Na Cailleacha (The Witches) are a collective of eight older women, all based in Ireland but coming from Holland, England and Switzerland, as well as Ireland – six artists, one musician and an art writer/curator – bent on exploring ways of working together, taking stock of collective experience over many years, attitudes to ageing and to the wider community, their bodies and how they relate to culture and heritage, and their experience of Covid-related isolation. This exhibition, the first ever showing of work from the collective, is the result of a month long residency they undertook together at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation last September.

They are made up of Therry Rudin an artist and film maker based in Co. Tipperary, Helen Comerford, a painter and educator based in Co. Kilkenny, Barbara Freeman, a painter and new media artist based in Belfast, Gerda Teljeur, an artist based in Co. Wicklow, Patricia Hurl a painter and performance artist based in Co. Tipperary, Maria Levinge a painter based in Co. Wexford, Carole Nelson a composer, pianist and saxophonist based in Co Carlow and curator, art writer and art historian, Catherine Marshall, based between Dublin and Kilkenny.

In this episode, I catch up with Patricia Hurl, Barbara Freeman, Carole Nelson and Catherine Marshall to hear about their experiences as part of Na Cailleacha.

The exhibition is open at STAC Mon-Sat from 10am to 5pm, until 12th June. A one day symposium will be live streamed on Saturday 29th May. Visit www.southtippartscentre.ie for the full schedule on the day. If you can't make it to see the exhibition in person, you will also be able to access the virtual tour on our website.

You can visit Na Cailleachas website at: https://nacailleacha.weebly.com

Contact the podcast: southtippartspodcast@gmail.com