IT HAS been quite a while since Achill island was a hotbed of artistic production. In the 1920s, the American painter, teacher and writer Robert Henri used the island as a place to step away from the onward march of avant garde, while Irish painter Paul Henry also developed an interest in the island, taking part in an Irish music and language summer school there in 1914.
In recent years, however, a different sort of painting has taken over on the island, according to John McHugh, an artist and arts officer with Achill North West Community Development. "There are a lot of landscape painting summer schools," says McHugh. "Now, I'm not saying that sort of oil painting is a negative thing, but I think there could perhaps be a more informed response to the island." The solution, as McHugh saw it, was to provide an opportunity for other artists, particularly sculptors, to work on the island. Along with the Sculpture Society of Ireland and various funding bodies, McHugh set up the first Achill Sculpture Symposium. Earlier this year, artists were given a tour of the island and invited to submit proposals for art projects.
Since the beginning of the month, 10 selected artists have been working at various sites around the island, creating sculptures, ceramics, earthworks, sound and video installations, as well as collecting local songs and stories. Next weekend, there will be an open day for the symposium, at which visitors and islanders will be supplied with hot coffee and maps, to set off exploring the island in search of art works.
An ancient footpath running along the side of Slievemore from the Deserted Village to the island's Realta stone features in the work of Ursula Kavanagh, while Elizabeth Caffery has been working on a ceramic and stone installation, and Anne Henderson has built an environmental work of mirrors and bamboo at Corrymore Lake.
Noel Molloy has taken over a disused shop in Dooagh and created Siopa Meitheal, where locals can trade stones and anecdotes for chocolate bars. The sound element of Declan Kennedy's two part installation can be heard at a ruined house on Atlantic Drive, while the silent video portion can be viewed from the bar in Pattens' Pub in Derreens.
Back out in the wilds, Tony Magner has been working on some disused farm land, making a work that involves a close up examination of a tiny patch of land. Also working in the outdoors, Pamela Hill has been wandering the island weaving organic material to cover up the cracks and fissures she comes across in the Achill landscape.
If the event is a success, McHugh says, it will encourage the people of the area to take a fresh look at their island, and moreover encourage a new generation of artists, working in new types of art, to see the merits of a location which in terms of social and economic history, McHugh says "offers a miniature version of the whole of Ireland".