ARTS Asylum seekers’ art exhibition opens at Turlough

Asylum seekers’ art exhibition opens at Turlough


A new exhibition, ‘Interland’ – the culmination of an intercultural project which took place over the closing months of 2013 – will open at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life, Turlough, tomorrow (Wednesday), February 19, at 12pm. It will be officially launched by Louisburgh-based poet Geraldine Mitchell and will run until March 30.    
Arising from a partnership initiative by Mayo County Council’s Arts Office, Mayo Artsquad and Mayo Intercultural Action, Interland is body of work created by 12 women who have past and present connections with the Direct Provision Accommodation Centre in Ballyhaunis. Master potter Henri Hedou facilitated the project and the group met weekly over a four-month period at the O’Dwyer Arts Centre in Bohola to explore and work with clay.
The project aimed to provide possibilities for positive artistic engagement and the opportunity to explore the stories and experiences of the participants who came to Ireland to seek asylum.  
Henri Hedou has run his own pottery workshop, Terrybaun Pottery, for the last 26 years, but has been immersed in the ceramic world for over 40 years. At an early stage he did some teaching in a large private Arts Centre in Paris not knowing that he would do a lot more work in that area 30 years or so later. He enjoys being in contact with people of all ages and backgrounds passing on the skills and passion attached to his work.
The experiential workshops and this exhibition are part of a larger collaborative project which received support funding from the Arts Council under their Local Partnership Scheme in 2012.