OUR ARTISTS

June 26, 2024

“Ceangal/Connections,” an art and culture collaboration between four artists in Chandler and four artists in Tullamore, Ireland will exhibit at the Esker Arts Centre in Tullamore, Ireland from July 13 through August 24, with a reception for artists at 8:00pm on Friday, July 26. The exhibit will move to the Chandler Museum Gallery from March 20 through August 15, 2025. 

Two writers, two photographers, two filmmakers and two visual artists explore the contrasts and similarities between both areas and include landmarks of the twinned Chandler Tullamore Sister Cities (CTSC) organization, now in its 15th year. 

Chandler President Ellen Harrington says she is thrilled to celebrate the nonprofit’s 15th anniversary with this project. “Art and culture is so important to all of us, and to bring these eight artists together is a great way to show both communities about the talent we have,” she says. “To perpetuate the culture of both Chandler and Tullamore is also a high priority for us.”

Tullamore Municipal District Councillor Tony McCormack says the connections made between the two cities are many. “We decided early on that we wanted to pursue educational, heritage, historical, art and economic,” he explains. “This new art project, Ceangal, is a wonderful collaboration between both sets of artists from Tullamore and Chandler. It has been a fantastic experience, and I look forward to what the future brings!”

The local artists are fiber artist Laurie Fagen, writer Lynne Hartke; filmmaker Devon Hancock; and photographer Robert Rice. Traveling to Ireland for the reception are Fagen, Rice and Hartke, along with her husband, Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke. 

The Tullamore artists include painter Siobhan McCormack; writer Geraldine O’Neill; filmmaker Evin O’Toole and photographer Paul Moore.

Fagen, chair of the Art & Culture program for CTSC, says working “across the pond” added unusual elements.

“We had to get very creative with hanging methods, which went hand in hand with determining how to get our art from Chandler to Tullamore without breaking the bank,” she explains. “Robert and Lynne came up with a way to print both his photography and her poems on beautiful mulberry paper with a lightweight hanging system. My fiber art could be rolled up and will all go in a suitcase that a friend visiting from Tullamore will take back with her.”

She says other challenges included communicating through Zoom, WhatsApp and email, and working with two different galleries to finalize show dates and all the details that go with mounting an art exhibit.