TULCA 2021: there’s nothing here but flesh & bone, there’s nothing more

Welcome to the 19th edition of TULCA Festival of Visual Arts, curated by Eoin Dara under the title there’s nothing here but flesh & bone, there’s nothing more.

Developed over the last year under different levels of lockdown between Ireland, Scotland and several other countries where some of the contributors to the programme reside, the festival seeks to gently offer up some conversations around closeness and connection at a time when we are just beginning to gather again in proximity to one another.

This project is an aggregate of many unwieldy things including wet caresses, soft affection, immortal loves, necessary resistance, quiet rest, careful togetherness, boundless longing, abiding loss, honeyed scents, close correspondence, vocal exaltation, enduring solidarity, unexpected intimacies, ecstatic whispers and deep tenderness.

The title of the festival this year is lifted longingly from George Michael’s 2006 masterpiece Outside which advocates for an abundance of physical intimacy in public spaces.

Some of the artworks in the programme focus on different kinds of bodies — on flesh and bone — exploring how we inhabit them and connect with others (both living and dead, real and imagined); how we use them to resist or repair; how we care for them; how we find grace within them; and how we love and nurture them. Other projects reach back in time to touch forgotten figures, retell overlooked histories, and excavate lost narratives in order to try and understand our contemporary condition a little better. There are further works that reach across the world during the pandemic to craft community and togetherness when travelling to be with one another was impossible, and works that chart epic journeys into the unknown together, thinking towards an uncertain future in a world humankind has transformed irrevocably.

The contributors to this year’s programme are artists, filmmakers, writers and poets:

Sophia Al-Maria, Claire Biddles, Renèe Helèna Browne, Miriam de Búrca, CAConrad, Mariah Garnett, Lauren Gault, Patrick Hough, Adrien Howard & K Patrick, Jasmine Johnson, Vishal Jugdeo & vqueeram, Stanya Kahn, Theodore Kerr, Sekai Machache, Mira Mattar, The Many Headed Hydra, Mícheál McCann, Tonya McMullan, Harun Morrison, Isobel Neviazsky, Laura Ní Fhlaibhín, Nisha Ramayya, Amanda Rice and Jay G Ying.

There are artworks to see in the form of films, drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations. There are artworks to listen to in the form of soundscapes. There is an artwork to smell in the form of a perfume. There is correspondence to read in the form of love letters. There are talks to attend. There is a workshop to taste. There is a performance to witness. Take things slowly. Use your body, listen to it, be gentle with it — there’s nothing more.

---

TULCA 2021 Exhibitions

An Post Gallery
Tues-Sun / 12-6pm / 18 William St
At this site audio work lasts c.35 minutes, and film work lasts c.15 minutes

Renèe Helèna Browne, Claire Biddles, Laura Ní Fhlaibhín, Adrien Howard & K Patrick, Isobel Neviazsky, The Many Headed Hydra

---

Galway Arts Centre
Tues-Sat / 10-5pm / Sun 12-5pm / 47 Dominick St Lower
At this site the film work lasts c.35 minutes

Miriam de Búrca, Jasmine Johnson, Stanya Kahn, Theodore Kerr

126 Artist-Run Gallery
Tues-Sun / 12-6pm / 15 St Brigit’s Place
At this site the film work lasts c.50 minutes

Vishal Jugdeo & vqueeram, Sophia Al-Maria

Columban Hall
Tues-Sun / 12-6pm / Sea Road
At this site the film work lasts c.15 minutes

Mariah Garnett, Jay G Ying

The Windows of Galway City Library
Hynes Buildings, St Augustine St
Loving correspondence in the library windows from CAConrad, Sekai Machache, Mira Mattar, Mícheál McCann & Nisha Ramayya.

Tonya McMullan’s work appears at An Post Gallery, Galway Arts Centre, 126 Artist-Run Gallery and Columban Hall.

---

TULCA 2021 Event Programme

Artist Talk Series - CCAM GMIT
Curator's Talk by Eoin Dara | 01 Nov - 14:00
Artist Talk: Harun Morrison | 08 Nov - 14:00
Artist Talk: Renee Helena Browne | 15 Nov - 14:00 | Tickets
Artist Talk: Mariah Garnett | 22 Nov - 14:00 | Tickets

Harun Morrison: Nothing Special
Nun's Island Theatre
06 Nov - 12:00 (Irish) and 14:00 (English)
13 Nov - 12:00 (Irish) and 14:00 English) | Tickets

Gallery tour with curator Eoin Dara
An Post Gallery | 19 Nov - 11:00 | Tickets

Tonya McMullan Honey Tasting Workshop
Online workshop | 11 Nov - 18:00

We Used to Kiss All Night: An Evening of Moving Images from Lauren Gault, Amanda Rice & Patrick Hough
Pálás Cinema | 18 Nov - 7pm | Tickets

Image: Harun Morrison

---

TULCA 2021 Publication

there’s nothing here but flesh & bone, there’s nothing more

This limited edition publication has been produced on the occasion of the 2021 TULCA Festival of Visual Arts, curated by Eoin Dara.

The publication comprises a small folio of intimate correspondence written across 2021 from writers and poets in different parts of the world including Sophia Al-Maria, Claire Biddles, CAConrad, Theodore Kerr, Sekai Machache, Mira Mattar, Mícheál McCann, Nisha Ramayya and Jay G Ying.

These are letters of love and longing, written towards someone or something just out of reach.

Available to order now

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts
there’s nothing here but flesh & bone,
there’s nothing more
Curated by Eoin Dara
5 - 21 November 2021
Galway, Ireland

www.tulca.ie

Images: Ros Kavanagh

Announcement: Contributors to TULCA 2021

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is pleased to announce the contributors to its 2021 festival programme, titled there’s nothing here but flesh and bone, there’s nothing more, curated by Eoin Dara. 

Festival dates: 5 - 21 November 2021, pending government restrictions and public health advice.

Contributors to there’s nothing here but flesh and bone, there’s nothing more are artists, filmmakers, writers and poets:

Sophia Al-Maria, Claire Biddles, Renèe Helèna Browne, Miriam de Búrca, CAConrad, Mariah Garnett, Lauren Gault, Patrick Hough, Adrien Howard & K Patrick, Jasmine Johnson, Vishal Jugdeo & vqueeram, Stanya Kahn, Theodore Kerr, Sekai Machache, Mira Mattar, The Many Headed Hydra, Mícheál McCann, Tonya McMullan, Harun Morrison, Isobel Neviazsky, Laura Ní Fhlaibhín, Nisha Ramayya, Amanda Rice and Jay G Ying.

there’s nothing here but flesh and bone, there’s nothing more will unfold gently across different sites in the city in November including the An Post Gallery, Galway Arts Centre, Columban Hall, 126 Artist-Run Gallery, Nun’s Island Theatre, and Pálás Cinema.

This project is an aggregate of many unwieldy things including wet caresses, soft affection, immortal loves, necessary resistance, quiet rest, careful togetherness, boundless longing, abiding loss, honeyed scents, close correspondence, vocal exaltation, enduring solidarity, unexpected intimacies, ecstatic whispers and deep tenderness.

Everyone is warmly invited to this unfolding, to be touched by new artworks and ideas temporarily inhabiting Galway at the beginning of an unknowable winter. 

The names listed above have been drawn together through a process of direct invitation as well as through TULCA’s annual open call, which closed in April of this year. Of the 24 artistic presences within this year’s programme (which includes 3 collaborative practices), 14 were invited and 10 were selected through the open call. Further to this, several of these voices will speak through letters and written correspondence which will be gathered together to form this year’s TULCA publication as well as appear throughout Galway during the run of the festival.

“Working towards TULCA this year has been a profound experience for me so far, both professionally and personally — not least due to the ongoing uncertainty that occupies so much of our collective thinking as we continue to move through the pandemic. 

From corresponding with hundreds of artists through the open call process in spring, to then embarking on detailed conversations with this year’s contributors to shape the programme over the last six months, I have learned such a great deal and I’m honoured to have been able to develop these connections across a vast breadth of artistic practice in such peculiar circumstances.

I feel immense gratitude and affection towards everyone involved in this year’s festival for allowing me to draw together their work in this way, and I am so looking forward to sharing all of it in Galway this November.”

— Eoin Dara, Curator

---

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts
there’s nothing here but flesh and bone,
there’s nothing more
Curated by Eoin Dara
5 - 21 November 2021
Galway, Ireland

www.tulca.ie

Image: Isobel Neviazsky, Two Figures 2021. Graphite on paper. Courtesy the artist.

TULCA 2021 Volunteer Programme - Applications Now Open

TULCA 2021 Volunteer Programme - Applications Now Open

Do you want to be part of the West of Ireland’s most exciting Visual Arts Festival?

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is now accepting applications for its 2020 Volunteer Programme. TULCA 2021: ; there’s nothing here but flesh and bone, there’s nothing more. is curated by Eoin Dara and runs from the 5th to 21st November 2021 across gallery spaces and venues in Galway City.

If you have a love of the arts and want to be part of an energising team then TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is the place for you! Volunteer shift hours are from 12pm-3pm or 3pm-6pm everyday during the duration of the Festival. We ask volunteers to commit to at least 2 shifts during the festival. If there is a particular area of interest you would like to work in, TULCA will do our best to accommodate.

Tasks Include: 

• Preparing spaces for installation

• Invigilation of the gallery spaces and venues

• Supporting education workshops

Gallery Assistant Gallery Duties: Gallery invigilation, assist with promotional activities, ensure audience are adhering to latest HSE guidelines for social distancing, mask wearing and other regulations pertaining to COVID-19 safety measures across venues.

Educational Duties: Represent TULCA, meet & greet, support/assist with gallery tours, usher groups between venues, support/assist workshop facilitators, supervision support, ensure groups are adhering to latest HSE guidelines pertaining to COVID-19 safety measures

Participating in TULCA Festival gives you hands-on experience of the time, energy, drive and ambition that goes into the production and running of a contemporary visual art festival. TULCA Festival values those that volunteer with us as most of the TULCA team started out as volunteers. We seek to provide an enriching, educational, and uplifting time for all of our volunteers.

COVID-19 Safety Measures: The safety of our volunteers and audience is our top priority. We plan to keep a safe environment by strictly adhering to HSE safety guidance as they pertain to venues and indoor gatherings. In addition, volunteers may help us in documenting contacts, taking temperatures, and general sanitization of the venue spaces. TULCA will provide PPE and sanitization materials to volunteers and staff. All audience members, volunteers, artists, and staff will be instructed to wear masks, maintain social distancing, and follow COVID-19 safety measures in all venues throughout the festival.

Join Our Volunteer Team!

Please contact volunteer@tulca.ie for further information.

www.tulca.ie/volunteer

Rajinder Singh's works join the national collection at IMMA

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is delighted to share news of TULCA 2019 artist Rajinder Singh's work joining the national collection at IMMA - Irish Museum of Modern Art. IMMA is home to the National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, with over 3,500 artworks by Irish and International artists. The Collection is firmly rooted in the present and important contemporary works are added each year.

Two works from Rajinder Singh's installation in TULCA 2019: TACTICAL MAGIC curated by Kerry Guinan, join the national collection.

Rajinder Singh, My Sister’s Coven, (2019)
Fabric, metal ribbon, ceramic plinth, wool, 200 x 70 x 70 cm
Collection Irish Museum of Modern Art, Purchase, 2021.

Rajinder Singh, UNTITLED (prayer forms), (2019)
Fabric, copper tubbing, 110 x 80 x 30 cm
Collection Irish Museum of Modern Art, Purchase, 2021.

More information can be found here: www.imma.ie/artists/rajinder-singh

Image: Rajinder Singh, UNTITLED (prayer forms), (2019). TULCA Festival of Visual Arts 2019, Engage Art Studios, Galway. Photo: Jonathan Sammon

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is supported by the Arts Council Ireland, Galway City Council and Galway County Council

The Arts Council of Ireland acquires four artists works from recent TULCA programmes

The Arts Council of Ireland acquires four artists works from recent TULCA programmes

TULCA Festival of Visual Arts is delighted to see four artists works from recent TULCA programmes join the Arts Council of Ireland’s permanent collection in 2021. The announcement by the Arts Council includes 30 new artworks by 15 artists to its collection to be shared with audiences across Ireland. The artworks newly added to the collection are by artists who live and work in communities both across Ireland and internationally. The acquisitions include video, installation, sculpture, painting, drawing and photography and bring the total number of artworks in the Collection to over 1,230. This continues a proud history of the Arts Council purchasing excellent and ambitious art reflecting the immense quality of visual arts practice today.

David Beattie - Propositional things (2017).
TULCA 2017: They Call Us The Screamers curated by Matt Packer.

Austin Ivers - The World at War (2020) and RUF0558, ADM3, HP85, HT600E, Plus, Switch, SX20, TM22U (2020).
THREADS curated by Sarah Searson in The Dock Arts Centre as part of TULCA's UnSelfing programme for Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture.

Kevin Mooney - Beast (2020).
TULCA 2020: The Law is a White Dog curated by Sarah Browne.

Rajinder Singh - Border Tours (2020).
TULCA 2020: The Law is a White Dog curated by Sarah Browne.

More information on the new acquisitions here: www.artscouncil.ie/News/Arts-Council-purchased-new-works-for-its-collection

Image credits:
David Beattie, Propositional things (2017), TULCA Festival Gallery, Galway. Photo: Jonathan Sammon.
Austin Ivers, The World at War (2020), The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon. Photo: Paul McCarthy.
Kevin Mooney, Beast (2020). Galway Arts Centre, Galway. Photo: Ros Kavanagh.
Rajinder Singh, Border Tours (2020) Photo: Ros Kavanagh.