‘Fadó Faces’, an outdoor drive-by art exhibition celebrating the lives and stories of older people in Laois, will take place next weekend.
The exhibition intends to celebrate these people through traditional portrait painting and digital art by a selection of local Laois artists.
The exhibition takes place on Sunday July 18 from 11am-4pm at Laois County Council Plaza.
It includes Laois artists Kevin McCann (Ballyfin), Rebecca Deegan (Portlaoise), Pauline Conroy (Ballybrittas), Mike Rafter (Castletown), Aishling Hennessy (The Heath),
Antoinette Breen (Castletown), Allen Scully (Portlaoise), Bronagh Conroy, (Ballybrittas), Kate Deegan (The Heath), and Sorcha Mathews (Portarlington).
At the exhibition’s recent photo launch, Laois Arts Officer, Muireann Ni Chonaill, said: “The Fadó Faces is a fresh take on an art exhibition.
“The unique feature is the drive-by aspect, with the audience invited to view the work either as they drive by or on foot for a closer look.
“The range of portraits that will be exhibited is a credit to the artists who created them and homage to the sitters, all older people in the county who had stories to share in the course of sitting for the portraits.
“Their interesting faces are full of character. Full credit is due to the organisers of this unique and thoughtful exhibition.”
Working with portraiture, the artists have captured the image of their neighbours, family members and friends to celebrate the elderly in Laois and in particular in light of how older people in our communities have been cocooning at home over the last year.
The exhibition is free and open to the public and is suitable for drivers & pedestrians and was designed with social distancing & accessibility in mind.
On arrival, the viewer will receive a leaflet with information about the project, before being directed onto the exhibition track.
Throughout the plaza, there will be ten display stands, each containing two portraits and stories hidden behind a red curtain, ready to be unveiled.
The artist reveals their work for a short time, before closing the curtain once again and the viewer then moves on to the next stand.
Rebecca Deegan, one of the exhibition organiser’s said: “Since the exhibition is a celebration of our older Laois people, we thought portraiture would be a lovely way to connect the artists with their subjects.
“Portraiture is very much a broad theme, it is interesting to see the variations in style, medium and composition throughout the work.
“The artists photographed and recorded stories from each of the people involved, which will be printed up beside the finished portraits.
“The stories and experiences of people growing up in the 1930s, 40s and 50s are vastly different to those of people growing up in the 21st century.
“As artists, it was of great interest to us to find a creative and unique way to tell & preserve these stories.”
The artists plan for ‘Fadó Faces’ to become an annual event with a showcase of twenty or more portraits and stories of older people in Laois.
Picture: Alf Harvey.
Picture: Alf Harvey.
Picture: Alf Harvey.
Picture: Alf Harvey.
Picture: Alf Harvey.
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