- Performance
Tribal Project
A unkept field on IMMA's grounds was turned into a mythical adventure by four groups of young people from distinct areas of Dublin, Seán McDermott Street, Pearse Street, Munto, Ballymun.
In 1995, artists Wendy Cowan and Mark Goonan partnered with Wet Paint Arts, and young adults from Youthreach North Great Georges Street to create large scale totemic masks in collaboration with young people from inner-city housing estates across Dublin.
The masks – horse, tree and river – were made at the Fire Station Artists’ Studio and exhibited in the grounds of IMMA as part of a night, fire-led ritual. The masks were central to the young peoples sense of identity to, and performance of place.
The Tribal Project redefined the boundaries of collaboration, especially in a museum context. It challenged assumptions about what “belongs” in institutional spaces and questioned the hierarchies of art and culture that often sidelines so called marginalised young peoples agency to tell collective socio-political stories grounded in place. This project inspired many similar projects across Ireland and internationally.
Partner Organisations
- Wet Paint Arts, Dublin
- Irish Museum of Modern Art | IMMA
- Youthreach North Great Georges Street
- Fire Station Artists’ Studios