The people attending Skibbereen Day Care Centre have been creating once more. Following nearly fifteen years of working with artists from West Cork and further afield, the Friday group attending Skibbereen Day Care Centre have decided to create their own museum at Uillinn Gallery in Skibbereen. The Museum  includes exhibits of poetry, art and objects collated by participants at Skibbereen Day Care Centre working over eight sessions with artists Tess Leak and Sarah Ruttle inspired by objects made or mended.

Artist Sarah Ruttle describes, ‘At the heart of this collaborative project was conversation. We talked about things we make like bread, clothes and a perfectly dug furrow and of the things we mended.

Day Care Coordinator Mary Willis who initiated this and many of the progressive arts projects at the Day Care Centre working with staff at West Cork Arts Centre, concurred with this, ‘It does everyone’s health good to converse and reminisce. This project was great at unearthing some rare objects and evoking creative ideas that got hands moving…it was lovely to see everyone knitting and taking part.’

The Museum of Making and Mending was curated by the two artists with all twenty-five participants and supported by the staff at Skibbereen Day Care Centre. It will be open to the public from 20 to 23 December 2016 at Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre, Skibbereen, County Cork

About the artists
Tess is an artist and musician who graduated from the B.A. in Visual Art (Dublin Institute of Technology), Sherkin Island in 2009 and also holds a B.A. in Philosophy and English from the University of Wales, Swansea.  Her solo show at Uillinn, the new West Cork Art Centre, in 2015 included large drawings, sound collaborations and a newly commissioned piece of music performed by The Vespertine Quintet, in which Tess plays the cello. She is co-founder of the participatory book-making project Haiku Island Press and co-curator of The Museum of Miniature with artist Marie Brett.

Tyrone born visual artist Sarah Ruttle graduated in 2002 with a degree in Textiles from DJCAD, University of Dundee in Scotland. Sarah’s Participatory arts practice works in hand with her studio practice, based in West Cork.  Since completing a research project during 2014 within an Arts and Health context, through the Arts participation Bursary Award supported by the Arts Council, Sarah has been developing her collaborative work across her practice. During 2015 Sarah completed a residency in Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, in part collaboration with artist Julia Pallone. Sarah installed a large-scale site specific installation inspiring the development of further large scale work. While also undertaking a collaborative commission with artist Rebecca Keyser, staff and service users of West Cork Mental Health Services for the Mental Health and Recovery Centre in Bantry, supported by Cork County Council.  Currently Sarah is working on the Arts for Health Centenary project supported by Cork County Council working collaboratively with staff and residents of two West Cork Community Hospitals to imagine Ireland of the future as was imagined 100 years ago.

About Arts for Health Partnership Programme
Arts for Health Partnership Programme is based in West Cork and provides a managed and integrated arts programme for older people in healthcare settings. Managed by West Cork Arts Centre, Arts for Health runs all year round and is delivered by team of professional artists from different disciplines. It takes place in five Community Hospitals, Bantry General Hospital Care of the Elderly Unit and five Day Care Centres throughout West Cork. The partners comprise West Cork Arts Centre, Cork County Council, Cork Education & Training Board and the HSE. The HSE is represented through the Cork Arts + Health Programme, the Communications Department, Health Promotion Department, the Nursing Directors of Community Hospitals and the Day Care Centres, West Cork.

The Arts for Health partnership gratefully acknowledges the local support towards the programme with special thanks to West Cork Older People’s Network and Friends of the Day Care Centres.