Mouth of a Shark is an exhibition by Cork Printmakers and Edinburgh Printmakers artists responding to the words of the British Somali poet Warsan Shire: No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark. In 2019 artists from Edinburgh Printmakers and Cork Printmakers came together to share reflections and responses to Shire’s rallying call for refugees and their advocates, creating a new exhibition at Edinburgh Printmakers which explored humanity and questions of what unites and divides us through their artwork. For the second part of Mouth of a Shark, three artists from Edinburgh Printmakers, Catherine Outram, Lindy Furby and Lesley Logue along with one artist from Cork Printmakers, Diane Keating, present work responding to this same call at The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion in Cork City.
New figures from UNHCR show a record 70.8 million displaced people in the world – more than the population of the UK. Around 44,400 people leave their homes every day – driven to the unknown by fear, persecution, economics and the simple need to escape – and drawn by hope for a better future for themselves and their families. Mouth of a Shark is part of a Scotland/Europe programme supported by the British Council and Creative Scotland which is enabling Edinburgh Printmakers to develop new partnerships with studios across Europe. Cork Printmakers, Ireland; Edinburgh Printmakers, Scotland; AGA Lab, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Funen Printmaking Studio, Odense, Denmark; and the International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia, are developing a three-year Studios of Sanctuary programme funded by Creative Europe’s Co-operation Projects strand for refugee and migrant artists entitled In From The Margins. This programme will support refugee and migrant artists in making new work and explore the personal stories behind the world’s refugee crisis and Europe’s responses to the global tragedy unfolding on its doorstep.
Mouth of a Shark at The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion, is presented by Cork Printmakers with the support of Sample-Studios, and funded through Cork City Council Arts Office, the Arts Council of Ireland and Creative Europe. For more information, contact Cork Printmakers at enquiries@corkprintmakers.ie
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