Artist in Residence Award with Suzie Cahn in the Respond Rathcoran Housing Estate
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A Bioblitz Group Nature Surveying on the 16th of September is the launching event of an artistic residency with Suzie Cahn in the Rathcoran estate in Baltinglass. The residency is one of the flagship projects of the Creative Places Baltinglass Program.
Suzie Cahn will be working for one year with residents of the Rathcoran estate, offering diversity and foraging workshops, designing work on a new garden, conducting workshops to model and sharing artistic processes that respond to the community's surroundings, including what is seen, heard, and tasted. A showcase of skills and an event focused on community sharing: food, cultural elements, stories, and poems will also be a part of the programme
The project will help to build a shared understanding of the green spaces near and within the Rathcoran estate, educate participants about local flora and fauna, promote practices that encourage a sense of connection and stewardship towards the environment, and foster a relationship with the non-human residents in the area. Suzie's vision for the Rathcoran community is "reconnecting adults, young people, families and children to the learning, healing and creativity found in both nature and art is her passion."
THE ARTIST
Suzie Cahn, M.Sc., is a respected nature-based arts practitioner with expertise in fine arts and art therapy. Her early career focused on community arts and creative arts therapies, particularly in marginalised communities and mental health settings. In 2007, Suzie co-founded Carraig Dúlra, a pioneering social enterprise blending arts, community, regenerative ecosystems, and permaculture design. Suzie's artistic practice includes various projects, individual commissions, and collaborations, all driven by her deep connection with nature and her upbringing. She is passionate about reconnecting people with the learning, healing, and creativity found in both nature and art. Additionally, Suzie actively advocates for justice in social systems, making ethical and eco-conscious living a systemic change through collective actions. She offers workshops and training collaboratively with a team of tutors on permaculture, organic gardening, and wildlife-friendly productive community growing projects.
Creative Places Baltinglass is managed by Wicklow County Arts Office and is funded by the Arts Council, as part of the national Creative Places Programme.
This is your chance to have your say. Fill in the form below and get involved in this exciting project for Baltinglass.
