with Grace Wells and Cathy Fitzgerald

 

Friday 14th, Saturday 15th, Sunday 16th April 2023

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Voice, Vision and Values, a Creative Response to Our Times

                                  

Much of our most meaningful creative work flows when we are aligned with our authentic voice, vision and values. From a deep central core within ourselves, we’re able to creatively respond with integrity and authority to the challenging world around us. Terry Tempest Williams has written, ‘we know in our bones that the world is broken,’ but for many of us it’s not enough to stand idly by—even though we may not yet know just how we’d like to respond to what’s going on. At this year’s Brewery Lane Writers’ Weekend, eco-creatives Cathy Fitzgerald and Grace Wells will be offering an introduction to ecoliteracy and an eco-arts writing practice. We’ll be exploring how we can best participate in the ecology of life at this challenging time, and offering some nourishing and nurturing meditative practices that will help to support our creativity and the wider world. Inspired by the hopeful tradition of the Earth Charter, the three days of workshops, readings, meditative practices and one-to-one mentoring sessions, will offer spaces for you to align to your own voice, vision and values as you unfold a creative way forward. Whether you’re prompted to set quiet whispers onto the tides, or to take daring artistic and environmental actions, this course will offer a nurturing foundation for your next steps.

 

 

Grace Wells is an award winning eco-poet and environmental writer, winner of the

Eilís Dillon Best Newcomer Bisto Award, and the Shine Strong Poetry Award for her

debut poetry collection ‘When God Has Been Called Away to Greater Things’.

Nature, spirit of place and our multiple ecological challenges are the

large themes of her work. She has published three poetry collections with

Dedalus Press, Dublin, most recently in May 2022, ’The Church of the Love

of the World’. Her poetry and prose have been published and broadcast widely.

In 2020 Wells began making poetry-film, and her work has been shortlisted

for the Ó Bhéal Poetry Film Competition. In 2021 she was commissioned by

The Source Arts Centre, Thurles to create four poetry films exploring the

significance of the Celtic Festivals for our times. In 2022 she was commissioned

by Clonmel Applefest to create ‘Out of Bounds’, a 20 minute documentary exploring

Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which

dived into the complex issue of children’s now limited access to play in nature.

Wells has taught and mentored emerging writers for many years, most frequently on

behalf of Poetry Ireland, Words Ireland and the Munster Literature Centre 

   
 

 

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Ecological artist-educator-researcher, Dr Cathy Fitzgerald is an Irish-based

New Zealander living in rural Carlow for the past 20 years. With a former

background in research science, since the late 1990s Cathy has been inspired

by the transformative social power of creative-led, embedded-in-place

ecological art practices to inclusively inspire diverse communities to

creatively envision more beautiful, just, equitable and sustainable futures.

In recent years, Cathy has built on ongoing creative-led forest and

wetland community restoration practices (Hollywoodforest.com;

DrumminBog.com), and reviewed advances in international ecological

art practice research for her PhD: The Ecological Turn (NCAD, 2018).

All through her university art education, Cathy strove to connect ecological

understanding to her creativity to inspire diverse audiences that science,

politics and the media often fail to achieve. In recent years as a popular

educator, she passionately advocates that ecoliterate cultural activity has

crucial ways to inclusively engage others to work for collective, planetary

and intergenerational wellbeing. Since 2019, Cathy has been deeply committed

to developing the popular online Haumea Ecoversity.ie with her colleague philosopher Dr Nikos Patedakis (California).  Together they work to support and upskill mid-career creatives and cultural professionals working in all art fields, including literature and poetry, to cultivate essential ecoliteracy - the ecological vision, values and practices of wellbeing needed by the creative sector to promote, inspire and sustain an immense cultural shift to a better world.

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NB: Limited to 12 participants

 

Fee: early bird €173 (if paid in full by Tuesday, 7th Feb) or €200 if paid later. This event will fill on a first come, first paid basis.

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Cancellation Policy

Cancellation 4 weeks or more prior to the course start date - full refund (less a 10% admin fee)

Cancellation between 4 weeks to 1 week prior to the course start date - 50% refund

Cancellation less than 7 days  prior to start - NO REFUND

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For further information and to book please email margaretwriting@gmail.com or check out www.margaretaobrien.com

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Writer's Weekend brought to you with the assistance of Tipperary County Council