Available Now | Beyond Survival School Bus: AUDIO TOUR (2024)

Beyond Survival School Bus: AUDIO TOUR (2024)

Léann Herlihy
Beyond Survival School Bus: AUDIO TOUR (2024)
Audio Cassette 
52’ 51’’
10.2 x 6.35 x 1.27 cm
€15

Beyond Survival School Bus: AUDIO TOUR (2024) is an audio tour with a pedagogical discourse that spans from eighteenth-century hedge schools to twenty-first-century school tours. Departing from the urban sphere and commencing its voyage deep into the mountains, the school’s curriculum explores the polemic effects of ‘self-perseverance’ through the social practice of survivalism; moving through examples such as an assimilated ‘outdoor’ swimming pool situated in a 15-story underground survival bunker designed for those who hoard economic wealth, to skimming the surface of open resources available from online prepping communities. Delving into the lack of depth within these social movements, the narrator, Ranger Herlihy, forewarns of the damaging effect of implicated de-prioritisation of collective scale action—that is, the point at which preparing for the potential risks brought about by environmental, economic and/or societal damage supersedes the more important task of advocating for structural and revolutionary change.

Intended for either a long drive across country or as a pedagogical tool to disrupt lecture halls & reading groups, this audio tour utilises the scripted nature of reality survival shows and provides a participatory script to each listener and invites them to take up a single role spanning from Doomsday Prepper alumni, ‘Warrior’ Martin to ‘eco crusader,’ Al Gore.

Beyond Survival School Bus: AUDIO TOUR (2024) is adapted from a 90-minute free bus tour performed in 2022 at Dublin Fringe Festival and adapted for an audio tour for TULCA Festival of Visual Arts 2024. Beyond Survival School Bus: AUDIO TOUR (2024) was kindly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland. 

Audio, text and design by Léann Herlihy
Photographs by Niamh Barry

Announcement | TULCA 2024 Programme

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is pleased to announce the programme of its 22nd festival edition, titled The Salvage Agency curated by Michele Horrigan.

TULCA 2024 will be presented across multiple venues and locations in Galway from 1-17 November 2024. Established as the west of Ireland’s key annual showcase of contemporary art, TULCA continues to embrace Galway’s art institutions, cultural initiatives and public space together, presenting Irish and international artistic positions vital to our understanding of life today.

The 2024 programme will feature new commissions, artistic contributions and exhibitions by:

Seanie Barron, David Beattie, Stephen Brandes, John Carson, Ruth Clinton and Niamh Moriarty, Michelle Doyle and Cóilín O’Connell, Bryony Dunne, Peter Fend and Finn Van Gelderen, Regina José Galindo, Léann Herlihy, Michael Holly, Patrick Hough, Joan Jonas, Catriona Leahy, Julie Morrissy, Áine Phillips, Jorge Satorre, Niamh Schmidtke, Temporary Services / Half Letter Press / Breakdown Break Down Press / Public Collectors, Lily Van Oost and Stuart Whipps.

The Salvage Agency considers the agency and role of art in contemporary ecology and environmental action. Michele Horrigan notes “Galway, on the edge of the northeast Atlantic, is a unique location for a heightened awareness of what is at stake. Explorations of landscape, seascape and nature, public space, colonial history, political structures, the industrial complex and folk narratives are all pertinent. These are paths taken by our collective society in the shaping of today’s world and a contemporary Europe. Can art create an undercurrent of improvisation and frugality, haphazard formality, and change to offer new perspectives, provocations and empathy? From the wreckage, can art nourish a new reality?”

The 22nd edition of TULCA is realised in venues throughout Galway city and county, including the Printworks Gallery, Galway City Museum, Zoology and Marine Biology Museum, The James Mitchell Geology Museum, Galway Arts Centre, 126 Artist-run Gallery, Galway Civic Trust, University Gallery, Pálás Cinema and off-site venues and public spaces. A series of public talks, screenings, performances and encounters will feature in The Salvage Agency alongside a specially commissioned publication with texts by curator Michele Horrigan, novelist Walter Macken and contributing TULCA artists.

TULCA 2024: The Salvage Agency will be presented in multiple venues and locations throughout Galway city and county from 1-17 November 2024. TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is supported by The Arts Council, Galway City Council and Galway County Council.

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts
The Salvage Agency
Curated by Michele Horrigan
1-17 November 2024
Galway, Ireland

www.tulca.ie

Image: Glass model of Sycandra raphanus by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, circa 1880. Courtesy of the Zoology and Marine Biology
Video edit: Jonathan Sammon
Music credit: Caoimhin O Raghallaigh

Ruth Clinton and Niamh Moriarty | Digital Artist Residency Exchange

The new Digital Artist Residency Exchange, supported by the University of Galway, Virginia Tech, Solus Nua, and TULCA Festival of Visual Arts, is a new initiative in its pilot year. This programme aims to foster collaboration among artists, promote digital art practices, and encourage cross-cultural exchanges.

TULCA have selected artists Ruth Clinton and Niamh Moriarty for the first iteration of the residency exchange in the USA. Chelsea Thompto will be travelling to Ireland this November and developing work with the Centre for Creative Technologies in the University of Galway.

Ruth Clinton and Niamh Moriarty are dynamic collaborative artists whose practice navigates the rich landscapes of performance, video, sound installation, and storytelling. Operating between Sligo and Leitrim in Ireland, their work focuses on themes of transience and resistance, aiming to forge a new narrative identity for Ireland. By confronting historical struggles and acknowledging complicities, they promote a vision of solidarity.

Their latest project, A Collection of Disarticulated Bones, is an ambitious long-term research endeavour that explores foundational myths of the Global North across various contexts—institutional, pop cultural, and embodied. This project critically examines how the choices surrounding preservation and presentation influence both national and personal identities, particularly against the backdrop of imperialism, late capitalism, and rising ethno-nationalism.

Supported by Askeaton Contemporary Arts, Project Arts Centre, and the Arts Council of Ireland, A Collection of Disarticulated Bones will take the form of an audiovisual performance as it tours to the Virginia Tech New Music + Technology Festival and the Solas Nua organisation in Washington D.C. in Fall 2024. Additionally, it will feature as an off-site exhibition at the Galway City Museum during TULCA Festival of Visual Arts in November 2024, curated by Michele Horrigan. This project not only engages with the complexities of identity but also invites audiences to reflect on the narratives that shape our understanding of history and community.

Photo: Ruth Clinton and Niamh Moriarty, courtesy the artists

Announcement: Contributors to TULCA 2024

Announcement: Contributors to TULCA 2024

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is pleased to announce the contributors to its 22nd festival edition, titled The Salvage Agency curated by artist Michele Horrigan. TULCA 2024 will be presented across multiple venues and locations in Galway from 1-17 November 2024. Established as the west of Ireland’s key annual showcase of contemporary art, TULCA continues to embrace Galway’s art institutions, cultural initiatives and public space together, presenting Irish and international artistic positions vital to our understanding of life today.

The 2024 programme will feature new commissions, artistic contributions and exhibitions in venues throughout Galway city and county. Contributors to The Salvage Agency include: 

Seanie Barron
David Beattie
Stephen Brandes
John Carson
Ruth Clinton and Niamh Moriarty
Michelle Doyle and Cóilín O’Connell
Bryony Dunne
Peter Fend and Finn Van Gelderen
Regina José Galindo
Léann Herlihy
Michael Holly
Patrick Hough
Joan Jonas
Catriona Leahy
Julie Morrissy
Áine Phillips
Jorge Satorre
Niamh Schmidtke
Temporary Services / Half Letter Press
Breakdown Break Down Press / Public Collectors
Lily Van Oost
Stuart Whipps

The Salvage Agency considers the agency and role of art in contemporary ecology and environmental action. Michele Horrigan notes “Galway, on the edge of the northeast Atlantic, is a unique location for a heightened awareness of what is at stake. Explorations of landscape, seascape and nature, public space, colonial history, political structures, the industrial complex and folk narratives are all pertinent. These are paths taken by our collective society in the shaping of today’s world and a contemporary Europe. Can art create an undercurrent of improvisation and frugality, haphazard formality, and change to offer new perspectives, provocations and empathy? From the wreckage, can art nourish a new reality?”

The 22nd edition of TULCA is realised in venues throughout Galway city and county, including Galway City Museum, Zoology and Marine Biology Museum, The James Mitchell Geology Museum, Galway Arts Centre, 126 Artist-run Gallery, Galway Civic Trust, University Gallery, Pálás Cinema and more off-site venues to be announced. A series of public events, screenings, performances and encounters will feature in The Salvage Agency, with further details to be announced in October. An exhibition catalogue will be published with texts by curator Michele Horrigan, novelist Walter Macken and contributing TULCA artists.

Full festival programme and a commissioned publication will be released in early October 2024.

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is supported by The Arts Council, Galway City Council and Galway County Council.

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts
The Salvage Agency
Curated by Michele Horrigan
1 - 17 November 2024
Galway, Ireland

www.tulca.ie

Image: Glass model of a comb-jelly (Beroë punctata) by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, circa 1880. Courtesy of the Zoology and Marine Biology Museum, University of Galway.

TULCA Volunteer Programme | 1-17 November 2024

TULCA Volunteer Programme | 1-17 November 2024

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is now accepting applications for its 2024 Volunteer Programme.

TULCA is a multi-venue, artist-centred festival of contemporary art that works with Irish curators to present innovative exhibitions that provoke and energise audiences into the world of the visual arts. This years TULCA programme is curated by Michele Horrigan and is titled; The Salvage Agency. The festival will run from 1 - 17 November 2024 across multiple galleries in Galway city and county.

TULCA Volunteer Programme

Every year our volunteers form a core part of our team. Participating in the TULCA Volunteer Programme gives you first-hand working experience of the time,energy and ambition that goes into the production and running of a contemporary visual art festival. We seek to provide an enriching, educational, and uplifting time for all of our volunteers.

Tasks Include: 

• Invigilation of TULCA Festival art galleries

• Assisting with the delivery of programme events

• Supporting education tours and workshops

Benefits: Participating in TULCA Festival gives you hands-on experience of the time, energy, drive and ambition that goes into the production and running of a contemporary visual art festival. TULCA Festival values those that volunteer with us as most of the TULCA team started out as volunteers. We seek to provide an enriching, educational, and uplifting time for all of our volunteers.

Gallery Assistant Duties: Art Gallery invigilation, ensuring the safety and security of artworks on display, providing a warm and welcoming environment for our visitors, point of contact for gallery visitors, ensure audience are adhering to latest HSE safety guidelines.

Live Event Duties: Event venue invigilation, assist production team with delivery of event, providing a warm and welcoming environment for our visitors, point of contact for event visitors, ensure audience are adhering to latest HSE safety guidelines.

Educational Duties: Represent TULCA, meet and greet, support/assist with art gallery tours, usher groups between venues, support/assist workshop facilitators, supervision support, ensure groups are adhering to latest HSE safety guidelines.

COVID-19 Safety Measures: The safety of our volunteers and audiences are our top priority. We plan to keep a safe environment by strictly adhering to HSE safety guidance as they pertain to venues and indoor gatherings.

Join our Volunteer Team!

Passionate about visual arts? Join the TULCA Volunteer Programme and become part of our vibrant team! As a volunteer you have the opportunity to go behind the scenes, gain hands-on experience in the fast-paced world of a contemporary visual art festival, and connect with artists and industry professionals. Whether you're looking to learn, grow, or just be inspired, TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is the place for you! 

We ask volunteers to commit to at least 2 shifts over the festival run. If there is a particular area of interest you would like to work in, TULCA will do our best to accommodate!

We ask volunteers to commit to at least 2 shifts over the festival run. If there is a particular area of interest you would like to work in, TULCA will do our best to accommodate!

Join our Volunteer Team!
volunteer@tulca.ie
www.tulca.ie/volunteer

Full festival programme and a commissioned publication will be announced in early October. 

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts
The Salvage Agency
Curated by Michele Horrigan
1-17 November 2024
Galway, Ireland

www.tulca.ie

Video: Soft Day Media