Artists bring new perspective to Dublin Port and the city

ARTISTS have been commissioned to create a series of site-specific public artworks in response to Dublin Port and its relationship with the city.

New works by Sheelagh Broderick, Silvia Loeffler and AEMI & Cliona Harmey will be unveiled at sites and on structures within Dublin Port over the coming months. 

This is the latest development from Port Perspectives, Dublin Port’s arts commissioning series for 2017, aimed at strengthening the bond between Dublin Port and the city and bringing the port to new audiences through the arts.

An open call for proposals from Irish and international based artists attracted over 100 submissions from which the three projects were selected, as judged by a panel of experts drawn from the public arts commissioning, education and heritage arenas.

First is Sheelagh Broderick’s ‘Great Wall Walks’, which looks to create a link between Dublin Port Workers and Dublin Port Walkers, i.e. between those who work at the port and those who use its environs for recreational purposes.

Based at the new Seafarers’ Centre on Alexandra Road, international seafarers arriving at Dublin Port will be invited to collaborate with Sheelagh on creating a series of audio guides to their home towns and cities. 

The audio will be available to download and highlighted to walkers on the Great South Wall, encouraging local walkers to connect with the world of the international port worker. 

Launching on May 1, Sheelagh’s project brings an inclusive and international dimension to the series, celebrating multiculturalism and social diversity at the heart of port life.

The work of Silvia Loeffler will unfold in a number of phases during the summer. ‘Transit Gateway: A Deep Mapping of Dublin Port’ will document the transitional changes in the shape of Dublin Port, from its medieval shoreline to modern day configuration. 

In collaboration with partners and the local community, Silvia will work for the next nine months on artistic cartography to show the changing connections of the city and how the port has acted as a gateway, creating a vital connection for the city with the wider world. 

Her work will go on display in the Terminal 1 building at Dublin Port, and a seminar will be held each month to mirror the nine phases of the mapping process.

In September, audiences can look forward to AEMI & Cliona Harmey’s ‘port | river| city’. This project will research and co-curate a season of artist, experimental, and archive moving-image artworks that interrogate and reflect on ports and their environs. 

Their collaborative project comprises a series of cinematic screenings as well as site-specific installations across a number of strategically chosen locations in the city.

Eamonn O’Reilly, chief executive of Dublin Port Company, said they were overwhelmed by the response and calibre of projects submitted following the open call last September. 

“Dublin Port is delighted to commission original new works from three exceptionally talented artists, whose projects bring the history, social fabric and industrial setting of Dublin Port to life in new ways – not just for those who work at Dublin Port, but for all who visit and especially for those who have yet to venture this far,” he said.