This year CCA Derry~Londonderry partners with Northern Ireland Mental Health Arts Festival 2022 to present an installation and workshop by emerging artists from our city. The title for this year’s festival is Gather, given our current situation of easing restrictions. Mental health, in its broadest sense, is the starting point for the work at CCA, that will be taking place from 9–15 May 2022.
Artist and poet Niamh Roberts is invited to show their work in the CCA Project Space for the duration of the festival. Niamh is a graduate of the Slade School of Art, London, and their work in the Project Space centers around a new piece of writing Fool’s Spring (In Berlin) 2022. It is a long poem, mostly written in CCA’s workshop How To Write a Door and Walk Through. Fool’s Spring is a fake season, naming the week of warmth that comes after Winter and before ‘second Winter’. It’s a false start, some brief and urgent movement in-between stagnancy.
Niamh Roberts thinks “poetry is a ‘baggy practice’ – a way to reflect on the multitude of fast, daily, overheard sentiments. A quick way to relate – to friends – regulars – strangers – places – other. “I can / connect // any two / things // that’s / god // teeny piece / of bandaid.” Eileen Myles
The body of work in CCA's Project Space includes large scale printed images, sculpture and the poem available online and in print. Fool's Spring (in Berlin) will be on view in the Project Space for the duration of the festival 9–15 May 2022.
To accompany the installation, textile artist and Youth Arts Facilitator at CCA Jack McGarrigle will deliver a free public workshop using the themes in Niamh’s work as a starting point. This free workshop will take place in CCA on Saturday 14 April 2022, 1:00–3pm. This workshop is suitable for ages 16 and over. Places are limited for this event and booking will be available soon via CCA's online shop. For further information please email info@ccadld.org.
Biography
Niamh Roberts b.1994, Derry~Londonderry. They moved to London to study at The Slade School of Fine Art and graduated in 2018. A pisces, a poet and an artist - they went on to read in public and exhibit sculptures, now scattered across various defunked and hard to find web-links. Summer 2022, catch Fast Glass, a group photography exhibition at Set New Cross, 15–16 April, Fool's Spring, in CCA Derry~Londonderry's project space 9–15 May, Carpeted Stares, a group show in AMP Gallery 15–19 June and 07803178250/07531313883, a two person show with Lowri Heckler at Set New Cross 2–9 August.