Programme
The Misadventures of a Good Citizen
Ormston House is proud to showcase the inaugural Ormston House Graduate Award: The Misadventures of a Good Citizen produced by Eilish Tuite BA (Hons) MA (Hons) LSAD. A series of original flash performances directed by Myles Breen will premiere on Thursday 28 February 2013 at 7pm.
The Misadventures of a Good Citizen is an art project that examines personal connections with the Irish Constitution using writing, theatre and performance. Following recent referenda and discussion fora with members of the electorate, this project asks: “Is ‘Bunreacht na hÉireann’ a work of fiction or merely an aspiration? What is its relevance to you?”
The resulting exhibition and plays introduce a host of complex characters, stocktypes and caricatures discussing constitutional amendments and issues around contentious articles. Interspersed with that irreverent Irish sense of humour for which we are so well known, these original ‘flash’ performances take us from a bar in South Korea to the continent by way of a town hall in Bally-somewhere, with a little bit of time travel thrown in to boot. The humanising qualities of the performances put into perspective this fundamental legal document which – thankfully – guarantees the right to freedom of expression.
Admission is free and all are welcome.
About Eilish:
Eilish Tuite graduated from Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD) in 2011 and was the recipient of the inaugural Ormston House Graduate Exhibition Award. In 2008 she co-founded The Make and Do Society, a collaborative exhibition group. She has worked with SpiritStore (2009-2011) and participated as part of CATDIG run by SpiritStore for EV+A 2010 (curated by Elizabeth Hatz). In 2010, she coordinated the large-scale project Urban Knit Limerick which addressed the failing urban environment, including over 5000 contributing participants’ work. In 2011, Eilish was invited to participate in The Joinery’s Selected Stories project, which engaged with contemporary investigations into ‘the real’, for which she exhibited the live installation Generation for Export. In 2012, she graduated from MA SPACE (Social Practice and the Creative Environment) at LSAD. The Misadventures of a Good Citizen is the combination of her research during the MA programme and working with Ormston House director/curator Mary Conlon.
Director’s note and acknowledgements:
In 2011, I selected Eilish Tuite for a new graduate award scheme, offering a graduating student one year to develop work for a solo presentation in our visual arts programme. Following initial discussions, Eilish then started to work at Ormston House becoming an integral member of our team, launching the Membership Scheme and the Elephant Talks series with David McInerney of SAUL.
For good measure, she also completed the MA SPACE programme at LSAD where research for this project began and developed into this insightful, thought-provoking and often very funny interpretation of constitutional amendments to Bunreacht Na hÉireann. It has been a pleasure to work with Eilish at Ormston House and, on behalf of all the staff, I wish her the very best in her future adventures.
A special thanks to Myles Breen, the wonderful cast of actors and writers, sponsors and contributors to this project, and to Dermot Tuite & Chris Boland for their assistance with the construction of the stages and sets.
Ormston House is run on a voluntary basis by students and recent graduates of Limerick School of Art & Design, LIT.