From I to We invited on 11th-13th September to a series of conversations initiated by Susanne Bosch in collaboration with the Leitrim Sculpture Centre and fellow artists. The general themes for these conversations were common space, the liberation of ownership, the role of artists in the wider field. The second conversation dealt with experiences moving from I to We and the Do’s and Don’ts of Working Together. Finally the three artists-in-residence in LSC in Summer 2015 discussed their experience and learning as Citizen-Artists.
Bosch created a seating area out of up-cycled palettes in the gallery window. She offered the free space for further conversations as place to have meaningful conversations.
Friday 11th September, 1-5 pm
FROM I TO WE – conversations [1]
Common Space
What role does art play in the creation of common space/place? As artists, we frequently share methodologies that have been explored widely by the sustainability movement: gift economy, art of hosting, permaculture design. As nomadic or local socially engaged artists, we often arrive in settings where the consequences of social and economic crisis are starkly evident. Most often, we tend to get invited to develop or self-initiate transformative art processes or projects to make a change from a worse situation to a better situation. In this approach some would subscribe to Tania Bruguera’s notion of ‘Arte Util’. Bruguera states
‘If it is political art, it deals with the consequences, if it deals with the consequences, I think it has to be useful art.‘2
As the concept of the “commons“ is about stewardship of resources, it is also about hosting people. Not “managing” them or “organizing” them, but unleashing their capacity to self-organize themselves in creative, constructive, humane ways. We would like to invite you for a conversation at the Leitrim Sculpture Centre in Manorhamilton. We will use some methods in the art of hosting to explore together the challenges and opportunities that art offers, to actively shape a future that we want to have. We will take key topics, stories and experiences from all participants to deepen what is most urgent for us.
Saturday 12th September, 11-2 pm
FROM I TO WE – conversations [2]
Reasons that move you
Starting with 5 min presentations from some of the guests Reasons that move you, we will enter a joint discussion, reflecting on the Friday event and ideas around action to be taken. How can artists and creative practitioners be resilient in their professional practice?
Sunday 13th September, 11-1 pm
FROM I TO WE – conversations [3]
Min(d)ing the field?
Three artists-in-residence discuss what experiences exist around notions of time, space, roles of the artist, institutions and communities in the creation of collaborative, site-specific work. What is the nature of the invitation and does it align to the offers and needs as well as conditions of North Leitrim as location? The 3 artists-in-residency Pauline O’Connell, Anna Macleod and Susanne Bosch in LSC from Summer 2015 will engage in a conversation with each other and the audience.
Anna Macleod, www.annamacleod.com
Pauline O’Connell, http://paulineoconnell.com
Susanne Bosch, www.susannebosch.de
Some links to attending people:
Kevin Flanagan, http://p2pfoundation.net
Martina Finn from the Galway Interdisciplinary Arts Research Collective, http://thirdspacegalway.ie/
Seamus Dunbar, seamusdunbar.com
Mari-Aymone Djeribi http://www.maisondjeribi.com
Christine Mackey, http://www.christinemackey.com/
Michaele Cutaya, http://michaelecutaya.wordpress.com/, http://www.fugitivepapers.org/
Steve Ryman, www.itineriscoaching.com 
FROM I TO WE 