Ormston House is delighted to announce that Ann Blake and Joanne Ryan are recipients of the Arts Council of Ireland Commissions Award. The purpose of the Award is to enable arts organisations to commission high quality work by independent artists. Ann and Joanne have collaborated on a number of performance projects and development schemes since 2013 including The Limerick Experiment, Pinhead Duffy, HatchLk and Belltable: Connect Theatre Makers. Ormston House has also worked with Ann Blake since 2013 on multiple visual arts project including The Misadventures of a Good Citizen, The Museum of Mythological Water Beasts and The Feminist Supermarket. Ann and Joanne were jointly honoured with a Mayoral Civic Reception in 2018 for their international success and contribution to the arts in Limerick.

With this Award, the artists will develop an ambitious new work inspired by the life of Limerick-born movie star, Constance Smith (1929–2003). During her extraordinary life, Constance achieved world-wide fame appearing in over 30 Hollywood features and presenting at the Academy Awards, however she died in obscurity and became one of the many forgotten women in our history. Ormston House has invited Ann and Joanne to be Artists-in-Residence throughout the commissioning process which will take place over the course of 2021 to allow time, space and other supports for meaningful artistic reflection and community engagement. Our thanks to Limerick Culture and Arts Office for further strategic support for the Commissions Award.