Stát na mBan – Exhibition Launch

Stát na mBan

 

(Translation: The Women’s State/The State of Women) – Visual Art, Poetry and Film Exhibition at the dlr Mill Theatre, Dundrum

Image: Video still, An Agreement of Silence (2021), by artist Sinead McCann, image courtesy of the artist. 

The exhibition features visual artworks in the gallery space, a film installation in the Studio and is accompanied by a series of compelling poems in print form hung in the gallery. Framed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a reflection on themes of gender-based violence, racism, migration, colonialism, feminism, silence, womanhood and women’s rights as human rights, this exhibition presents artworks from artists working with Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality as part of State of the Art: The Nation state as both Violator and Protector of Human Rights, supported by The Arts Council of Ireland.  These works tell stories of hidden voices, gender discrimination, racism and fear intertwined with courage, radical self-representation and love. 

 

The exhibition features artworks by visual artists Hina Khan, Noelle McAlinden and Amna Walayat, poetry by Mary Moynihan, Féilim James and Michelle Costello and a video installation An Agreement of Silence by Sinead McCann. An Agreement of Silence is a new video artwork created and directed by Sinead McCann. It explores women’s experience and the alliance of the church, the state and the broader community in the confinement, exploitation and abuse of women in Magdalene laundries in Ireland. Monologue by Féilim James, movement direction by Kate Finnegan with dancers Vitor Bassi, Siobhán O’Connor and Mufaro Gambe, voice over by Michelle Costello, original composition and music by ELKIN.

 

Friday 15 – Friday 22 Oct, 11am-3pm, dl Mill Theatre Gallery Space and Studio, Dundrum. No booking required. Presented as part of Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival 2021.

Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival

15 – 24 October 2021

Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality and Front Line Defenders, in partnership with Amnesty International, Fighting Words, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, National Women’s Council of Ireland, Trócaire, and Poetry Ireland, present the 2021 Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival showcasing and highlighting the extraordinary work of human rights defenders in Ireland and around the world, past and present, and the role of the arts and artists in promoting human rights today. The festival runs for ten days from Friday, 15 October to Sunday, 24 October 2021. The artistic curator for the festival is Mary Moynihan, Artistic Director, Smashing Times and the human rights curator is Laura O’Leary, International Events & Promotions Coordinator, Front Line Defenders.

 

This year’s festival is themed Hope, Courage and Resilience: The Story Continues. The festival is a celebration of human rights and links the arts to civil society, active citizenship, and politics through a series of inter-disciplinary performances, film screenings, documentaries, theatre, music, dance, visual and digital art, poetry, literature, and historical memory. The festival features creative conversations, panel discussions and arts-based workshops and a range of live events happening onsite and online, featuring Irish and international artists and guest speakers.

 

The 2021 programme is bigger than ever before, with over 70 events happening across 10 days! With events happening both in-person and online, there is something for everyone interested in the arts for equality, human rights and diversity.

Full programme available here: https://smashingtimes.ie/festivals/dublin-arts-and-human-rights-festival-2