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'Tonnes' project reaches phase one
14.03.11
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BOSTON artist Michael
Dowling is once again in the North West to celebrate
with the people of Donegal, Derry and Strabane phase
one of 'The Tonnes'. 'The Tonnes' is an innovative
public art project connecting the people and places
of the Foyle basin. Dowling's vision for the overall
project is an ambitious one, creating an 'epic poem'
archived in hand-bound books, inscribing stones and
building cairns with communities along the river
Foyle. The final phase of 'The Tonnes' is planned to
synchronise with City of Culture 2013. It will
involve the navigation of a barge from Strabane to
Donegal where stones from the cairns will be
discharged into the North Atlantic in a ritual of
communal healing. |
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Boston artist Michael Dowling guides
some of the participants at a book-binding workshop
as part of an ambitious public art project for the
Foyle Basin, 'The Tonnes'. |
"I wanted to connect
people with the shared topography, invite them to
take part in a dialogue, a sort of acupuncture for
this area," said Michael.
'The Tonnes' is managed by a local board, Medicine
Wheel Ireland, who secured EU funding from the North
West Peace III Partnership to realise Phase One of
the project. This phase involved hosting 30
book-binding and writing workshops in Derry,
Strabane and Donegal - ten in each county. The
project has brought people together through their
involvement, where each group made a book and
'gifted' it to the next. People of all ages,
backgrounds and cultures - some having never
participated in an arts or peacebuilding project
before - took part.
Ryan McGee from Young Fathers said he was surprised
how well people took to the project "Initially, I
didn't know how it would go down with our group
because a poetry workshop was definitely a first for
them. In fact they took it really seriously and got
a lot out of the project, sharing their experiences,
their hopes and dreams for themselves and their
children."
Gina Gallagher of the Strabane Lifford LGBT centre,
added: "The reason the workshop worked for our group
was the safe environment created where people felt
comfortable and accepted." Group chairperson, Gerard
Myers said: "The creation of the book itself in the
workshop was astonishing and felt like part of
history being passed from group to group."
The launch of phase 1 of 'The Tonnes' took place on
Friday in Derry with groups from all three counties.
They will again join together for the culmination of
the project when the barge makes its journey to the
North Atlantic in 2013. |
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