BUGGIES, bikes, roller skates, wheelchairs, scooters, robots and even a Barbie doll on tiny skates were all brought along to a most unusual art event recently.
‘Tracks’ was a community art event, hosted by the Kare Lalor Centre in Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, that invited people to go along and make artworks by painting the wheels of their vehicle, be it a bike or a buggy or skateboard.
The event was the brainchild of Eoin O’Malley, an artist who is a wheelchair user and who is also a service user of the Kare Lalor Centre. He’s been painting since 2008 and is mentored by artist Orla O’Callaghan, who’s been working closely with him throughout his artistic journey.
They are delighted with how the Tracks event went, when people of all ages brought their wheels along to get painted. At one stage, the many children present took advantage of the large car park as they played together, having done their artistic duty!
There was also a whole line-up of musicians, with the concert being curated by Vinny Gethings. DJ Davey Leigh got the crowd warmed up before performances by singer Suzie Toomey, the Ukrainian Choir, Cairde Ceoil, Cormac Doyle and Jorum.
The Ukrainian residents also provided delicious treats to have with refreshments, while members of the local men’s shed helped get the stage together. In all, it was a huge event for the organisers, especially for Eoin, who had been dreaming of and planning such a day for years.
“We’re absolutely over the moon with it. It was a fantastic day! Eoin is the lead artist in this project and has been thinking about this since about 2017, when he discovered that he could use his wheels to make marks on paper,” explained Orla, his mentor.
Eoin has been garnering a name for himself in the art world and has, in the past, exhibited work at the Visual arts centre in Carlow, where he was awarded a bursary of €1,000, and he was also involved in the Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge.
When Creative Ireland granted money to the town of Baltinglass and the local art group B’Art was set up, Eoin got involved and was successful in being granted funding for his Tracks event from the Arts Council. He generously wanted to invite people of all ages to come and make art with him, and that’s exactly what happened.
“This was such an unusual event that it really grasped people’s imaginations. There were so many types of people, using all sorts of wheels. We’d an incredible range of people taking part, including a local garda, Adrian Nevin, who’s also an artist and who wants to work with Eoin. Eoin will now have a collaborator and their work will hang in the local garda station. That’s a great result,” said Orla.
