Outdoor celebration of St Brigid with Creative Spark Print Studio and Art as Exchange

On Monday 30 January, Creative Spark Print Studio and Art as Exchange hosted an outdoor event in celebration of St Brigid's Day.

The event featured a performance, an outdoor exhibition, and the release of a collaborative guidebook titled “A Guidebook to Your Brigid Feast Day”.

The guidebook, a collaborative magazine filled with content about Brigid, including drawings, illustrations, recipes, how-to tutorials, stories, and folklore, was co-produced by the team. The Fabric Cloak, also co-produced by the team, took inspiration from Brigid and all aspects of her life.

AAEX Artist Susan Farrelly, who works with community engagement, visited pupils at Gaelscoil Dún Dealgan. Together, they created four segments of the cloak on fabric. The four panels represented the seasons of the year and the children explored how to use Neolithic symbols like those found at Newgrange and Knowth to tell stories.

The children shared stories about some of the aspects of Brigid's life and, working in groups, they translated their stories into pictures of their own design.These panels joined together with other sections to form the circular cloak and it continued to grow as they added creative contributions from other artists and the surrounding community.

The outdoor exhibition showcased artworks inspired by traditional craft and symbols, such as the St Brigid's Cross and brideog dolls, using natural materials from the land.

A unique aspect of the event was the large loom onsite, where visitors added foliage, twigs, and other materials throughout the day, allowing them to actively participate in the creation of the final piece. This interactive element provided visitors with a hands-on opportunity to engage with the art and themes of the Brigid project.

The project was funded by Create Louth and Creative Spark and had been in the works since mid-November by the team of artists. The organisers say that visitors experienced the beauty and tradition of St Brigid's Day through this exciting opportunity.