Following the success of their BIG HOUSE Festival in August 2013, the award-winning Co Kildare theatre and arts company The Performance Corporation announce the launch of the fourth SPACE Programme at Castletown House, Celbridge, in early 2014.
Professional artists from all disciplines are invited to apply now to take part in The SPACE Programme – a unique 2-week programme which the company describes as a “research and development lab” for the arts. The SPACE Programme takes place from January 26th to February 7th 2014 at Castletown House, Celbridge and aims to develop artists through collaborative workshops, inspiring field trips and allowing space for innovation.
“County Kildare has a growing reputation for fostering the arts and creative industries, and we like to think that The SPACE Programme has played a part in that. We first ran the programme in 2008 and many of the ideas developed over the years in SPACE ended up featuring in BIG HOUSE Festival last August. The festival was a huge success, attracting over 6,000 people to Castletown House over the August bank holiday weekend” said Jo Mangan, CEO of The Performance Corporation. “We’re really excited to welcome artists to Castletown House once again, to develop their craft, and be inspired one of Ireland’s architechtural gems.”
Explaining the rationale behind The SPACE Programme Jo Mangan said: “Collaboration and experimentation are the things that drive all great artistic endeavours, but we had a feeling that they were too often rushed or cut short in order to meet the deadline of opening night or an exhibition. We wanted to see what would happen if collaboration and experimentation were given more space. We’re delighted that so many successful theatre and arts projects have emerged due to the research and development that started in SPACE.”
Oisín Byrne, The Paper Ball, 2010
As well as Irish artists, previous participants have come from as far afield as Argentina, Russia and Canada. They have been drawn from a very broad range of fields including theatre, visual arts, music, architecture, science, design, film, dance, writing, comedy and photography.
Previous artists who have taken part in The SPACE Programme, have found it an invaluable experience for their development as artists, and their work.
Acclaimed visual artist Oisín Byrne described it as: “Intense, shattering and totally immersive: The SPACE Programme is a stimulating and practice-changing two weeks of collaboration.”
Award-winning theatre designer Ciaran Bagnall said: “It has been one of the most important experiences of my career.”
American composer Justin Yang said it was “a very special experience, one that will continue to inform who I am as an artist and how I go about creating work.”
The application process is now open, and submissions are welcome from individual Irish and International practitioners in all disciplines. Closing Date for applications: 5pm, 15th November, 2013.
Full details and application form available at www.theperformancecorporation.com/space
The SPACE Programme is presented by The Performance Corporation, funded by The Arts Council and supported by the OPW.
The Performance Corporation is an award-winning theatre and arts company, founded in 2002 by director Jo Mangan and playwright Tom Swift with a mission to create “theatrical adventures in surprising places”. The company has since garnered consistent critical acclaim and numerous awards for its work which includes a string of successful theatre and arts events in Ireland, the US, Britain, Germany, Finland and Kenya. Their work includes site-specific plays that are tailor-made and written for a place or community; high-impact arts interventions in public spaces; audio tours for heritage locations and bespoke arts festivals like this year’s highly successful BIG HOUSE Festival in Castletown House and Parklands, Co Kildare.
For further information please contact Ciara Gogarty on +353 (0)1 627 2827
THE PERFORMANCE CORPORATION
www.ThePerformanceCorporation.com
space@ThePerformanceCorporation.com
@PerformanceCorp #space2014