'Courage to Refuse' Exhibition and Visit to Ireland

international | arts and media | press release Wednesday July 06, 2005 16:19 by martina via eeekkkk

Courage to Refuse is a collaborative project based on the mediation, through text, graphics, sound and video, of a manifesto called 'The Combatant's Letter', written by the Courage to Refuse movement in Israel. The movement concerns Israeli officers and soldiers who refuse to participate in, or to carry out operations beyond the borders of Israel, (in what is more commonly referred to as the Occupied Territories).

As with most of Shane Cullen’s projects, this commission is based on the re-presention of a potentially loaded document, presenting a complexity of view points and an Israeli voice rarely heard or disseminated in the mass media’s portrayal of Israeli society.

The commission comprises three 5 metres x 10 metres outdoor banners displaying the manifesto of the movement in prominent city centre locations, (translated into in Polish, German and Irish), a projection and sound installation in the National Sculpture Factory (7-9th July) combining a video projection and texts and an in-depth discussion (9th July at 3pm) featuring a presentation by Tom Mehager, a representative of the Courage to Refuse movement, Eamonn McCann, (journalist and political commentator), Anne McGeeney (Director of the Cross border centre at Dundalk Institute of Technology), Michael Kearney (Irish Centre for Human Rights), and moderated by Cork Caucus Curators Charles Esche and Annie Fletcher.

All three artists collaborating on Courage to Refuse are affiliated to the ‘Culture and Conflict Group’.

This project is funded by the Arts Council’s Commissions scheme and Cork 2005. With thanks also to Murray O’Laoire architects, Michael Roche, DHL, Declan Friel, Boots, George Burns, Peter Auf der Hyde, Print and Display and Ronan Devlin.

Cork Caucus Project Concept: The National Sculpture Factory and Charles Esche
Curatorial Team: Annie Fletcher, Art not Art, The National Sculpture Factory, Charles Esche

Further information through the Cork Caucus Centre, tel.: (00353) 21 4323249 or the National Sculpture Factory, tel.: (00353) 21 4314353.
www.corkcaucus.org www.nationalsculpturefactory.org

The National Sculpture Factory is generously supported by the Arts Council, FÁS and Cork City Council.