University of the Air, An arts project celebrating research at the OU
Northern Ireland: Carrie Neely – ‘Luminous, Curious, Journey’
- Event date:
- Location: Belfast City Hall
- Event type: Exhibition
- Collaborator:s The Open University
- Exhibitions: Luminous Journey Curious
- Artists: Carrie Neely
- Themes: Open University Research
- Tags: University of the Air The Open University Royal Charter Research at the Open University Gill Perry Carrie Neely 50 years
Northern Ireland: Carrie Neely – ‘Luminous, Curious, Journey’ In September 1963, Harold Wilson launched the idea of the 'University of the Air' which became The Open University (OU), receiving its Royal Charter in 1969. To celebrate the role of research at the OU, an innovative arts commission was launched for artists and curators of all media to deliver one of four art projects around the themes of design and technology, arts and humanities, science and social science. Each project is based in one of the four UK nations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The works were designed to demonstrate and celebrate the impact of OU research on society, promote innovation and excellence in the Arts and provide a memorable audience experience The four commissioned artists in the ‘University of the Air’ project have created a range of cutting edge work. Northern Ireland: Carrie Neely – ‘Luminous, Curious, Journey’ at Belfast City Hall 5-7 November, and Curious and Journey in the windows of the OU’s Belfast building (110 Victoria Street) Art Curator Carrie Neely collaborated with five different artists from Northern Ireland to create 11 new public art installations across two venues in Belfast. The artworks were split into three parts: LUMINOUS Shining: emitting and reflecting light. A luminous mind: Brilliant and Bright A large scale projected film installation illuminated Belfast’s City Hall and grounds. The ‘Air screen’ projection surface was uniquely designed by Belfast digital artist and film maker Conan McIvor and was almost see-through. Once projected upon, it looked like images were ‘floating in the air’. The moving content of the projections included poem extracts by Sinead Morrissey, Belfast’s first Poet Laureate, and a poem by Maureen Boyle, Associate Lecturer in Creative Writing at The Open University, Belfast. CURIOUS Desire for knowledge: people, places, things. Arouses interest: being novel or extraordinary. Three smaller installations by Conan McIvor illuminated the windows of the OU building to complement the large scale installation, using the same style and technique. The research theme for the piece was digital humanities and the artwork acknowledged how changes in technology have shaped the research process. JOURNEY Learning journey; from one place to another. Artist’s passage; the journey of life Journey was an exhibition of new artworks and window installations by Northern Irish Artists in various mediums on the ground level of the OU building, incorporating arts research themes, poems and prose by celebrated Northern Irish writers and also OU students and lecturers. Carrie’s work celebrated the research done by the OU in the fields of arts and humanities. Northern Ireland is so rich in its arts through every discipline, and Carrie was curating a series of artworks which collaborated with visual artists, creative writers and poets, not only involved with The Open University but who are important to the city of Belfast. A Youtube video of the comissions is available here http://youtu.be/KB1Q784ZgpM Download the booklet (pdf) The four art projects were recorded and have been made into a short film (30:16 mins). Carrie's piece runs from 06:48-14:36 mins