All About Cork: Up the walls! Knocknaheeny unveils tile-mural installation

Sat, 05 Oct, 2024 - 10:00

Sarah O’Dwyer

The launch of ‘I Can Colour Between The Lines, But I Choose Not To’, a tile-mural installation on Foyle Avenue, Knocknaheeny, took place recently.

It is phase three of the Percent for Art project.

Nicki Ffrench, with son Art, in Knocknaheeny, Cork.

Part one was a period of engagement and discovery with residents of Knocknaheeny, between autumn 2017 and summer 2018.

Part two was realised as a community installation and performances at 46 Kilmore Road, in June 2018, as part of Cork Midsummer Festival.

Part three, in autumn 2024, is a re-engagement with the community and the installation of tile-murals in a new site on Foyle Avenue.

Resident Finbarr O’Mahony, 7, cutting the celebratory cake in Knocknaheeny, Cork, at phase three of ‘I Can Colour Between The Lines But I Choose Not To’.

These tile-murals include images taken during workshops, installations, and performances in spring 2018, as well as a series of photographs of cherry blossoms taken in Knocknaheeny.

According to the event description by Cork Midsummer Festival: “There was a special significance of blossom throughout the project. During the creative process, some residents described themselves symbolically as cherry trees, the petals on the blossom representing aspects of people’s stories and memories: Vivid, delicate, fragile.

Artists Richard O’Keeffe and Spark Deeley in Knocknaheeny.

“The seasons come and go. The blossom falls. A natural process of letting go: Of rest, of renewal, of remembrance. The tree evolves, changes occur, yet it stands firm. There is abundant new growth. It can flourish.”

A collaboration between residents and artists of Knocknaheeny, with guests artist Mark Storor and photographer Stephen King, ‘I Can Colour Between The Lines, But I Choose Not To’ is a unique testament to creativity, imagination, kindness, resourcefulness, hospitality, and the joy of the people who live in Knocknaheeny.

Local children Charlie, Conor, Patrick, and Mackenzie, in Knocknaheeny, Cork, at phase three of ‘I Can Colour Between The Lines, But I Choose Not To’.

The tile-mural launch took place recently, alongside the planting of a cherry tree in Foyle Avenue, Knocknaheeny.

This Cork Midsummer Festival project was commissioned by Cork City Council, through the Cork City North West Quarter Regeneration Project, as part of the Percent for Art Scheme, funded by the Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government.

Have Knocknaheeny, Gurranabraher and Hollyhill news to share? Contact Sarah'odwyer@theecho.ie

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