Longford Arts: Bursting with potential

The development of an artistic project that examines links between Spain and Ireland is underway at Longford’s premier artistic centre.
Shawbrook, a creative space with a touch of magic, manages a year round residency programme for professional artists.

It has fostered a nurturing environment of creativity for over 30 years. From humble beginnings, Shawbrook Dance is home to a dance studio, a theatre, an outdoor studio, forest walks and a range of on-site accommodation, including Forest Cabins in the woods.

Their annual programme includes the Shawbrook Residential Summer School running since 1984, and year round artists-in-residence programmes, workshops, performances and seasonal festivals.
The creative hub is currently accommodating a two week residency for Raquel Montero Calero, who is joined by music producer Odhran O’Brien, dancer Rebeca Sánchez, and guitarist Juan José Manzano to create a work called Corseted Art (when creativity bursts), directed by James O´Donnell which will be performed in the Ramor theatre, Virginia on October 12, 2024.

Raquel is using the residency to continue her research into the Irish who went to the Spanish Civil War which is part of a large scale piece of art which contains visual art and will develop into a performance piece.
This performance represents the impact the Spanish Civil War had in the art scene and the footprints that the Irish left behind when they got involved in the Spaniards troubles between 1936 and 1939 and incorporates contemporary dance, physical theatre and flamenco.

“The idea comes from the oppression artists suffered during the Spanish Civil War. It sparked from a conversation I had with Tom Meskell, he mentioned the International Brigades when we were working on his 1916 commemoration piece Lights in the Darkness,” Raquel told the Leader.
Raquel’s work will explore that oppression, while also examining the influence the Irish left behind following the Spanish Civil War.
It’s an intriguing period of world history, a continent in turmoil between two wars that will have a profound influence on humanity.

The research for the artist is a vital resource to shape the final piece: “I’ve gathered some information from the archives in Dublin. It’s interesting the reasons why the Irish travelled to Spain to fight on both sides of the conflict.
“When it comes to fighting for a cause, we are very similar, even though there’s big differences between Irish culture and Spanish culture. It’s quite interesting to find all those similarities and connections.”

As with most art there is a personal connection to the subject matter: “One of my great uncles was captured and brought to a concentration camp. I’m trying to find if there were any Irish in that concentration camp as well.”
An oft overlooked fact is that Ireland’s support was for both sides in the conflict. Franco’s Spanish Foreign Legion had an Irish Brigade, where troops amassed by Eoin O’Duffy, leader of the fascist NCP, threw their weight in for the fascist cause.

“One of the things I found at the archives in Dublin was a notebook of one of the generals supporting Franco. It was fascinating. These Franco supporters were surprised because they weren’t getting paid. They weren’t getting the uniforms. They weren’t getting fed,” Raquel recounts.
The artist’s time in Shawbrook will culminate with the presentation of Corseted Art (when creativity bursts). Translating an idea of two cultures meeting in co-operation in times of conflict is an intriguing leap off point for a piece of art.

“It’s a big project,” Raquel tells, “I’m creating a collection of paintings, of visual art. I started out with a scholarship from Town Hall in Cavan in 2022. I created a collection of paintings of visual art called Do You Need a Hand?
“This work is a performance piece with dance, visual art, live music and physical theatre. It’s all the art forms that we, Irish and Spanish, have in common. At the moment we’re studying Irish dance and flamenco dance and working on the things they have in common.

“Dancer Rebeca Sanchez is here with me developing the work. She has studied flamenco history, so we are analysing the similarities between Irish dance and flamenco. Much of this art comes from the ‘lower class’, those who seek to rebel against societies and oppression.”
The Shawbrook residency brings all the raw material of Corseted Art (when creativity bursts) together, coalescing into a single piece: “There is a lot of work going on, a lot of picking over ideas that have been uncovered in the research.

It starts with study, and then exploration, going over all the resources that I’ve learned throughout the years, and then sharing that work with other people.”
Raquel said Shawbrook is a perfect location for this phase of the project: “ It’s amazing. The facilities are brilliant, the environment, the forest are all perfect.

People had to hide in the forest when trying to escape during the Spanish Civil War. We can replicate the feeling, the feeling of going through turmoil in this amazing estate, where we have the theatre stage and the dance studio. It’s all I need to develop this work.”
A showcase of Corseted Art will take place in Shawbrook on Friday, August 30, open doors 7.15 pm.