They are dedicated to creating a space to facilitate contemporary projects that highlight the urgency of our current social and political environment through an understanding of our cultural and built heritage. Currently Workhouse Union, a year-long series of artists commissions and residencies aims to activate the new modular research and library spaces designed by LiD Architecture (officially opening in Autumn 2015). For the last two years they have been working with Camphill Community Callan on Nimble Spaces, an innovative housing project developing long term collaborations between artists, architects and adults with a disability, considering ‘home’ and shared living. The first phase of the project culminated in May 2015 with Ways to Live Together: New Cultures of Housing, an international conference held at VISUAL ,Carlow, exploring participative design, spatial justice, social housing and co- housing. Many of the projects they are engaged in locally are highlighted through the annual Abhainn Ri Festival. This summer they were involved in bringing STILL, WE WORK , The National Women’s Council of Ireland’s touring exhibition to Callan Workhouse as part of the festival. They were part of an expansive team that developed The Bridge Street Project, an inclusive theatre and architecture project re-imagining Bridge Street in Callan as a public space with a civic future. The project centered on a theatrical production, which took place throughout the buildings and streetscape and included a cast of over 70 people largely form the local community. The architecture strand devised with London based architects Studio Weave developed out of Forecast, a research project looking anew at five rural towns in Co. Kilkenny . They were co- founders with Tara Kennedy and Jo Anne Butler of Commonage (2010 – 2014), which provided critical platform for contemporary art and architecture practice in the public realm. Other recent curatorial projects further afield include Time Machine, a research event exploring temporality as part of Im/Plants residency at National Sculpture Factory, Cork and The Pattern Exchange a group show at TBG+S, Dublin.

Hollie and Rosie will join Gearóid Carvill and Kieran Harnett (Dublin Honey Project), Sean Harrington (Sean Harrington Architects), Anne Bedos (Rothar), Esther Gerrard (Bloom Fringe), Manchan Magan (RTE/TG4/The Irish Times), Manchan Magan (RTE/TG4/The Irish Times), Douglas Carson (Carson and Crushell), Emmet Condon (Homebeat) and Sam Tranum (Liberties Press) at Pecha Kucha.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Pecha Kucha format, here it is in a nutshell: speakers get 20 slides, and 20 seconds to explain each. This is no excuse to talk through the technicalities of their work, but to provoke us into thinking about themes and issues that effect us all. Pecha Kucha is a not-for-profit event and is brough to you by Irish Architecture Foundation and Totally Dublin.

Wednesday 22 July, 7pm, The Sugar Club. Tickets are available on the door for just €5 and that includes a free Peroni beer and some Proper Popcorn. Get there early!

Image: Rosie Lynch and Hollie Kearns project at The National Sculpture Factory Cork