Care Share Express – Performances & Workshops

Live Art Ireland and the artists and mentors would like to invite you to workshops on Saturday the 25th of May and a magical evening of performance art on Thursday the 30th of May.

Write Up about the Residency by Ray VM

Its Spring 2024, the weather is (probably) mediocre because its England and I (probably) have a
lovely outfit on. I get forwarded a link to the residency you’re going to read about. Prior to this time
I’d dabbled in performance art in pieces I’d done (varying shades of nudity & an awkward
headshave- a classic.) I thought why not.
I didn’t think much of it until I got an email confirming my place. There I was packing my bag to move
to Ireland for a month to the dismay of my friends, who I might as well have told them I was leaving
for a year, and blocking them all.
Share care express was a residency for BLACK artists in the month of May with Live Art Ireland. A
place to develop work in a performance arts context with the outcome being workshops and a
showcase evening at Milford house.
A company run by performance artist Deej Fabyc: ‘seeking to create a community connecting the
local with broader networks of artists and audience. With a focus on artists who produce work
outside mainstream or normative arts institutions.’
The setting Milford house in Tipperary.
A house that seems to have lived a thousand lives, with self-contained grounds that could be seen as
the property having its own meadow turned archive. Littered with artworks left by previous artists
and Deej themselves. Highlights include an elevated pink bathtub, a partly buried white bathtub, a
concrete door, an armchair overridden with Ivy and several buckets. It’s own hub, time capsule and
collection of work and ideas immortalised.
The residency included five artists with different extensive practices.
Natalie Rise, Ray VM, Yves Lorrhan, Diane Bamimeke & Thais Muniz. Special shoutout to
Multidisciplinary artist, headwrap extraordinaire & honorary resident auntie Thais who had to pull
out half way through due to health reasons.
There were two official mentors Rubiane Maia, Manuel Vason with the help of their son who quickly
turned into a director, brimming with questions, ideas and curiosities. A welcome addition.
The residency began with the artists doing a run down of their practice and what they were
currently exploring this included but was not limited to dance, masculinity, poetry, discomfort,
curation, movement, ancestry, head wrapping and exhibitions.
On the run up to the residency we were all asked by Rubiane who’s work goes beyond
categorisation, based in durational performance and visual art, to bring a piece of material that
meant something to us. I carefully brought a couple of pieces of paper I’d made. We were then all
given a small collection of different seeds (my favourite being pumpkin, large, green and pointed
what more could you want?) We were asked to write down things we’d been thinking about in our
practice and what we wanted to get out of the residency. We were then asked to swap one with
somebody else and think about how these words could be incorporated into the final showcase. My
words were community, unbound, discomfort and still.
Rubiane who approached every aspect of her mentorship with care, grace and patience had one on
one sessions with each artist. This was to discuss their goals aims, hopes, dreams, queries, or
questions they might have had about their practice.

In the interim of sessions with mentors the artist were free and encouraged to explore, dream,
experiment, read or relax. It felt like a unique opportunity to use the facilities to draw on inspiration.
I spent an entire day painting & I don’t even paint.
There was then a zoom call introducing the other mentor an Manuel Vason an Italian photographer
who’s work explores performance and values, experimentation and collaboration.
A few days before the performance the artists were paired up with each other and had a few hours
with Rubiane and Manuel to explore their ideas and have images taken. It was a unique experience
to not only have images form a professional photographer who specializes in performance but to
also have feedback from Rubiane and Manuel. Trial and error. Throwing stuff at the wall and seeing
what sticks so to speak. (Maybe a future performance who knows.)
There were also workshops done at the local community centre including on demand poetry, dance,
movement and a talking circle. This was designed for residents of the nearby reception centre.
People who had immigrated to Ireland and had been housed there for 5 years only to be told that in
a few months they would have to leave. Their future unknown as in the past this has resulted to
people being relocated hours away from their new found community, in temporary housing. A few
of the artists also went to Africa day celebrations organised by the staff at the reception centre and
the residents who had became their own family. It was heartwarming with an undercurrent of
melancholy knowing the protocols put in place to help people are never certain or permanent. It was
nice to have an element of the residency that involved the community, particularly other BLACK folks
in the area.
Everyone met up in the blue room to talk running order, location and an needs they might have on
the night. Yves announced he was going to introduce himself as “I am a man” and be in character
from the jump. Wonderful. Diane requested towels and other modes of warmth on standby. Natalie
who was deciding between a room inside and part of the barn chose the latter so she could hear the
birds. Because it made sense, felt right to hear what they would think of her vocals alongside theirs. I
was toying between having my performance span between two locations, a bathroom and the barn.
Throughout the residency Diane was sporting a short blonde afro, which they claimed was a poor at
home dye job but I can assure you looked great. One day they returned from an outing with a new
bonnet, filled with braids that could only be revealed for their performance. Dianne became
interested in endurance and repetitive actions. This led to them doing mini solo performances
around the grounds that they would record and use as direction and inspiration in their showcase.
“Their performance piece asks what it means to erode boundaries: between public and
private, between subjection and abjection, and between yourself and the natural world.”
With Yves and Ray on standby Diane was saturated with water out of sight from the audience. Braids
holding onto this fresh soaking as they moved into the barn, crawling, dragging, heaving their body
into the space. Their hair becoming a pivotal part of the piece as the braids become their own means
of creating varying sound and densities as the piece progressed. There was something about an artist
performing a piece about boundaries, physical struggle/strength with the audiences part to play was
just to watch and observe. It was gruelling, intense, heartbreaking and quite intimate all at the same
time.
Natalie who had Diane as an assistant spent part of her time collecting, foraging and borrowing
sticks, hunks of wood, leaves and other gifts from miss mother nature to be part of the backdrop and

the interactive nature of her performance. Her performance was next door to Diane’s with a setting
of an overturned boat that Natalie draped herself atop of, eyes closed.
‘Her performance entities of unspoken atrocities, voice creature. For if they remain unexpressed +
silenced they do not die but circulate + percolate awaiting presence.
A sound journey + witnessing of the marginalised, repressed and oppressed.”
& oh what a journey it was. There’s really not a lot of times where I don’t have many words for art.
But this was so breathtaking, haunting and gorgeous all at the same time the ancestors are still
thinking about it, & will be for a long while I think.
Yves the stock image of a dancer, with over two decades of experience and the enthusiasm, ease
and confidence to back it up wanted to focus on exploring masculinity.
“How I am? What can happen when you decide to take off all the masks that protect you and you
discover your true self?”
After only introducing himself to people as “I am a man.” Which led to a funny encounter with an
elderly white lady saying “Yarman, what a lovely name.” He got everyone to write down a word or
phrase they associated with masculinity with him answering each one with an interpretive dance. A
flurry of fluidity dismantling and questioning what it means to approach masculinity in a healthy way
that isn’t clouded or curdled by societies norms.
I had spent the residency exploring themes around, consumption, perception and desire particularly
relating to my identity as a trans man.
Spit/Spat: a demonstration
Prompted by being spat at on multiple occasions publicly. An act of violence or a poor attempt at
flirting?
It explored spit as a material &universal language through its duality as a product of desire and
distaste. (Splash zone included.)
This residency truly made me slow down, relax and take time to just be. Sure there was a deadline
and art to perform but it was guided in a way that prioritised care, experimentation and
attentiveness with ideas. There were no no’s (apart from no death in performance) just how can we
do that thing as ethically and safely as possible. I don’t think there could have been better mentors if
Deej had scoured the earth for them. This residency taught me the importance of holding space for
artists without the looming fear of social and financial obligation. A place to just be and make art.
Who would’ve thought it.

Natalie Rise works with sound and somatic movement: a dancing moving meditation.
Her performance is Entities of Unspoken Atrocities – Voice Creatures
For if they remain unexpressed + silenced they do not die, but circulate + percolate awaiting
presence.
A sound journey + witnessing of the marginalised, repressed and oppressed.

Ray VM is a poet, performer, knee shaker and shouter of words based in Birmingham. His performance is
Spit Spat: A demonstration
A performance art piece prompted by being spat at on multiple occasions publicly. An act of violence or a poor attempt at flirting? It will explore spit as a material, a universal language
and its duality as a product of desire and distaste. (Splash zone included.)

Thaís Muniz is a visual artist interested in exploring the connections between inherited and acquired identities, memory, and inward love.
In her durational performance, Rite Read to Rest; she invites others to a restful ritual of
reading books as a care-sharing practice. She will read for herself, for others, have others read for her, read for the ivies and plants in the garden, the insects, the trees, the birds, andfor people in other worlds.

Yves Lorrhan is a dance artist with professional experience of 26 years, his extensive
journey comes through: Ballroom, Ballet, Contemporary and Afro Dance.
His performance asks “How I am? What can happen when you decide to take off all the masks that protect you and you discover your true self?”

Diana Bamimeke is an art writer and independent curator based in Dublin.
Their performance piece asks what it means to erode boundaries: between public and
private, between subjection and abjection, and between yourself and the natural world.

Workshops

Info for Thaís’s workshop: “If you like headwraps & textiles, join us for a tutorial session with artist Thaís Muniz. This workshop goes beyond practical tutorials to share the rich and complex history of turbans and headwraps in Afro-Atlantic cultures. Spanning ancient to contemporary times, delve into characters, traditions, new meanings, and the non-verbal communication implied through the head. You will learn how to use the same scarf for headwraps & clothing styles. More than teaching you how to tie, she wants to tell you why.”

Info for Yves’s workshop: “The purpose of this class is to provide everyone with the freedom to move without the need for predetermined steps or choreography. The goal is to help participants discover the inherent dance within each individual. To achieve this, various exercises of free body experimentation will be employed, allowing us to learn from one another and build an authentic dance without the imposition of patterns deemed right or wrong. I believe that everyone has the capacity to dance, and the challenge is to overcome mental barriers that hinder this natural movement. Our bodies are inherently designed for movement, so the focus of the class is to access the dance that already exists within each person.”

Info for Diana’s workshop: “Join Nigerian artist, writer and facilitator Diana Bamimeke for a talking circle at Borrisokane community centre. This circle invites reception centre residents to talk freely about themselves and their experiences in a casual and pressure-free environment. Tea, coffee and other refreshments will be provided, as well as face masks and hand sanitizer. PLEASE NOTE: this event is for Borrisokane reception centre residents only.”