Film Makers Exhibition launches August Craft Month

Archive film footage of Northern Ireland's rich tradition of making has inspired an exhibition of contemporary work at The Braid in Ballymena that has launched August Craft Month 2017.
By The Newsroom
Published 31st Jul 2017, 16:02 BST
Updated 12th Sep 2017, 11:03 BST
Ballymena Mayor, Cllr Paul Reid with the six makers : (l-r) : Nicola Gates, Sheena Devitt, Ronan Lowery, Sharon Adams, Alison Fitzgerald, Peter Surginor and Sinead Breathnach-Cashell of NI Screen at the Film Makers Exhibition at Mid Antrim Museum, the Braid which officially launched August Craft Month. It is one of 200 events taking place during August Craft Month which is co-ordinated by Craft NI and supported by National Lottery funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. For full details of August Craft Month visit augustcraftmonth.comBallymena Mayor, Cllr Paul Reid with the six makers : (l-r) : Nicola Gates, Sheena Devitt, Ronan Lowery, Sharon Adams, Alison Fitzgerald, Peter Surginor and Sinead Breathnach-Cashell of NI Screen at the Film Makers Exhibition at Mid Antrim Museum, the Braid which officially launched August Craft Month. It is one of 200 events taking place during August Craft Month which is co-ordinated by Craft NI and supported by National Lottery funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. For full details of August Craft Month visit augustcraftmonth.com
Ballymena Mayor, Cllr Paul Reid with the six makers : (l-r) : Nicola Gates, Sheena Devitt, Ronan Lowery, Sharon Adams, Alison Fitzgerald, Peter Surginor and Sinead Breathnach-Cashell of NI Screen at the Film Makers Exhibition at Mid Antrim Museum, the Braid which officially launched August Craft Month. It is one of 200 events taking place during August Craft Month which is co-ordinated by Craft NI and supported by National Lottery funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. For full details of August Craft Month visit augustcraftmonth.com

Film Makers, which is now opened at Mid Antrim Museum at the Braid, presents new pieces from six makers responding to heritage footage from Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive.

Featuring functional and conceptual pieces by Sharon Adams, Sheena Devitt, Nicola Gates, Alison Fitzgerald, Ronan Lowery and Peter Surginor, it shows how their encounter with the archive has inspired new ideas and developments in each of the makers’ work.

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A range of activities from dry-stone walling to drum-making, butter sculpting to creel weaving captured the group’s imagination and fed into the new work in ceramic, stone, basketry, furniture, textiles and silver. These works will be seen alongside edited footage that shows the heritage inspiration in parallel with new films of the contemporary making process. Objects from the Mid Antrim Museum’s collection will be used as samples of materials and techniques seen in the archive.

Meadhbh McIlgorm of Craft NI looking at a ceramic work by Peter Surginor at the Film Makers Exhibition at Mid Antrim Museum, the Braid which officially launched August Craft Month. It is one of 200 events taking place during August Craft Month which is co-ordinated by Craft NI and supported by National Lottery funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. For full details of August Craft Month visit augustcraftmonth.comMeadhbh McIlgorm of Craft NI looking at a ceramic work by Peter Surginor at the Film Makers Exhibition at Mid Antrim Museum, the Braid which officially launched August Craft Month. It is one of 200 events taking place during August Craft Month which is co-ordinated by Craft NI and supported by National Lottery funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. For full details of August Craft Month visit augustcraftmonth.com
Meadhbh McIlgorm of Craft NI looking at a ceramic work by Peter Surginor at the Film Makers Exhibition at Mid Antrim Museum, the Braid which officially launched August Craft Month. It is one of 200 events taking place during August Craft Month which is co-ordinated by Craft NI and supported by National Lottery funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. For full details of August Craft Month visit augustcraftmonth.com

Sharon Adams, one of the makers featured and the exhibition project manager, said: “Film Makers is a great example of makers interacting with archive material and seeing it in new ways. It highlights connections between materials and making, both past and present.”

This is just one of more than 200 craft events taking place across Northern Ireland in August from exhibitions, festivals, workshops, craft fairs, artisan markets and craft trails highlighting the best in ceramics, glassmaking, jewellery making, textiles, wood turning and willow making.

Related topics:Northern IrelandBallymena