Reverse Pedagogy Schools Programme underway at The Model Satellite

First day of the school's Collage Parties at Reverse Pedagogy

From mid-October to mid November, The Model will be working with local primary and secondary schools from Sligo alongside our current exhibition Reverse Pedagogy. Below we hear from two people involved in the project so far, Artist Andy Parsons and teacher Anne-Marie Watters.

Artist Andy Parsons;

‘The Reverse Pedagogy Schools Programme takes two of the key themes of the the show as its starting points; collaborative working and play as art. The  young people visiting the gallery have been given a short tour and a chance to visit the Fairy disco, then asked to throw a giant cardboard dice to move along a collage board game spanning three of the gallery’s downstairs rooms.

The collage party then begins with a race against time to fill in the area of floor space space they have landed on in an hour.  The project aims to create the same sense of anarchic fun as the exhibition while introducing young people to art that challenges a great number of conventions.’

Facilitator Anne Marie Watters spoke about the experience for the children;

‘The children really had a good time in the workshops, the different age groups and schools made it more interesting.
The whole Fairy room in the gallery seemed to connect better with the primary school children and their teachers also.
They were more open to suggestion, and the newspaper and magazine collages seemed to work better than just sticking to colored pieces of paper and material.  It meant they had to think more about what images to use, where to position them and how to incorporate it into the whole picture.

By making it into a game so the children really got involved in it was a brilliant idea. You determined where you were by throwing the dice and the used that as you space to use in what ever way you wanted. Be it by using the whole space, using parts of it or not much at all. It was good to see how they worked together whether in pairs or in groups. I really had fun in the collage party, and the artist Andy Parsons is great to work with too. He brings all his sense of adventure and enthusiasm into the workshops.’

Reverse Pedagogy runs until November 22nd at The Model Satellite, Castle Street, Sligo.

Am I singing you the right blues? Oh yes you are Mr Ritter

Over the bank holiday weekend The Model programmed a very special New Spaces for Music gig for the Sligo Live festival. On Sunday October 25th, over three hundred people poured into Calry Church on The Mall for an evening with Josh Ritter and the Love Canon String Band. Our Marketing Assistant Denise Rushe wrote a short review of the evening and it’s events.

Where to start? Well, in the right venue would have been a good place. I arrived at 6pm on time to Calry Church for an exciting evening of work, looking after the front of house for the gig. With a quick ring to Aoife, I soon discovered there are indeed two Calry Churches in Sligo and I was most definitely at the wrong one, a few kilometres outside of town. I zoomed back into town to the other Calry Church on the Mall opposite our own building.

A light rain had started to fall, and by the time I got back to the church, a queue had begun outside. The last minute checks were made and  then we finally opened the door. Tickets and wristbands a go-go, the crowds started to pour in and the church was soon packed to the rafters. A night of story telling, folk and ballad songs ensued.

Support on the night was provided by the wonderful Richard Julien, a talented singer who had befriended Josh in Mexico some years back.

Those who have been following Josh since his career kicked off in Ireland may remember a couple of earlier gigs in Sligo. I made it to one of them and also caught him in Dublin a couple of times but this was definitely the best performance of the lot. It also coincided nicely with the end of Josh’s Irish nationwide tour, so the congregation were kindly treated to an extended night of beautiful songs such as ‘Me And Jigs’, ‘Harrisburg’, ‘Bright Smile’, ‘Right Moves’, an awesome cover of Moon River and also Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The River’.

Ritter appeared as possibly the happiest man in the room, smiles and warmth, laughter and jokes accompanied the music in the church that night. The quirky Love Canon String Band provided theatrical moments, and musical support to the main man. Deep notes of the double bass, guitar, banjo and mandelin created the most sublime sounds that were complimented by the acoustics of the church.

Epic encore upon encore followed, including a return of Richard Julien. The band were also joined on stage by special guest Rick Epping on mouth organs.

So much was packed into one sublime evening of music on a very wintry night in Sligo. A toe tapping, hand clapping evening with Josh Ritter and the Love Canon String Band was by far the best way to end a wonderful weekend of musical delights and surprises at the Sligo Live Festival.

Josh Ritter with the Love Canon String Band, and special guest Rick Epping, and Richard Julien at Calry Church.

Some more pics on our Flickr page here>

Research underway at The Model

Formal presentation of The James A. Healy Art Collection by Mr. Cormac H. O'Malley. L-R Alderman John Fallon, Chairman, Sligo County Council; Mr P.J. Doyle, Deputy County Manager Mr Oliver Dowling, Exhibitions Officer, The Arts Council; Mrs. Moira Kennedy O’Malley, New York; Miss Nora Niland, Librarian and Curator; Mr Cormac K.H. O’Malley, New York

The Model is currently undertaking some personal research into one of Sligo’s most dedicated and hard working citizens; Nora Niland.  The research will contribute to the visibility and identity of the Niland Collection which is housed in The Model.

In the 1950s, Nora was instrumental in establishing the Sligo Municipal Art Collection, which today bears her name.

As county librarian Niland spotted the importance of the connection between Sligo and the Yeats family. With this in mind she borrowed five works by Jack B. Yeats from The Capuchin Annual to exhibit for the duration of the first Yeats Summer School in 1959.  Niland soon realised that these five works were an important addition to the cultural life of Sligo and resolved to raise the money required to buy them.  Although it took her two years, Niland’s determination ensured that the paintings remained in Sligo and formed the nucleus of what has now become The Niland Collection. Nora went on to add more of Yeats’ works in the years that followed,  making the collection one of the most significant holdings of the artist’s work in Ireland.

Many of these works record personal experiences and memories of Yeats childhood in Sligo, and coupled with the addition of further works by his father John Butler Yeats and his sister Elizabeth Yeats, serve to celebrate the Yeats family’s enormous cultural legacy to Sligo.  Over time works by other important Irish artists were added making the collection of the best holdings of twenthieth century Irish art in the country.

The Model would like put a call out to people around Sligo that may have known Nora, met her at meetings, or have worked with her. We are looking for photographs, original letters or stories about the woman who inspired one of the most important collections of Irish twentieth century art works.

If you have any information, photos or memories you would like to share please contact Denise Rushe at The Model on 071 9141405 or email deniserushe@modelart.ie