The Kitchen Sessions

 
 

The Kitchen Sessions is the title of a public art project by artist Michael Fortune, commissioned by Galway City Council through the Per Cent for Art Programme.


The project which began in 2008 had two strands and centred on the housing estate of Fána Burca in Knocknacarra, Galway City. The main strand saw the artist produce a new body of photography work which features in a new publication, while in the second strand he worked with five families from the estate on a participatory arts and training project.


As part of the participatory process, the residents of Fána Burca were invited to join the artist in learning digital video, photography, animation and web-based media, and in turn to share and articulate their personal experiences of their home on the estate. Following this open call, a group comprising of five families and friends came together to work alongside the artist. Due to the commitments, demands and time restraints faced by many families, Michael devised a model of working to fit around each household’s timetable, and in their own homes.

“ The domestic private setting of the kitchen as both workshop and production space rephrases  arts making as a shared human capacity intimately connected to everyday life. This localised strategy of engagement provided for an alternative model of ‘community’ - a model based on affinity rather than location and place.”


Excerpt from the essay ‘The Kitchen Sessions - Public Art and Domestic Space’ by Sarah Tuck, Director of Create (the national development agency for collaborative arts)



This creative exchange resulted in the production of a limited number publication which documents the unfolding stories of each family’s life mapped through conversations and observations of the objects and temporary traces of everyday life in their homes. Also featured in this publication is a specially commissioned essay by Sarah Tuck, the Director of Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts, entitled ‘The Kitchen Sessions - Public Art and Domestic Space’ which explores the complex meanings of community and artists working in the public realm.


In order to harness their new skills the participating families also developed this website and working alongside Michael will hosted a YouTube festival in the Fána Burca estate on the 18th and 19th of December 2009.*



            

“I’m enjoying ‘The Kitchen Sessions’ project because since we started I’ve been framing everything I see and experience, which has allowed me to play with what it all means and shuffle everyday life into new meanings. Working on this project has confirmed my suspicion that the small, seemingly inconsequential aspects of our lives are the most interesting.”


Rachel Parry (Kitchen Session Participant) - December 2009


 

Project Background

kitchen |ˈki ch ən|

noun


1 a room or area where ideas are prepared and cooked.

To receive a free copy of ‘The Kitchen Sessions’ publication please contact: Megs Morley, Public Arts Officer, Galway City Council, College Road, Galway City, Ireland. Phone: 091 536400 Email: Megs.Morley@ galwaycity.ie. The publication is also available to download as a PDF: The Kitchen Sessions Book.pdf


This commission was funded by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from the Per Cent for Art Scheme funding generated from the Fána Burca Housing Scheme in Knocknacarra, Galway City.