Tipperary Artist Lynn Kirkham features in charitable arts project under stARTers orders

Under stARTers orders, a unique public arts project has enlisted no less than 21 of Ireland’s finest artists to paint their own take on life-size fibre reisen horse sculptures. Each creation is for sale with all proceeds going to Kildare based charities Irish Injured Jockeys and Sensational Kids. The works will be on public display at various locations around Kildare and Meath over the coming weeks. Exhibition spaces include; The Punchestown Festival, Kildare Village, Whitewater Shopping Centre, The Irish National Stud, Horse Racing Ireland in County Kildare as well as Solstice Arts Centre in County Meath.

Tipperary Artist Lynn Kirkham features in charitable arts project under stARTers orders

The Spirit of Life by Lynn Kirkham

Following the recent unveiling of all 21 creations at Naas Racecourse, the horses have been dispersed to numerous viewing locations where the public are invited to get up-close and personal with these amazing pieces before they are claimed by their new owners.

The imminent Punchestown Festival takes place from Tuesday 30th to Saturday 4th of May. Punchestown will kindly exhibit eight horses for racegoers to enjoy, these include; ‘Whispered Courage’ by Sarah Lennon, ‘Bloodlines’ by Martin Gale, ‘Brexit – Hello or Goodbye?’ by Micasso, ‘Horsepower’ by Paul Woods, ‘The Spirit of Life’ by Lynn Kirkham of Greenmantle Arts in Tipperary,‘Cure’ by Rosie McGurran, ‘The Banker’ by Marina Hamilton and ‘Duality’ by Tony O’Connor.

Meanwhile Kildare Village, Whitewater Shopping Centre, The Irish National Stud, Horse Racing Ireland and Solstice Arts Centre in Navan, Co. Meath will exhibit from now until June.

Kildare Village has a beautiful display area designed for ‘Spiorad na Machairí’ by Grainne Dowling, ‘Mother’ by Michelle Mc Bride, ‘Sheba’ by The Edge in collaboration with Duda, ‘Geronimo’ by Eamon Colman, ‘Sally – Fire in her Belly’ by Liam O’Neill and ‘Trojan Horse – Call me Hope’ by Katy Palmieri-Seddiq.

‘Skyhorse’ by Amelia Peart, ‘Winifred’ by Elizabeth Cope and ‘Curragh of Kildare’ by Gay Brabazon are on public display at Whitewater Shopping Centre, The Irish National Stud is treating visitors to ‘Minoru’ by Liza Kavanagh and ‘Misneach’ by Sara Hodson while Horse Racing Ireland at Ballymany is exhibiting ‘Flying Colours’ by Lia Laimbock.

The concept for the entire project was inspired by the New Curragh Development which will be opening shortly. Organisers wanted to mark this significant transformation at the heart of the thoroughbred county in a creative way. Under stARTers orders have brought incredible works of art to the attention of the public by cleverly displaying the project at key locations. Furthermore, organisers have turned the project into a superb fundraising initiative in aid of two most deserving local charities, Irish Injured Jockeys and Sensational Kids.

Speaking of his Curragh Racecourse inspired work titled ‘Dream it. Do it.’ Equine Artist, John Fitzgerald said “The Curragh is an amazing place and the piece shows on one side, a horse going down to the start with the old stand in the background and on the other side, it has an image of the new stand full of people with a horse coming towards the viewer. In a sense, it’s a transition from the old to the new, keeping the horse as the most important feature, it’s also a testament to the team at The Curragh who have made this project happen. I hope this piece will inspire many others who like me have had many dreams come true. Dream it. Do it, is a tag line I have used in the past few years, it’s a simple positive message for anyone.” ‘Dream it. Do it.’ Will be on display at Solstice Arts Centre in Navan, Co. Meath until June 6th.

A guide price of €10,000 has been placed on each horse. 15 of the horses will be pre-sold over the coming weeks through expressions of interest and an online auction, interested parties can find more information at www.startersorders.ie. 6 other horses will be sold at a live auction at The Curragh Racecourse on Friday, 28th of June as part of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival.
Artists taking part in the under stARTers orders initiative:
1 Dream it, Do it John Fitzgerald www.johnfitzgeraldart.ie
2 Whispered Courage Sarah Lennon www.sarahlennonart.com
3 Flying Colours Lia Laimbock www.lialaimbock.com
4 Mother Michelle Mc Bride
5 Misneach Sara Hodson
6 Bloodlines Martin Gale http://www.martingale.ie/
7 Cure Rosie McGurran
8 The Banker Marina Hamilton http://www.marinahamilton.net/
9 Duality Tony O’Connor http://www.whitetreestudio.ie/
10 Horsepower Paul Woods http://www.paulwoodsart.com
11 The Spirit of Life Lynn Kirkham http://www.lynnkirkham.net/
12 Trojan Horse – Call me Hope! Katy Palmieri-Seddiq
13 Minoru Liza Kavanagh
14 Skyhorse Amelia Peart http://www.ameliapeart.com/
15 Brexit – Hello or Goodbye? Micasso
16 Spiorad na Machairí Grainne Dowling
17 Geronimo Eamon Colman http://www.eamoncolman.com/
18 Winifred Elizabeth Cope http://elizabethcope.com/
19 Sally – Fire in her belly! Liam O’Neill http://www.liamoneillart.com/
20 Curragh of Kildare Gay Brabazon
21 Sheba The Edge in collaboration Duda http://www.duda.ie/
About the resin horse sculptures
Under stARTers orders will be temporarily located in key locations in May and June and artists will be working with well-known personalities from the world of sport and entertainment who will be approached to paint and decorate the 21 life-sized statues. The brightly adorned horses will be found “grazing” and taking in the scenery in prominent locations across Kildare and surrounding counties to create excitement and enthusiasm to coincide with the opening of the redeveloped Curragh Racecourse.
A map of the horses’ locations will be available creating an exciting Trail for people to follow. There will be an opportunity to sponsor individual horses with the plan to then auction off all the horses at an event in advance of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby during the week of 22nd June with the proceeds benefiting both charities.
About under stARTers orders
Under stARTers orders is a unique public arts initiative designed to help raise funds for the vital work of two fantastic charities local to Kildare, Irish Injured Jockeys and Sensational Kids. It is a collection of 21 lifesize resin horse sculptures that are primed and ready to paint.
They will be put on public display to form a Public Art Exhibition in before being auctioned off at The Curragh in order to raise valuable funds for these two local charities.
This is an opportunity for corporates, host locations and artists to work with The Curragh, Irish Injured Jockeys and Sensational Kids and enjoy a unique platform to showcase their work to anyone who loves horse racing both here in Kildare and around the world.
Link to TV interview: https://vimeo.com/300796515
About The Curragh Redevelopment
The new Curragh will see the creation of world-class facilities on a par with the best anywhere in the world. The centrepiece of the redevelopment will see the creation of a major new grandstand which will incorporate five star corporate facilities, restaurants, bars and superb viewing facilities.
A new arrivals and reception area will incorporate a museum to celebrate the history of racing in Ireland and the contribution Ireland has made to the sport worldwide. A new parade ring will ensure that more patrons can share in the excitement and build up to the racing. A new weigh room will provide even better facilities for the jockeys, while a completely refurbished stable yard will ensure that the real stars of the sport will also have first class facilities. And all this while retaining the unrivalled atmosphere and unique spirit of the Curragh is retained.
See more: http://www.curragh.ie/curragh-redevelopment/
About Irish Injured Jockeys

Irish Injured Jockeys was set up in 2014 to increase awareness and raise vital funds to support injured jockeys. Led by Chairman Ruby Walsh, and leading riders including representatives of HRI and The Turf Club, Irish Injured Jockeys’ vision is to provide long-term care and guidance; not only when jockeys have suffered injury through race-riding, but when they will need help in their secondary careers and in their lives after they have finished riding.

About Sensational Kids
Sensational Kids is an award-winning charity providing affordable and accessible early intervention services for the 1 in 4 children in Ireland with special educational needs such as those with autism, Down syndrome, adhd, dyspraxia, dyslexia and sensory processing disorders.
To date, Sensational Kids has delivered better outcomes for 5,000+ children with additional needs at its child development centres which are located in Kildare Town and Clonakilty.
Sensational Kids bridges the gap between public and private intervention for children who are on public waiting lists for vital supports such as occupational therapy, speech & language therapy and play therapy. With its services in huge demand, Sensational Kids is opening another child development centre in Connacht in 2019 and has just launched an innovative hippotherapy service for children with additional needs, combining the use of occupational therapy with the movement of a horse to deliver life-changing impacts.

 

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