Artist: Michael Fortune
Title: Grove Street. TV
Location: Grove Street, Crinkle, Birr
Commissioner: Offaly County Council
Carried Out: February - September 2011
Budget: €26,000
Commission Type: Limited Competition - Offaly Per Cent for Art Panel
Description:
Michael Fortune has produced a large amount of significant and collaborative public art projects throughout Ireland over the past decade and this project in Offaly is no different . The Grove Street TV project offered the residents of Grove Street, (Crinkill, Birr) both young and old, an opportunity to collectively create home videos, animations and documentaries with the artist who in turn responded to their ideas, interests and aspirations.
The project was undertaken throughout 2011 and involved the artist forming a new series
of relationships among residents from the Grove Street housing development. This was achieved through a variety of means; predominately by conducting weekly workshops with young people and adults in film and digital media. The resulting films were presented on the purposely developed community based website entitled www.grovestreet.tv
In consultation and collaboration with local residents Michael also initiated a series of
traditional calendar based community activities which included erecting and decorating May Bushes and a Halloween film festival held in the local Handball Alley, a venue which is itself reputedly haunted.
To coincide with this, he assisted in the formation of an adult group who were provided with the skills and equipment to carry on producing digital workshops locally as well as being left with the task of updating the www.grovestreet.tv project website. The project also played a part in the establishment of a local community house.
Grove Street TV Articles
Grove Street. TV is the title of a public art project by artist Michael Fortune which was commissioned by Offaly County Council as part of their Per Cent for Art Programme. The Project offered residents of Grove Street, both young and old, an opportunity to collectively explore their creativity by engaging with the artist who in turn responded to their ideas, interests and aspirations.
The project was undertaken throughout 2011 and involved the artist forming a new series of relationships among residents from the Grove Street housing development in the village of Crinkle, Co. Offaly. This was achieved through a variety of means; predominately by conducting weekly workshops with young people and adults in film and digital media. The resulting films were presented on the purposely developed community based website. The films can now be viewed by following this link.
In consultation and collaboration with the local residents Michael also initiated a series of traditional calendar based community activities which included erecting and decorating May Bushes and a Halloween film festival held in the local Handball Alley, a venue which is itself reputedly haunted.
To coincide with this, he assisted in the formation of an adult group who were provided with the skills and equipment to carry on producing digital workshops locally as well as being left with the task of updating the www.grovestree.tv project website.
The project also played a part in the establishment of a local community house. which will open to the residents in the coming months.
About the artist
Michael Fortune has produced a large amount of significant public art projects throughout Ireland over the past decade. His work borrows from the popular conventions of home video, snap photography and the printed media and his work can be seen as growing out of a tradition of social documentary and anthropological film. His work is presented widely nationally and internationally in a variety of contexts, ranging from gallery and off-site presentations through to single screen presentations in film and video art festivals. Since the beginning of 2007 his work has been presented in over 130 shows in a total of 30 countries spanning from Armenia to Venezuela and from Kilnaboy to Claremorris. For more information please visit www.folklore.ie or www.michaelfortune.ie.
