Always seeking to create stunning and unique Arts experiences for their audiences, Carlow Arts Festival and VISUAL have co-created Woman in the Machine - an exciting large scale event at Carlow's landmark former Braun building where a myriad of artists from music, visual arts, performance and dance will take over this giant, abandoned landmark to create a 72 hour lost weekend event. The filmed experience, Digital content and Virtual Space will be available at www.WomanInTheMachine.com from 11 June 2021. There will also be significant lighting installation, and on-site sharing of work across the second weekend of the festival 11/12/13 June.

Woman in the Machine is presented as part of Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh, a nationwide, ten day season of arts experiences brought to you by the Arts Council.

As the two major arts organisations in Carlow, VISUAL and Carlow Arts Festival have both been looking at this imposing structure in the town for years - dreaming and imagining it as an extraordinary space for artists to create. That day has come. Bringing performance and visual art together, VISUAL & Carlow Arts Festival have co-created a multi-dimensional experience that includes film, visual art, installations and a 360 virtual festival space.

Woman In The Machine will unfold through film, exhibitions, sound works, light installations, digital native events, a 360 virtual exhibition space, performances, talks and community engagement projects created in response to Carlow's landmark former Braun site, and inspired by the film about female pioneers in sound Sisters with Transistors by Lisa Rovner and women working at the intersections of art, science and digital media.

In an industrial site at the edge of a regional town, the rhythm of machines and people stopped a long time ago. A giant landmark – an edifice, sat impatiently, waiting for someone to hit play and turn it on again. Vast spaces were idle and still, air vents flapped and rattled furiously. We are bringing sound to this place, turning up the bass, lighting the shadows... the rats have run from their quiet corners, the air has changed and something brand new is vibrating.

A 72 hour lost weekend unfolds.

Carlow Arts Festival 2021, Festival Director Jo Mangan said: “The incredible landmark building has dominated my imagination certainly since first arriving in Carlow. As a life-long fan of ‘between life’ spaces in the creation of my own work, I am always on the hunt for that sweet spot in a building’s life when artists are welcome to come and reimagine that life briefly. This project has been gestating for quite some time, and the timely coming together with VISUAL and Brightening Air to make it possible, makes me thrilled for the building, the artists involved and the people of Carlow who have such a deep relationship with the site. We are indebted to Sean Gallager for his generosity in allowing that access.

Emma Lucy O’Brien, CEO and Artistic Director, VISUAL Carlow comments “Townscapes are continuously changing, industries move on, technologies change, life responds and adapts. Braun in Carlow resonates for people in different ways; an edifice, a workplace, a landmark. It has captured imaginations and sits speculatively between its past and future. This summer we bring an exciting new set of ideas to this factory floor, elevating and showcasing the creative practices of women working in science, technology, digital and electronic arts.”

VISUAL is delighted to be working with Carlow Arts Festival on this ambitious and timely programme made possible through the support of Brightening Air.

Woman in the Machine is part of Carlow Arts Festival 2021.The first big cultural event of the summer, Carlow Arts Festival returns in 2021 with an ambitious hybrid model of live, digital and participatory experiences taking place over 10 days from the 4th to the 13th June - featuring works by the international, national and local Arts community; including artists and producers from Carlow, Ireland, Latin America, Catalonia, Canada and the UK.

WOMAN IN THE MACHINE is co-created by VISUAL and Carlow Arts Festival and is presented as as part of Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh, a nationwide, ten day season of arts experiences brought to you by the Arts Council.

Editors Notes:

Sound and Light invited and commissioned work
Jenn Kirby / Sarah Jane Sheils / Kate Butler / Jennifer Walshe / ensembÉal / Elizabeth Hilliard

Visual Arts invited and commissioned work
Chloe Brennan / Michelle Doyle and the Digital Druids / Barbara Keniszic / Nadia Armstrong / Elaine Byrne / Caroline Campbell / Kate Fahey / Judy Foley / Fiona Harrington / Janette Lowe / Linda McCann / Colin Martin / Eleanor McCaughey / Fiona Mc Donald / Tara McGinn/ Niamh McGuinne/ Ida Mitrani / Meadbh O'Connor / Paul O 'Neill / Liliane Puthod / Amanda Rice / Katherine Sankey

Arts Council Collection
Lucy Andrews / Rhona Byrne / Maria Farrington / Niamh McCann, Maria McKinney / Helen McMahon / Margaret O'Brien / Fiona Reilly / Lorraine Tuck

Film and Digital invited and commissioned work
George Bolster / Josephin Böttger / Ciara del Grosso / Umay Gunes Kurtulan / Jennifer Moore / Sharon Phelan / Susanne Radelhof / Lisa Rovner / Stefano Santamato / Jim Stephenson

Performance invited and commissioned work
Mish Mash & Reckless Ross / Seve Feathers / Sibhéal Davitt / Spraoí Waterford / Prymary Colours / Tumble Circus / United Fall / Chancleta & Carla Rod

About Carlow Arts Festival
The first big cultural event of the summer, Carlow Arts Festival returns in 2021 with an ambitious hybrid model of live, digital and participatory experiences taking place over 10 days from the 4th to the 13th June - featuring works by the international, national and local Arts community; including artists and producers from Carlow, Ireland, Latin America, Catalonia, Canada and the UK.

Carlow Arts Festival is an annual multi-disciplinary arts festival which takes place in Carlow and is the first of the summer arts festivals in Ireland. The full 2021 programme will be announced on 4 May 2021

We choose transformative art, diverse perspectives and inclusion for all in the act of discovery. We embrace the world of virtuosic artists to resonate, inspire and collaborate with our community. We champion accessibility while introducing our audiences to new art forms and cutting edge work. We create a vibrant temporary community that opens up horizons: creating space for discovery, delight and disruption. We insist that the arts are for everyone.

About VISUAL
VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art is one of Ireland’s leading contemporary art spaces, an iconic civic arts centre in Carlow Town. It comprises world-class gallery spaces and performance facilities and an exceptional programme of international and national visual arts practice.

VISUAL is committed to understanding and valuing local contexts and to developing Carlow’s creative potential. Through art and art making VISUAL seeks ways to explore the world, creating experiences which enrich, inspire and improve the everyday. VISUAL promotes creativity and artistic practice as a means to explore and make issues public.

For more visit:
www.carlowartsfestival.com
Twitter @CarlowArts | Instagram carlow_arts_festival | Facebook @CarlowArtsFestival