Location: Old Co-Op Building, Green Street, Callan, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
Publicly accessible: 23 July – 14 August, 11 am – 6pm daily and for programmed evening events
Bats, cats, pigeons and other interlopers have contributed to providing a new perspective on this derelict building. Breach is a built curatorial gesture for Commonage 2011, temporarily weaving through Callan’s disused agricultural Co-operative Farm Store. Taking an asset-based approach the design integrates locally sourced materials and skills, carefully drawing out opportunities observed in the existing infrastructure of the building itself and of Callan town. Exploring the generosity of potential use whilst also acknowledging safety concerns, Breach is a corrugated galvanised barrier that simultaneously excludes (cordening off access to unsafe areas of the site) and accommodates (providing sheltered seating and performance spaces).
Breach has been developed in direct collaboration with the Abhainn Ri community festival of inclusion and participation as a space for gathering where the programming of both Commonage and the Abhainn Ri festival intertwine. Events to take place in both indoor and outdoor spaces created in the courtyard arena include music, dance, screenings, and the Commonage Seminar. This project has been directly supported by the Arts Council’s Artist in the Community Scheme managed by Create – the national development agency for collaborative arts.