EU PEACE III funded Communities Connect launches unique International exhibition

21 September 2009

The EU PEACE III funded Communities Connect project in the Dundalk Institute of Technology has announced the launch of a short series entitled Finding our Voices – the power of arpilleras and other forms of expression. The launch of the exhibition will be held on Tuesday 29 September 2009 at 6.30pm in the Dundalk Institute of Technology and will unveil a world famous Arpillera/quilt exhibition, a thought-provoking photographic exhibit, a rare art exhibition and a local, cross-community and international musical extravaganza.

This fascinating and unusual arpillera/quilt exhibition looks at the political repression in Chile and Peru through the eyes of Women – the sisters, wives, daughters and mothers of the ‘disappeared’ and how they stitched a message to the world whereby 'the needle and thread became mightier than the gun'. This is a unique opportunity to see these quilts which have been exhibited around the world and meet some of the quilters at the launch evening.

To celebrate forms of expression by people living in the cross-border region, the photographic material to be unveiled has been taken by two photographers from Northern Ireland and ranges from photographs of Eastern European Romany communities through to homeless people and various marginalised groups. The exhibit highlights how two people from different communities, who lived with the ‘Troubles’ as a backdrop to their lives, found their voice and a form of positive expression through photography.    

The exhibition also offers a rare opportunity to experience artistic pieces of expression created by people from Protestant/Loyalist and Catholic/Nationalist traditions whilst serving prison sentences during the “Troubles” for their involvement in the conflict.

The Communities Connect Finding our Voices launch will lead into a short series of interconnected talks and workshops from 30 September – 8 October 2009 in the Dundalk Institute of Technology. The series will kick off with a talk and photographic display by Bill Rolston on the Murals in the north of Ireland and will follow on with workshops on Men and conflict, youTHink; an interactive youth day, an evening of Diversity whereby refugees haling from Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, Kurdistan and Iran tell their stories through Drama and DVD, the launch of a disability awareness short film, the screening of a DVD of stories of families who lived through the “Troubles” in Belfast, a street theatre feast and an arpillera making workshop to name but a few of the exciting and innovative events of the series.  

Communities Connect invites you to come along, hear others’ voices and find your voice.

For further information or to book a place on any of the events including the launch night, please contact the Communities Connect team at: 042 938 1734/087 9796130/ Johdi.quinn@dkit.ie

Please click here for more information on the project.

Please click here for more information on this event.