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Introducing the work and artists of the South Lough Neagh Arts Initiative What is 'Arts in the Wetlands'?.... Why the theme of cultural traditions?.... Phase One: What has happened so far?....
'Arts in the Wetlands' is a visionary project conceived by South Lough Neagh Regeneration Association (SLNRA), Craigavon Borough Council and Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity. The project promotes creative arts in the area and five artists have been commissioned to create a series of public artworks based on the cultural traditions rooted in the South Lough Neagh Wetlands. Their work will be sited along the 38 miles section of Route 94 of the National Cycle Network that traverses the South Lough Neagh Wetlands from Maghery to Aghagallon. The townland communities of this area are rooted in cultural traditions such as basket making & willow work, eel & pollan fishing, boat building, peat cutting and farming. This rich cultural heritage gives the area a distinctive identity providing rich inspiration for artistic interpretation. Working closely with members of the local community, the artists are currently developing their designs for a piece of public sculpture based on a theme of their choice. Their proposals will be displayed to the public at Oxford Island Discovery Center, after which the artists will continue to produce and install the work. As part of their work in the area, some artists will offer workshops or courses on artistic and craft skills relevant to their work or chosen cultural tradition.
Long lasting cultural and economic traditions have developed hand in hand and rely on the caring stewardship of a shared environment: a considered balance of enjoyment, needs and natural resources. Practices such as wicker basketry, long line fishing and wooden boat building, have their roots far back in history but have survived right into our times sustaining the livelihood of countless generations before us. Many of these traditions are now under threat of vanishing forever and with them the well-established social patterns of close-knit communities like the South Lough Neagh wetlands. These relatively sustainable regional and local economies are in the process of being replaced by global market systems that are environmentally as well as socially exploitative and unsustainable in terms of resources, energy and waste management. Having survived so far in remote areas with scarce resources and a challenging natural environment such cultural traditions have a lot to teach us about living in harmony with nature, providing us with a time-proven paradigm for sustainable living. Art can play a crucial role in recording, documenting and interpreting cultural practices. It can also offer new insights into their nature providing different views on deeply rooted ways of life. Within the community, rebuilding ownership of and identification with a local tradition can actively support local culture.
In the first phase of this project the sculptor Holger Lönze developed the artistic concept for this project with the different groups involved, based on research in the area and consultation with members of the local community. The idea of exploring local cultural traditions through art evolved as the central idea of this concept, together with the aim of promoting environmental, social and economic sustainability. Choosing the local tradition of building boats for eel and pollan fishing, Holger worked with the local fishing community and developed a sculptural piece which will be sited in the near future. The piece takes the traditional fishing boats as a reference, playing with the image of sails. He also ran a community workshop to encourage the passing on of boat making skills. A twenty strong group has now been meeting for more than a year every Thursday evening at Maghery Business Center. So far they have made four Dunfanaghy currachs and are currently working on four Kerry and Tory Island currachs, a project funded by the Community Foundation. The dedicated group is now aiming to build a series of sailed Lough Neagh fishing boats and flat-bottomed cots to encourage the use of traditional local boats for leisure use on the lough. Information evenings and workshops with local children completed this first phase of the Wetlands Arts project.
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