius Arts Centre.
With the support of their host organisations, the artists in residence were asked to engage with participants to gather learnings and best practises relating to questions such as “How can we characterise quality arts engagement for older people?” and “What are the barriers to participation in the arts for older people?”
Working collaboratively, the participants from Nazareth House, Mallow and Mayfield Men’s Shed, MusicAlive artists in residence Helga Deasy (dancer and choreographer), Susan McManamon (musician) and Arnold Thomas Fanning (writer) experienced a rich, rewarding and inspiring residency.
Nazareth House
Men’s Shed
Creative Enquiry is an initiative of Cork City Council in partnership with:
Cork County Council, Age & Opportunity, HSE Cork Kerry Community Healthcare-Cork South Community Work Department.
It is kindly supported through the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon “An Invitation to Collaboration” scheme.
For further detail, view the full publication below.
The Bealtaine Gathering 2023
Are you an individual, an artist or a member of a group that organises Bealtaine Festival events in your community? Age & Opportunity, producers of the Bealtaine Festival, invites you to join us in Dublin, at the National Gallery of Ireland on November 15th, for this year’s Bealtaine Gathering. This event will be a chance to connect with other organisers, hear about inspiring projects and reflect on a shared vision of creativity as we age, as well as planning for Bealtaine 2024!
The theme for the day is Community, Diversity and New Directions in our work and we have put together an exciting line up speakers to explore these topics. The Bealtaine Gathering will also be a key opportunity for attendees to network, share experiences and give feedback on their challenges and needs as we look ahead to 2024.
Artistic Director of Bealtaine Festival, Dr. Tara Byrne said: “The Gathering is such an important part of the Bealtaine Festival schedule as it both looks back (at the previous festival) and forward to the next. This year in particular we’ve worked hard to make it as relevant as possible to our Bealtaine partners and we hope our deep dive on diversity and community will provide new insights on ways to work as well as some practical tips that even the most seasoned of arts organisers might need.”
The keynote address Diversity Works Both Ways: Reciprocity is Vital will be given by Conny Groot, (Netherlands), who has worked extensively on inclusive arts projects that have brought together communities from different backgrounds. Her passion is to generate both cultural and social impact by stimulating the exchange of narratives through film, music and storytelling.
We will also be showcasing projects which exemplify building creative communities. Dance artist, Katy Hewison (Dance Limerick) will present on The Golden Flood of Memory, a moving intergenerational dance performance which was part of Bealtaine 2023. Community development worker Richie Keane will be telling us about the creative work of the members of Fatima Groups United as emerging creators. Curator, art historian and writer, Catherine Marshall will speak about the power of artist collectives through her work as a member of Na Cailleacha. Lucy Medleycott (Irish Street Arts, Circus and Spectacle) will ask us to consider new artforms with her innovative yet practical ideas for circus projects with older people.
The afternoon will draw together the main themes of the day, with Oein DeBhairduin, artist and Traveller Culture Collections Development Officer with the National Museum of Ireland chairing a discussion on diversity in our work. The panel will featuring Carmel McKenna (Munster Academy of Irish Dance), Han Tiernan (researcher and producer) and Kevin Shanahan (Music Alive, Cork). Writer, Laurence McKeown, (Belfast), a recent winner of the Age & Opportunity Creative Ageing Writing Bursary, will provide a final thought for the day.
Also as part of the line up, the Creative Enquiry project (Cork), will launch their report on the arts, access and older people, and as part of this, there will be a very special performance from the project ‘Built on Bridges’ which features dance soloist Kevin Hayes, and the Mayfield Men’s Shed Choir directed by Susan McManamon with ‘Statio Bene’. ‘Built on Bridges’ was a largescale dance performance exploring themes of home, identity and migration in connection with Cork City that premiered at the Cork Midsummer festival in 2023. This very special excerpt is especially provided for the Bealtaine Gathering, not to be missed!
Whether you regularly organise Bealtaine events or haven’t had the opportunity for a number of years, we very much welcome you to join us for the Bealtaine Gathering 2023. We especially welcome smaller groups, individuals, artists, care setting representatives, as well as local authority representatives.
Tickets for the day are €15/10* with lunch provided. *if cost is a factor in accessing this event, please get in touch with: arts@ageandopportunity.ie or (01) 805 7709.