National Interest
Art Trail Festival 2011
                                       
Cork City, Ireland - Friday 18th November - Sunday
4th December

Locations in Cork City, online at arttrail.ie, and
in print in th Irish Examiner on 4th November 2011.


e: arttrail.cork@gmail.co


Festival
Opening Event - Friday 18th November, Art Work Embassy
Venue at The Elysian.

Artists include: Goran Galic & Gian-Reto Gredig (Swz);
Neil Butler (Irl); Kent Gustafsson (Swe); Catherine Harty
(Irl); Alessandro Saviotti & Marianna Liosi (It); Aideen
Doran (NI); Nina Tanis (Irl/USA); Carolyn Collier (Irl); The
Truncated Adjunct Collective; David Upton (Irl), Denise
Kehoe (Irl);

With
economic and political issues to the fore, this year's
ArtTrail Festival turns its attention to National
Interest.
Having posed this theme to the artistic community, the
festival will present selected projects in various venues
across Cork City centre from Friday Nov 18th to Sunday Dec
4th .
The responses reflect concerns of the art world itself  as
well as considering  wider cultural interpretations, uses,
and misuses of these words.
 
Questions of cultural identity arise as being of interest
or under threat. Many artists are concerned with emblems
of nationhood.  The Declaration of Independence and
Ireland's online identity are broken down and re-presented
in the work of Neil Butler (Irl), while Kent Gustaffson
(Swe) interrogates the symbolism, individuality, and
similarity of national anthems. Others such as Swiss
photographer duo Goran Galic & Gian-Reto Gredig,
Catherine Harty(Irl), and Aideen Doran(Irl) challenge the
authority of news media and self-representation. Through
the prism of the tourist industry in Bosnia, MA BICE BOLJE
/ It'll Get Better by Galic & Gredig examines the
conflict of national interests that leads to war. While
some of these projects touch on the self-reflective nature
of art, others address this area more specifically.
Italian curators Marianna Liosi and Alessandra Saviotti
will chair a panel discussion considering the current
political and economic difficulties, and responses by
artists to this situation.
 
In seeking to address the interests of the nation the
importance of reaching a wider audience was apparent. This
year’s festival programme doubles as a magazine titled
National Interest, with profiles of all the festival
projects and parrallel events, and featuring articles
concerning the issues raised. Writer Rosie Meade and
artist Elaine Garde will consider the position of art as a
cultural commodity within ‘Brand Ireland’ and alternative
models of social economy respectively. The magazine will
go on national distribution on the 4th of November.
 
The festival is also concerned with highlighting and
supporting local artistic interests. This year marks a new
departure in how art practitioners and organizations in
the Cork City area are represented. For the first time the
festival will adopt an art fair model entitled Art Work
Embassy. Based on the ground floor of the Elysian
building, Eglington Street, the ‘Embassy'  will function
as the hub of the festival and showcase the work of both
individuals and studio groups. An ongoing series of
presentations, artist talks, short workshops, and guided
tours will give an introduction and insight into the
research and motivations of a broad range of artists.
Participants include Outlaw Studios, Backwater Artists
Group, Cork Printmakers, Sample Studios, Golden Section
Studios, Artists on the Hill, Glebe Artists Studios,
National Sculpture Factory, Basement Project Space,
MutantSpace, and many more. The venue will also host the
Festival Opening, and the launch of the JustListen
Showcase CD.
 
 
>From micro to macro the festival offers a wide variety
of perspectives to consider.


Further
details of projects, events, and venues will be available
on the ArtTrail website and in the upcoming publication.


————————————————————————————————————————

ENDS:

For
artists info, press pack, or to arrange an interview
please contact
Anna Crudge, ArtTrail information coordinator,


m: 086-3823135






w: www.arttrail.ie

Twitter:
  @ArtTrailCORK
Facebook:  ArtTrailCORK
 


 ArtTrail,
YMCA  Building, 11-12 Marlboro Street, Cork

ArtTrail 2011 is funded by the Arts Council,
with additional support from Cork City
Council and partner organisations.


Included image: National Interest? , photo
Pamela Condell, produced by ArtTrail