Will Penn brushes up on the creative scene in A Destination For The Arts.
Nowadays, positive urban development and creativity are rarely spoken of in the same breath. So much artistry has been driven into virtual spheres, packaged tidily into content for engagement. As a result, galleries, studios, and community workshops have disappeared from our communities. Think of the attempt to turn the Cobblestone, a hallowed ground for trad musicians, into a hotel, or the closure of Temple Bar’s Icon Factory after 13 years.
This makes the premiere of A Destination For The Arts feel almost rebellious. As we arrive at the Lark, a newly restored Georgian property recently voted the country’s favourite building in a national poll, there is real excitement and anticipation. The downpour on this summer solstice adds to the atmosphere.
The documentary traces the initial conception of Sunlight Studios, which was founded in the very same building. Featured in a famous LS Lowry painting, this is now home to a flourishing community of artists living and working in Balbriggan today. SCÉAL, a handy backronym for Sustaining Creative Ecology Arts Living, is a group that spans a range of disciplines, from visual arts and spoken word to music and literature. The documentary covers vast ground and features many smiling faces and visions for tomorrow. But what sticks in the mind’s eye is a spray-painted mantra across the wall of the group’s collaborative space: “Anyone Can Be An Artist”.
Aidan Whelan’s work takes this mantra and explores his community. There are the grand mosaics of Akvile Simans, exploring the movement of a swan through polluted waters. Then, there’s the Anthropocene, wrought large in restitched GAA balls by Thomas Brezing. There’s power in those smaller moments, like Kevin Curran’s reflection upon the students in his community in his book Youth, or the way that Anita, a community worker, finally finds comfort at an open mic night.
As the crowd leaves the venue, the excitement is palpable. The air is light as the audience steps out of the theatre into a glorious setting sun. A few renditions of “How does it feel to have a movie star in the family?” can be overheard.
There is a grand vision for the community in Whelan’s documentary. Maybe it is, as Avkile Simans put to the audience before the film, the power of art to connect, to collectivise and to find resilience. At its best, A Destination showcases this ethos at its very truest and most communitarian level.
A Destination For The Arts premiered at Lark Theatre 21st June 2024.
