THE REASON OF TOWNS
An exhibition in Birr with architect Valerie Mulvin looks at the telling of stories and lost traditions
Running in John’s Hall, Birr, Co Offaly as part of the Birr Vintage Week and Arts Festival, ‘The Reason of Towns’ showcases the writings and buildings of Valerie Mulvin of McCullough Mulvin Architects. It is, says the architect, a public occasion for the telling and retelling of true stories, lost traditions and possible futures for Irish towns and the people who live in them. The exhibition has been organised around a series of immersive display ‘characters’ intended to engage and communicate to audiences in a variety of ways the work of the practice. Models, drawings, texts, a series of slides, notes, personal memorabilia and building fragments combine to reflect just a fraction of three decades of work on the subject of towns, recently gathered and published in Mulvin’s book, Approximate Formality, which was a starting point for this exhibition.
In addition, The Reason of Towns exhibition presents three newly commissioned films: “The Shape is the Thing” is a spatial-portrait of Clones, Youghal, Dungarvan and Templemore, describing their ‘ordinary-spectacular’ forms; “Of Pride and Place” documents 10 optimistic stories of action and change by architects working in towns across Ireland; while, finally, the exhibition will also present a new interview with Valerie Mulvin by broadcaster Vincent Woods, reflecting on her work and the subject of the exhibition.
The Reason of Towns has been curated, commissioned and produced by the Irish Architecture Foundation and hosted in partnership with local arts and cultural organisations and venues. Emmett Scanlon, Director of the IAF, said: “Valerie Mulvin is a remarkable and tenacious architect. She has immersed herself in the subject and object of the Irish town as part of national and global urban traditions for decades. The team and I at the IAF are so proud to have made this exhibition in her company and to be taking her work as an architect and all that it reveals right into the heart of town communities.
“We have worked with the best exhibition and visual identity designers, film makers, photographers and exhibition builders to bring a truly unique experience to towns. The IAF is determined to support policy makers and local communities to work together to build more sustainable, inclusive and beautiful futures in towns across Ireland.
“Through the IAF’s work in towns and with communities across Ireland in projects such as Hometown Architect, we know there is a strong appetite to address issues of dereliction, vacancy and repair, and for what is often sincere local pride of place to be made real, to be translated into high quality buildings and public spaces for all.”
Emmett added: “Exhibitions of architecture are unique in that they can be beautiful, revealing and engaging for audiences, but they can also act as agents of change. They provide a constructive space for dialogue and imagination and sow the seeds for the architectural imagination to have real impact when put to best use in collaboration with local communities. This is something which is so wonderfully captured in our new film ‘Of Pride and Place’, which documents the stories of 10 architects across Ireland making a difference with architecture in Irish towns. We hope you all visit this exhibition, enjoy the work of one of Ireland’s most revered architects and come join the workshops and talks!”
Tour dates and venues summer-autumn 2024
1-11 August – John’s Hall, Birr, Co Offaly
16-30 August – Áras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet, Co Mayo
12-26 September – Swift Cultural Centre, Trim, Co Meath
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Michael McDonnell Managing Editor of Irish Construction Industry Magazine & Plan Magazine
Email: michael@planonline.ie WWW.MCDMEDIA.IE WWW.IRISHCONSTRUCTION.COM
