Failure Residency

Photo
Photo by Jassy Earl

Following the PUSH+ Failure Lab, which took place in Belgium in September 2019, The Ark were proud to host the PUSH+ Failure Residency from 5-19 January 2020. The residency brought four of the artists who attended the lab together to develop their ideas towards a future production in a more intimate and intense context, those artists were Sarah Baxter, Ingvild Lien, Christine Verheyden and Eoin McKenzie.

The PUSH+ Failure Residency took place in The Ark’s award-winning building in the heart of Dublin’s Temple Bar and off-site in Annamakerrig, an artists’ retreat in rural County Monaghan. This dual location allowed the artists to focus on the development of the work while in the residential setting of Annamakerrig in the first week. This week offered both solitary and group work practices.

The second week allowed the artists to take advantage of all of the technical resources of the theatre, gallery and workshop space at The Ark. The artists were supported by The Ark’s production team to try out performance ideas in a safe space. The Ark Children’s Council, our advisory group of 40 children who participate in all Ark programmes, engaged with the artists as their work evolved, ensuring that children are at the heart of the artistic process. The Ark used its large network to connect the visiting artists with local artists and collaborators (through meetings and show attendances) to enhance their investigation of the topic of failure.