Blanca Rice Cabrera’s exhibition Céad Míle Fáilte opened on Saturday 22 March in Blackwater Valley Makers, where it runs until 11 April. The exhibition was opened by Dr Eve Olney, founder of The Radical Institute and Living Commons, and attended by Cllr Deirdre O’Brien and the wider community in and around Fermoy. The exhibition tells the story of Blanca’s father, Fr Pat Rice, who was kidnapped and tortured by military police in Argentina operating under the military dictatorship. It was during this harrowing period in 1976 that he met Blanca’s mother, also imprisoned at the time. Using visual art and archival documents, including letters sent in support of Fr Pat Rice’s release, Céad Míle Fáilte tells an extraordinary story of love, hope, and resilience.
Blanca is a participant of Studios of Sanctuary, a training and mentorship programme offered by Sample-Studios for artists from grant, refugee, and asylum-seeking backgrounds. Céad Míle Fáilte is part of the community activities that Blanca will carry out as part of her participation in the programme. We are very grateful to Rethink Ireland’s Resilient Cork Fund and Community Foundation Ireland, whose generous support make Studios of Sanctuary and its impact on artists and the community possible.
