The Laboratory of Land Flags Exhibition presents work-in-progress from a flag-themed community arts project by artist Chelsea Canavan daily 10am-4pm Mondays to Fridays at Cork City Council’s Civic Offices from 11 until 25 August 2023. It includes a ballot box for the public to cast their vote on exhibited designs!
Since January 2023, Chelsea has worked with local schools, community groups and individual park users on the co-creation of flag designs to produce a KinShip Flag for Tramore Valley Park. 100 flag designs were produced in all, 40 of which were on display in Douglas Public Library in June and July where locals to the park were invited to shortlist their favourites for the final voting process.
Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr. Kieran McCarthy is calling upon the public to cast a vote for the Kinship Project in Tramore Valley Park, saying, “your vote will select the design that best represents the values of the Kinship Project. The project celebrates our biodiverse heritage. It is a fantastic community and people focussed arts offering which for many months has developed a sense of connection between the people of Cork and the ecology of Tramore Valley Park. It has also put a focus on the rich story of the Black Ash, an area which many Corkonians know and have a deep affection for.”
Cork City Council Heritage Officer Niamh Twomey praised the artist and participants saying, “together, they have explored flag raising and other rituals responding to space and queried practices like territory marking and land ownership. The outcomes highlight the unique setting of Tramore Valley Park, a remediated landfill site to the south of the city near the famous Nemo Rangers Club. The designs prompt us to consider how to represent multi-species inhabitants in our climate actions as well as our cultural emblems and heritage artefacts.”
The winning design will be transformed into a real fabric flag, handstitched by the artist Chelsea Canavan, and flown in Tramore Valley Park as part of an official flag raising ceremony to coincide with The KinShip Exhibition and Symposium in the James Barry Exhibition Centre at MTU Bishopstown Campus in September 2023. A series of limited edition digitally printed flags of the winning design will be available also.
Source: Cork City Council
