In February 2024 the first p(art)y Here and Now event took place in Ennis, Co Clare. Since then these have occurred on a monthly basis.

p(art)y Here and Now is a participatory live performance art event held every month in Co Clare, Ireland. p(art)y is facilitated by Rachel Macmanus, Slevek Kwi and Laura Jane Allis.

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These events are a result of my instigating a conversation with Slavek and Laura Jane about starting a live performance art meet up event. As a member of BBeyond, Belfast, I felt frustrated by my inability to travel to their monthly group members performance events, given the 4.5 hour car journey to get there.

Those of these BBeyond meetings which I have been able to access have been a source of inspiration and connection for me. I decided to start something of a similar nature to these performance meets here in Co Clare, so as to have more opportunities to perform locally and to raise awareness and understanding of performance art as a creative medium.

The artists I joined up with to host the events are Slavek Kwi, musician curator and educator, and Laura- Jane Allis, contemporary dancer.

Name: p(art)y Here and Now. A merging of Here and Now- the title I used for my workshops and performance night in 2023, combined with Slavek’s suggested p(art)y.

Description: a participatory live one hour performance art event. Open for the moment to anyone who wishes to participate and books a space.

Intention: To provide a space in Co Clare for live performance to happen, on a regular monthly basis. To allow all forms of expression to exist in one space, and to see what ensues. To welcome all artists in and to make space for all forms of art.

Framework: As updated and read by participants yesterday:

Start time: Please be there 15 minutes before the start time. We will start promptly at 4 and finish at 5. Doors will close at 4.15 sharp and reopen at 5pm.

Audience: Please arrive at the start and stay till the end! It’s distracting for performers if people are coming in and out while we are performing.

Clean Up: Please allow for 15 minutes after we finish to help clean up

Props: Props and costumes are fine to bring and use but no liquids, soil or materials that will be hard to clean up. And obviously please make sure you take away any items you bring along.

Photography: No photography to be taken before or during the performance. We will take a group shot at the end of the performance. This is to protect the artists.

Interacting: Please check with other artists before making physical contact during the performance. Please don’t touch the props or musical equipment of any other artist present unless also agreed beforehand.

Issues/questions: If anyone has an issue/problem or a question before, during or after the performance please check in with Rachel. Even during the performance.

The first February event was amazing- we had 19 artists in total- plus a group of audience. See the photo taken at the end below:

After this inaugural event we worked out what was successful and what was less so and tweaked some things a little. What was of paramount importance was that all participants understood that to participate meant to be creating within a group- alongside others and potentially with other people during the hour- and therefore to be open to their usual modality of creating being influenced and changed by this experience. Potentially this could be different from ones usual methodology of creating and experiencing creativity. And for participants to be receptive to that.

Another element of great importance to me is the democracy of this project. All artists are welcome here, regardless of their medium. So far we do not need membership of any nature. We are still very much at the developmental stage and in order to grow must keep the framework flexible.

Our second event had less participants, which we had anticipated due to other significant art events being on that day locally. We were looking forward to seeing what these different circumstances would be like. Words I used to describe yesterday’s experience. energy- stretch- lines- colour- clothes pegs- shiny- base- connection- twist- light. The hour went by very fast for me.

At this point I feel very happy to have gotten p(art)y Here and Now off the ground. I feel satisfied at having a performance outlet and the luxury of this event being local to me (for the time being) is hard to believe. We plan to continue to run the event out of Laura-Janes space for the time being, and coming into summer to potentially move it around to other venues in Clare. Starting this off has sparked something in me and reminded me of what is possible if you materialise your ideas. To have anyone at all, never mind so many, interested in being involved in this initiative feels very rewarding to me. I do not take it for granted. It is not possible to ‘buy’ this.

Noting at this point elements I’d like to address within the performance process so far- documentation. The only evidence of the event is the ‘after photo’ a strange thing in itself as it shows the participants, mostly looking positive, gathered together after performing. And obviously the memory of the event. Right now, only revealing an after shot, with happy looking people standing in a group, doesn’t reveal much of what actually took place within the hour. I would prefer if we had visual evidence of the ‘during’, the happening part, as opposed to just the after.

But this is not a simple process- first requiring a photographer who is available, and then who can move and work around and between the artists. Then we need permissions from one and all attendees. Then we need a sharing and distributing system and a guarantee that participants wishing to share images will tag them correctly. I do think this would be worth it as the ensuing visuals would allow us to furnish other people’s perception of what the event entails more fully. And hopefully interest more people and further build an audience and community.

I also feel that it is timely to have started this now, what with where I feel my practise sits at present. I realised that if I look objectively back over the last year of working that there are clear indicators of what has been successful and what has been less successful. It can be hard to see this, when ones head is always down, trying to swim against the current of limited time/obligations/tiredness/other detrius.

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It is now May and two more p(art)y events have taken place. We were successful in engaging a photographer for each of these events- see below April event photos by Paul Corey

And May event photos by Gerald Dunne

Our group has grown and diversified, with visual artists, musicians, sound artists, dancers, performers, image makers, vocal artists attending. It continues to inspire and be a friendly non judgemental space for artists and creatives to come and intentionally be in a performative space together.

June Photos below by Avia Gurman

Our July p(art)y was held at The Old Schoolhouse, Scarriff, Co Clare. The Old Schoolhouse is an amazing space ran by the artist Bonnie Boyle. It was interesting to be outside the venue we have worked in to date, Breakthrough Dance Studio in Quinn Road Business park where Laura Jane Allis has hosted us till now.

July photos courtesy of Bonnie Boyle

August p(art)y– this was the closing event for Here and Now Performance Art Festival, 16th August, held at The Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon. We had a great attendance of 22 for this event and as the closing act of the festival, which was held in the main ground floor area of the Gallery, it worked very well. Images courtesy of Aleksandra Skibniewska.

September’s p(art)y was our first outdoor event, held in association with Culture Night, on 20th September. We chose Ennis Peace Park, also called Monastery park, a green space populated with trees and hosting a number of war memorials. We chose this space because it was a practical one for audience to access and for parking and travelling access. It was a lovely event which allowed a different audience to access the performance, as people passing by stopped to watch and we had spontaneous interaction from the audience also which was great. Performers pictured below include the North Clare Dance collective, Slavek Kwi, Rachel Macmanus, Laura Jane Allis and Caitriona Sheedy. Images by Helen Blackhurst.

Octobers p(art)y Here and Now took place on on Saturday 19th October outside on the site of Clare Augustinian Abbey, Clarecastle, Co Clare, in honour of Oíche Shamhna. It was a highly charged and atmospheric experience to be there. Its an ancient site, dating back to 1189. It is a graveyard with locals and clerics buried there, so we were mindful of this and took care to communicate to our participants about respecting the graves. We managed this by performing in a gravelled area of the main abbey which only had one grave at one end, so we were able to use the rest of this space. We arrived and started with our usual regulars and some new arrivals. The weather gods smiled on us between 7 and 8pm and the rain and wind stayed away. It was a still cold, utterly still night- we started in late dusk, able to see each other as the light ebbed away- and by 7.30 were performing in almost complete darkness. We had an audience who stayed and watched the entire performance and more performers who arrived late and joined in silently. I recall the crunch of the gravel and the texture of the stone walls and the movement of other performers travelling around the space. It was wonderfully atmospheric and life affirming to be able to do such a think in such a place.

Images below by Rachel Macmanus

We were able to locate ourselves in the official Ennis Courthouse downstairs foyer for Novembers p(art)y. I had emailed the Ennis Courthouse manager and explained who were were and what we did. They were graciously amenable to us using their space as long as we recompensed the building caretaker for her time opening and closing the building. Luckily we had just about enough funds left from Culture night to do this, so it was taken as a sign from the Gods that we should go ahead. The foyer downstairs is a long wide corridor with various doors and spaces exiting off it. We used the full corridor length and the high ceiling and ceramic tiled floor made for interesting acoustic consequences of our movement. We had 3 sound based artists performing, Darren, Slavek and Finbarr, in different parts of the space, meaning that it was a sound filled experience for those of us who were moving around. One of those people who came to watch, Mary Carr, kindly took photos and the images below are courtesy of her.

Our final p(art)y for 2024 found us back at Breakthrough Dance, Ennis. It was fitting to find ourselves back where we had started things off in early 2024. We had a small but fabulous group of attendees, which we were happy have given that it was December and people availability always tapers off at this time.

We achieved a lot in 2024, with 11 monthly p(art)ys, collaborating with Culture Night and Here and Now Performance Art Festival. We look forward to more collaborations, more creatives joining us and new sites to perform in in 2025. A huge thank you to all who came along, witnessed and participated in our events in 2024.

p(art)y Here and Now 2025

January p(art)y Here and Now

Januarys p(art)y was held back in Breakthrough Dance, studio of one of our three founders, Laura Jane Allis. We had a strong attendance from all our regular circle of artists and it was a wonderful kick start to the new Year. Photos below by Rachel Macmanus.

February p(art)y Here and Now:

Februarys p(art)y was outside, as we had decided we would move outside as often as possible this year. Working indoors is a safe space where there is room to experiment, but working outdoors exposes you to the public, to different energies and to new spaces. Therefore creating infinite possibilities. We decided on Templegate Square, a bricked square space in front of the Template Hotel, Ennis. We chose this space as its enclosed in on all 4 sides, and has a walk way through on one side, allowing foot traffic to pass. We had artists who travelled from Dublin and from Tipperary to join us and we had a healthy audience of onlookers and participants, from interested older people to kids who drew with us, to gobby teenagers who watched from afar and shouted stuff from the safety of their gangs. An exhilarating experience. Artist pictured include Rachel Macmanus, Laura Jane Allis, Frances Mezetti, Deej Fabyc, Brian Twomey, Darren White, Mary Carr, Deborah Ryan. Photography by Paul Corey.

March p(art)y Here and Now

Our March p(art)y was held in the grounds of Our Lady Hospital, Gort Road, Ennis. Our Lady’s Hospital is a now derelict psychiatric hospital which operated in Ennis from 1868 – 2002. The p(art)y was a powerful and imbued performance that evoked many emotions. We feel it’s important to make live performance in public sites like these, to honour the space and those who spent time there. A huge thanks to the artists who took part in yesterdays event and to those who came to support us. Artists pictured here include Slavek Kwi, Darren White, Mary Carr, Deborah Ryan, Rachel Macmanus , Brian Twomey, Dermot Hayes and with photos kindly supplied by Laura Jane Allis.

April p(art)y Here and Now

For April we moved back inside to Breakthrough Dance, to trial a two room experience, one ‘loud’ room, and one ‘quiet’ room, as designed by Slavek Kwi. The goal was to experience different energies and different connections and transitions between the two spaces. We were very fortunate to be joined by artist Andy Spearpoint from Tipperary, Maria hoyin and Wolodymyr Topiy from Limerick for this p(art)y.

May p(art)y Here and Now

For May we were invited to perform on the grounds of Flagmount Wild Garden, Cahermurphy, Flagmount, Co Clare. On this day we were excited to be launching the first day of events of our Here and Now Performance Art Festival 2025. These consisted of

1: a workshop facilitated by Slavek Kwi from 3.30-4.30, exploring listening, abstraction and non verbal communication. 2: p(art)y Here and Now, from 5-6pm. A participatory group@live performance art event open to all to@attend and take part in.
3: An invitation to ‘Listening and Dreaming Journey across Dusk to Dawn’ a night long, concert like event with live constructions from artists Slavek Kwi and David stalling.

See photos below of our p(art)y and of a short video documentation of the p(art)y, videos by Mary Carr and editing by Rachel Macmanus. Artist featured in images include El Putnam, David Stalling, Andy Spearpoint, Darren White, Rachel Macmanus, Laura Jane Allis, Slavek Kwi, Brendan (Flagmount Gardens)

June p(art)y Here and Now

June p(art)y was held in partnership with Mountshannon Arts Festival 2025. We held the p(art)y at Soundctuary, Mountshannon Harbour, on Monday June 2nd. Soundctuary is a small peninsula in Mountshannon (Eastern Clare, Ireland) harbour that is becoming a sanctuary of silence, a haven for free sounds. It was a very windy and bright day and as we performed we were accompanied by the sound of the waves of Lough Derg around us. A huge thanks again to the artists who travelled from Dublin, Tipperary and Ennis to join us for our June p(art)y, and for the facilitation and support from the team at Mountshannon Arts Festival.

Coming UP….

p(art)y Here and Now are excited to collaborate on a pre festival event with Live Art Ireland.

CON/P(art)y is our pre festival event for

Convergence 2025- Theme: A Borderless Romance 8-10 August

Here and Now Performance Art Festival 2025 – Theme: Self Determination

When: Sunday, 15th June 12 – 4pm
Where: The People’s Museum of Limerick

The Lineup:

Shirani Bolle is a self-taught, multi-heritage, neurodivergent artist. Through textiles, performance, and sculpture, her practice explores identity politics, race, and trauma, drawing from personal and cultural history

Renn is an arts producer,dj/writer, photographer, archivist & anti disciplinary artist and cultural curator. Renn is the founder of Origins Eile a Black Queer community collective. With years of creative work behind them, they are empathetic in their approach to community work through arts and dedicated in their focus on inclusion and the uplifting of marginalised voices.

Cerberus is a performance collective of 3 artists – Deej Fabyc, Olivia Hassett, and Rachel Macmanus. As with Cerberus, they exist in the in-between liminal space, of this world, and the netherworld, neither in nor out of either, but at the edge of both, forever on duty as the gatekeepers. They are three individuals who join as one, bound together as the three heads

Laura Jane Allis, owner of BreakThrough Dance Company in Ennis, has dedicated her career to providing a space for creative expression through dance, musical theatre, and performing arts. auditioning for West End shows in London after completing dance college in 2005.

Slavek Kwi is a sound-artist, composer and researcher whose main interest lies in the phenomena of perception as the fundamental determinant of relations with Reality.
He has been fascinated by sound-environments for almost 30 years, focusing on electroacoustic sound-paintings.

b.h. Yael is a Toronto based filmmaker, video and installation artist.
Yael’s work has exhibited nationally and internationally and has shown in various setting, from festivals to galleries to community and activist groups. She will be showing a preview of her film ‘Letter to my Tribe’