Image one: from left: Michelle Browne, Elaine Reynolds, Adam Sutherland. Image two: Fiona Woods & Richard Saxton. Image three: Adam Sutherland. 

Under the curatorial residency in Roscommon, Roscommon Arts Centre & Roscommon County Council in partnership with CREATE, the national development agency for collaborative arts in social and community contexts presented The Workers Symposium. This one day symposium reflected on contemporary modes of visual art production in rural contexts and the mechanisms and partnerships available to support them. This symposium provided a platform for reviewing the Art@Work model that has been supported by Roscommon Arts Office for 10 years. The cultural, economical, social and physical landscape of the County has evolved since Art@Work’s inception and this symposium provided the opportunity to explore potential changes to the project. Over the course of the day visual artists discussed and presented their experiences of producing artworks in rural contexts while creators and facilitators of rurally based projects and representatives from International programmes presented case studies.

Speakers included

Katherine Atkinson, CREATE

Chairperson’s introduction

Philip Delamere, Leitrim Arts Officer

Art@Work, it’s formation and progression 

Niamh O’Connor, Art@Work programme coordinator 2011 & 2012, with a panel of past participant artists and businesses including Michelle Browne, Gareth Kennedy, Elaine Reynolds and Declan Molloy from Molloy’s bakery

Fiona Woods & Richard Saxton

In conversation on Collection of Minds #5 project

Deirdre O’Mahony

X-PO, SPUD & Mapping Group projects 

Philip Delamere, Leitrim Arts Officer

On recent Leitrim based projects LOCIS & SPARK

Adam Sutherland

Grizedale Arts, UK

Hollie Kearns & Rosie Lynch

Workhouse Assembly, Callan, Co. Kilkenny

Panel discussion on case studies chaired by Katherine Atkinson

Audience Q&A

Book launch of A Decade of Country Hits

Edited by Margo Handwerker and Richard Saxton