Sirius Announces an evening with Eleanor McEvoy - Saturday 17 May 8pm

Sirius Arts Centre is pleased to announce a return visit from one of Ireland's best female singer songwriters.

Eleanor McEvoy

on Saturday 17 May 8pm - tickets are €20 and can be purchased by contacting Sirius Arts Centre at the addresses listed to the left side of this weblog.

In a world where the word star and the gift of talent are often devalued, Eleanor McEvoy is neither an overnight success, nor a four week wonder. A musician and songwriter of note, possessing all of the qualities that go to make up the complete artist.

Eleanor graduated from Trinity and was accepted into the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland where she worked four years before finally taking the plunge to concentrate on her passion for songwriting.

After a long hard slog, the girl who spent the year of 1988 busking in Union Square, New York had come a long way, a route that took her through the disciplines of classical music, Irish traditional music and contemporary music to a point where she finally found success in 1992.
It happened when one of her songs "Only a Woman's Heart" inspired the title for, and appeared on, the "A Woman's Heart" anthology album. It has since gone on to become the best selling album in Irish history, staying in the Irish Top 10 for over a year.

Since then Eleanor has gone on to become an artist and performer known throughout the world. Her critically acclaimed canon of work spans six albums, several singles and appearances on numerous compilation albums and is today recognised as Ireland's most successful female singer songwriter having enjoyed personal chart success and numerous cover versions of her songs. (Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, Phil Coulter, amongst others). Her song "All I Have" features in the lastest series of the HBO cult series "Six Feet Under"

Don't miss this chance to see Eleanor in the intimate surroundings of the West Gallery. This is her first return appearance since she headlined the 2006 Cobh Maritime Song Festival in the Heritage Centre.

Artist in Residence for April & May - Daniel Heer

Daniel Heer is currently in residence at Sirius Arts Centre. A visual artist working at the moment as a designer, Daniel is also the author of documentaries and videos, examining national and cultural stereotypes. Daniel was born in Lucerne Switzerland in 1977. He lives and works in Berlin.

This is Daniel's second residency at Sirius he is currently continuing on work looking traditions of lacemaking and design. Daniel will be in residency until 24 May.

Sarah Iremonger, Artist in Residence Co-ordinator took a few moments out to get more information about Danie and his asperations for his residency.

Sarah - Can you tell us a bit about what you're working on currently?

Daniel - My current work at the Sirius is called SIGNALS, and is influenced by the rise and the fall of the tide. The idea behind this work is to explore the restoration of Sirius Arts Centre and to use my residency as an opportunity to create a construction artwork "kunst am bau - Project" looking at the idea of restoration in a heritage buiding.

Signals is designed to be integrated with the renovation of the skylights in the Centre Gallery and the architecture of the building. Black louvered blinds are proposed to cover the 2 sky-lights , blocking out and revealing the day light. The blinds would open and close slowly at intervals of every 6 hours. I would invision their movements to be synchronized with the rhythm of the sea.The louvered blinds would be used as a navigation between the sea and the sky.

SI - What other projects are you working on at the moment?

DH - I just finished a limited edition of leather-bags and am working on a new collection of these bags.

SI - What do you hope to achieve at Sirius and where will it take you?

DH - The Sirius Arts Centre is for me a kind of retreat after being in Dublin. I compare the urban experience of the Temple Bar Studios in Dublin with the quiet of the apartment studio at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh. In both places you can easily become inspired and stimulated because these places bring you to yourself in different ways.

Equinox to Play the Music of Thelonious Monk at Sirius - Thursday, 1 May 8pmTickets €15

The music of Thelonious Monk presents a unique challenge and unique rewards to jazz musicians. His is a body of work that appeals to swing musicians, be-boppers, modern jazz players, and the avant-garde alike. The wide-ranging appeal and relevance of Monk’s music is something that communicates to audiences as well as players. The idea for a project of all Monk music came about through a desire by the members of Equinox to penetrate the complexity and mystery of Monk’s music. This is not music to be dabbled in, and it is not something that reveals its riches without serious study. Quoting Pianist Barry Harris “You don’t necessarily just get up and play Monk. Sonny Rollins practiced Monk, Coltrane practiced Monk.”

Equinox is based in The Netherlands, where all the band members have made their home. All of the members of the quartet are steeped in the jazz tradition, which continually informs their search for personal avenues of expression in improvisation and composition. Among the band’s strengths is a vast and wide ranging repertoire that includes originals by all band members, modern and classic jazz pieces, and choice American songbook standards. Equinox will be touring Ireland in April and May of 2008 in a project devoted to performing the music of the great composer and Pianist Thelonious Monk.

Equinox has existed as a working quartet since the fall of 2007, but with the exception of newcomer Davis, who moved to Holland in the summer of 2007, the group’s members have been playing together for a long time. Nicholas and Daly originally began working as a guitar/bass duo, but have been performing together in a great variety of contexts for the past four years, both in Holland and abroad.

This is a rare opportunity to see such exceptional musicians paying tribute to a legend of jazz. This will be a very special night in the Sirius. To book tickets contact Sirius at: 021 481 3790 or via email at: cobharts@iol.ie Check out Equinox's My Space site by clicking HERE

Encore lecture with Jim Wilson Sold Out!

Jim Wilson's second lecture on his recent trip to the Antarctic Peninsula has sold out! Keep a look out in the future for more lectures on nature and wildlife. If you would like to be included on the email list for contacts regarding these specific lectures please contact Sirius at cobharts@iol.ie and we'll let you know as we organise more of these events.

If you have tickets for this lecture doors will be at 7:45 for a prompt start time at 8:00pm

DEADLINE FOR 2009 SIRIUS ARTIST RESIDENCIES AND EXHBITION APPLICATIONS 2 MAY 2008

The Curatoral Panel for Sirius Arts Centre will soon be planning exhibitions and residencies for our 2009 Programme of Events.

There are two ways artists are chosen for residencies and exhibitions at Sirius:
1) Artists from Ireland and abroad are invited by the curatorial panel directly
2) Artists may submit an application to be considered for a residency at Sirius.

Applications are considered for both single artists or groups of artists who wish to share the residency. The term of residence at Sirius ranges from 1 - 3 months with the average residency lasting approximately 4 - 6 weeks.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:
There is no formal application form needed. If you wish to apply for a residency or exhibition at Sirius Arts Centre you must submit the following information:

* An up to date CV with your past exhibition information.
* 10 Images or other appropriate samples of your work (slides, CD's or small prints can be accepted). Make sure that CD's/DVD's can be viewed on all formats.
* A self addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage to return your work to you
(If you don't send us return postage we will not return your work).

For residency applications please also includ a written proposal which clearly states the following:

* What you hope to achieve during your residency,
* The length of residency you're interested in and preferred time of year.
* Any interests you may have on developing an exhibition or project with Sirius.
* Does your work have any pertinent links to Ireland or Cobh?
* Have you an interest in linking with the local community during your stay?

All applications will be judged by the curatorial panel and applicants will be notified as soon as possible.

You can send applications via mail (please include return post for have your work returned to you) to:

Sirius Arts Centre
The Old Yacht Club
Cobh, County Cork
Ireland

The residency and exhibition programmes are made possible through the generous support of the Irish Arts Council and Cork County Council.

Tir Na Nóg Play Sirius Sat. 26 April 8pm (doors 7:45)

Leo O'Kelly and Sonny Condell perform together again in the Sirius for one night only. Tickets €17

Over two decades on, Mr. Condell and Mr. O'Kelly are still now at a loss to explain how or why Tir Na Nóg happened, yet somehow, somewhere the oddest of odd couples came together to create one of the greatest folk rock musical hybrids of startling ingenuity. It made them famous, if not rich, deposited them on some of the worlds biggest stages and effectively opened the way for a whole flood of Irish bands to follow. And this is your chance to see them in the intimate setting of the Sirius.... contacts for tickets can be found to the left of this page. For more information on Tir Na Nóg visit Sonny Condell's Website

Encore Presentation of Lecture on Antarctica by Jim Wilson Thursday 24 April 8pm (doors 7:45pm).

Jim Wilson presents an encore of his lecture, "A Trip to the Antarctic Penisula" Tickets are €6/€4 Concession

Cobh native and well known naturalist, cinematographer and musician, Jim Wilson presents an audio/visual presentation about his trip to the Antarctic Penisula aboard the Marco Polo as expedition ornithologist. If you would like more information on Jim and his trip you might visit his weblog by clicking HERE

ADVANCED BOOKING IS RECCOMMENDED - the first night of this lecture sold out and many were disappointed when they couldn't get tickets...... just a word of warning. Contact Sirius at 021 481 3790 or via email at cobharts@iol.ie to book.

Sirius Arts Centre Blog begins

There is so much going on at Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh, County Cork Ireland that we thought it was time to create our own blog. In this space we can give you more detailed information on upcoming events and post interviews with our Exhibiting Artists and Artists in Residence along with other goings-on in the artistic communities of Cobh and Cork.

In April we exhibited "Forsaken" by Lana Slezic in commemoration of International Women's Day 2008. Ms. Slezic gave a tour of her exhibition on opening night, it was a rare opportunity to hear first hand about this award winning photographer's experiences while living in Afghanistan for 2 years.

Lana Slezic was awarded third prize in Portrait/Stories of the World Press Award 2008 for another body of work she completed on Women in Afghanistan.

Thursday, 10 April at 7:00pm we open "Tidal" a new exhibition by South African photographer, based in England, Michelle Sank (All are welcome to attend).

Michelle's exhibition was created in Cobh during her residency at Sirius in 2007. The photographs include images of the young people she met at the water's edge near Cork Harbour and also through her associations with Cobh Youth Services and other youth groups in the area. The photographs reveal not only the personalities of some of our local young people, but also illustrate how other cultures have recently moved into Ireland and the Cobh/Cork Area.

Michelle Sank won third prize in the National Portrait Gallery Prize in 2007 . Her work is also currently being exhibited in the "Discoveries of the Meeting Place" exhibition at Fotofest in the United States. Fotofest, based in Houston Texas is one of the most prestigious Bi-Annual photography events in America. Michelle's most recent publication, "Becomming" is available from Belfast Exposed Gallery.

Last Friday night we hosted a sold out lecture by local Natural Historian, Jim Wilson. Jim completed a 6-week trip on the cruise liner Marco Polo in Dec 07/Jan 08 as the Expedition Ornithologist. This lecture was so popular that he has agreed to schedule another date with Sirius in the near future. If you would like to be informed when this next lecture will take place please visit Sirius Arts Centre's website or send an email to: cobharts@iol.ie. Aside from Jim's blog site he also maintains another website at: www.irishwildlife.net

In Februrary 08 we hosted Irish Installation artist and musician, Aileen Lambert in our residency programme. Aileen was on a research and development visit gathering information for a new exhibition which will be held in the Sirius Arts Centre later this year.

In March and April we hosted West Cork based video artist, David Ian Bickley. David was also working on research for future exhibitions and while at Sirius had two video installations at St. Finbar's Cathedral in Cork City, "Golgatha" and "Calvary" as part of Holy Week in the Cathedral.

More updates soon on music and other events at Sirius Arts Centre. We hope you will come check back to this site frequently for information on our upcoming events and details on the artists we are engaging with. Remember you can always send us feedback at cobharts@iol.ie

Best wishes

Peggy Sue Amison

Director

Sirius Arts Centre