ArtScape:Feck. The kettle is on and the sandwiches are being made as the organisers gear up for Ted Fest '08, the follow-up to last year's inaugural daft and quirky weekend celebration of all things Ted on the Aran Islands.
This time it's a week-long celebration (in Kilfenora, Co Clare, from February 25th to 27th and on Inis Mór (February 29th to March 2nd).
As part of the lead-up, heats continue, tomorrow night in Belfast, for this year's Toilet D**k Award for New Irish Comedy (their asterisks) and the Lovely Girl 2008 competition. Yes indeed. Ted Fest, organised by Fergal McGrath and Peter Phillips, is timed to honour Dermot Morgan (February 28th marks the 10th anniversary of his death) and also to mark 10 years since Father Ted was last filmed in Co Clare. Writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews are involved in one of the events in Kilfenora in the heart of Ted country, in the Community Hall, one of the locations from the series.
This is a tiny capacity festival and tickets are apparently like gold-dust. It sold out within half an hour, but the heats include a chance to win festival tickets.
Tomorrow's heat is in the Empire in Belfast and the finals are in Galway's Cuba Comedy Club on February 27th. The four regional heats coincide with the arrival of the Milk Float, which travels around the country for 40 days and 40 nights to raise money for Down Syndrome Ireland and Down Syndrome Northern Ireland (Paddy Power is taking bets on the push - one of which is on whether Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness will push the float across the Border - see www.ted40.com).
And as for the Lovely Girls competition heats, a host of beauties will be put through their paces, bidding to appear in the Grande Finale during Ted Fest on Inis Mór. Judges will be asked to look for "thoughtful dress sense", and will take a dim view of unnecessarily high hemlines and excessive make-up. Traffic-cone navigation is a key skill, and conversational-skill an advantage - and a lovely laugh is essential. Girls are required to bring along something they've made especially for the night. Check it out, and have a laugh, at www.friendsofted.org.
Can Imma keep drawing them?
Last year was an extraordinary one for the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma), clocking up a record-breaking 480,000 visitors, writes Aidan Dunne.
Admittedly, for an institution of its size, its programme was remarkable, and predictably the biggest attractions were Lucian Freud and Georgia O'Keeffe. But if Freud and O'Keeffe were the icing on the cake, the cake itself was something special. Ambitious shows by Alex Katz, Thomas Demand, Nalini Malani, Anne Madden, Thomas Scheibitz, Miroslaw Balka and James McKenna (still on view) set new standards for what can be done in the local context.
Each of those shows posed specific problems in terms of design and installation, and each was put together with great professionalism. Entry to all events was free, which is great for all of us. An annual programme of such scope was exceptional, though, so it is hardly surprising that the schedule for 2008 is scaled down significantly by comparison. The one name with a real wow factor, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, puts in an appearance right at the end of the year, when works by her and her partner Diego Rivera, from the Gelman Collection, go on view.
Prior to that, there is a succession of shows by less high-profile and generally fairly young artists, including Jack Pierson, Ulla von Brandenburg and Janaina Tschäpe. There is a summer highlight in the form of Spanish artist Miquel Barceló's paintings, drawings and sculptures made during his stays in west Africa. Barceló rose to fame during the 1980s and is a fantastically prolific and inventive artist. There's a Cecil King retrospective at the end of February, which should be interesting; a couple of nice, quirky exhibitions, including one featuring Kara Walker and William Kentridge; photographs by the arch ironists McDermott and McGough; and a solo show by Willie McKeown. A visitor survey last year drew an overwhelmingly positive response. The challenge for Imma is to see if it can continue to draw the visitors without the crowd-pulling names.
With the changing economic climate, Imma faces other challenges as well. Early on during his tenure, director Enrique Juncosa identified the need for an additional, large-scale exhibition space as part of Imma. Such a space would circumvent the inherent limitations of the Royal Hospital buildings when it comes to displaying contemporary art, and would also allow the continuous display of much more of the permanent collection - a long-term priority.
A scheme to incorporate a new gallery space in the current development fronting onto St John's Road West, directly adjacent the formal gardens, was kicked into touch, perhaps because of the number of compromises involved. Last year there was an emerging consensus that by far the most preferable option would be a purpose-built space, located within the precincts of the Royal Hospital, but unattached to any adjoining development. Such a plan would provide Imma with a landmark building and maximise the potential of the Royal Hospital grounds. It's also bound to be a more expensive option, however, and given the prevailing economic uncertainty, it has to be increasingly difficult to deliver it.
Famous friends toast Lyric
The long farewell to the Lyric Theatre building has ended as the story began - with the O'Malleys, writes Jane Coyle.
Lyric stalwarts from the early days were invited by the family to join the younger generation of writers, actors and directors at a private function held in honour of Mary O'Malley, who in 1951 launched the theatre in the back garden of her home in the leafy southern suburbs of the city.
Dan Gordon, who has acted in and directed some of the Lyric's most successful shows in recent years, put together an evening of performance, reminiscence and readings, with actors Ian McElhinney, Stella McCusker, Roma Tomelty, Linda Wray, Miche Doherty, Richard Dormer, Laura Hughes, Niki Doherty and Sharon Morwood performing extracts from An Ideal Husband, Northern Star, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme and other classics. Louis Rolston talked engagingly of his late father, also Louis, an actor forever linked with the theatre.
Leon Rubin, David Grant, Rachel O'Riordan, Tim Loane and Michael Poynor recalled directing on the Lyric stage, while writers Martin Lynch, Marie Jones, Damian Gorman and Christina Reid swapped tales and fond memories.
There was poetry from Michael Longley and Michael Lewis, music from Neil Martin and Cathal Hayden, and messages from Seamus Heaney, Gerard Murphy, Conleth Hill, David Hammond, Graham Reid, Sam and Joan McCreedy and Lyric patron Liam Neeson, who had been at the previous night's last performance of The Wizard of Oz and the glitzy fund-raiser Glinda's Glitter Ball, a gala performance of Oz. For hours afterwards, the packed foyer echoed to the sound of friendships renewed. With the funding now in place, building can begin on the spanking new theatre, due to open on the existing site in 2010.
Interesting to see British producer David Pugh planning to convert a former cinema on London's Haymarket for a stage version of Brief Encounter, that quintessentially British film, with previews starting tonight. They plan to take the audience back in time, converting the foyer, with actors in period costume in the auditorium, an organ, usherettes, drinks for a penny, and tea and sandwiches during intermission. So how about this for an idea? Forget the notion of a new city library at the old Ambassador at the top of O'Connell Street. Why not thatch the roof, whitewash the inside, and set up a few pens of pigs for a live production of The Quiet Man?
Sheila Pratschke, director of the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris, has extended the remit for residencies there, from visual arts and literature only, to any Irish artist working in any context. The residencies include travel, accommodation and a monthly bursary for six weeks or three months in Paris, and applications for 2008-2009 are invited, with a deadline of February 22nd. The residencies give artists the chance to engage with Paris, as well as showcasing contemporary Irish culture and historical traditions internationally. Details at www.centreculturelirlandais.com, e-mail spratschke@centreculturelirlandais.com, or write to Sheila Pratschke, Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris.
