From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, today announced the 10 new recipients of the Decade of Centenaries Markievicz Award for artists.
The Markievicz Award is intended to support artists to develop their craft and ultimately produce great art that recognises and commemorates the role of women in the historical period 1912-1923 covered by the Decade of Centenaries Programme, and beyond.
The 10 awards announced today are to the artists:
Awards under the scheme are made each year in the period 2021-2023 to up to 10 artists (either individual artists working alone or in collaboration with others), to a value of €25,000 per individual or group. The Minister’s department is partnering with the Arts Council on the administration of the scheme under the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012-2023.
Minister Martin said:
“The 10 artists announced today as Markievicz Award recipients join the 20 artists already in receipt of the Award since it began in 2019. The Award honours Constance de Markievicz – herself an artist – and provides tangible support for artists from all backgrounds and genres to produce new work that reflects on the role of women in the period covered by the centenary commemorations and beyond. Enhanced last year, 2022 is the fourth year of the Award ably administered by our partner, the Arts Council. I am committed to supporting the Award this year and next as we work to renew, restore and support the working environment for artists in the wake of the public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Minister Martin added:
“I am particularly pleased to meet the artists in person for the announcement of the Award this year. Each recognises the importance of acknowledging, understanding and highlighting the vital role played by women individually and collectively in our history. I look forward to following the progress of the artists and the new work produced as an outcome of these awards - both elements will contribute to our collective discourse on the vital role of women in the campaign for independence and the 100 years since the Foundation of the State. Creative expression is a vital outlet and resource for our society, in articulating contentious history and informing our present thinking and future aspirations.”
Please find below some detail on the artists’ proposals for their award.
| Artist/Awardee | Art Form | Project/Development |
| Aoibheann, Emily | Circus | Examine the cultural, environmental and social space between the artist and her paternal grandmother. Explore personal distance from 'vernacular living' through Irish song and poetry traditions. Engage other artists and mentors to explore these themes in music, dance and sculpture. |
| Brenan, Chloe | Film | Create a new film exploring Irish botanist Matilda C Knowles (1864-1933) and her research subject, lichens. Synthesize multiple moving image formats in the piece. Work with a botanist, composer and receive mentorship in interview filming / experimental 16mm animation. |
| Kearns, Tara | Visual Arts | Document and discuss the role of women in working class areas like the artist’s own community of Sherriff Street, by creating a series of collaborative works and conceptual works. Discuss this group of women in particular as they have encountered specific challenges through the years up to the present. |
| McNulty, Margo | Visual Arts | Uncover objects relating to the lives of women during the Decade of Centenaries. Create new work in response to these objects. Transform the narrative about this historical period by creating new stories. |
| Moran, Janet | Theatre | Develop a new theatre work, about revolutionary and musician Dilly Dicker that incorporates silent movies and original music through a period of research and mentorship. Workshop with collaborators to create a first draft that honours Dilly’s undervalued contribution to Irish Independence. |
| Ní Dhuinnín, Siobhán | Dance | Develop a new piece with expert collaborators using modern Irish poetry, contemporary dance and music. Research the portrayal and lived embodied experience of women’s bodies in songs and poems as Gaeilge over the last 100 years. Energise and enliven, through dance, this wealth of literary insight. |
| Ní Ghríofa, Doireann | Literature (English) | Research and write a book that reveals an astonishing untold history, through the lives of the women who once lived within the walls of Cork District Lunatic Asylum prior to 1923. Develop the artist’s professional relationship with Cork Archive and Cork Public Museum. |
| O'Neill, Jody | Theatre | Research the role of cis women and gender diverse women in the history and evolving terrain of disability advocacy in Ireland, supported by Rosaleen McDonagh, Katherine O’Donnell, Rhona Coughlan and Pamela McQueen. Create a new play, based on this research. Conclude with a 2-day development workshop. |
| Spillane-Hinks, Aoife | Opera | Research Kilmainham Gaol archive material relating to female political prisoners in 1923. Connect with community members through interviews and workshops. Collaborate with composer Stephen McNeff and conductor David Brophy in developing a vision for a live opera project at Kilmainham Gaol in autumn 2023. |
| Zdorovetska, Olesya | Music | Create a new ambitious cross-disciplinary work celebrating O’Connor-Vilinska and Markievicz's legacy. Give voice to women to speak creatively for justice in the 21st century. Bring together an exceptional Irish-Ukrainian female artists team to deliver this project at an international level. |