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The art of the possible
www.curator.ie is about making things happen, in collaboration with others and with a commitment to innovation and excellence.
www.curator.ie was established by Ciarán Walsh in 2010 as a vehicle for innovative curatorial projects with a strong educational component and a collaborative ethos. In 2011 Walsh developed the ‘Irish Headhunter’ project in association with Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and Ionad an Bhlascaoid Mhoir (The Great Blasket Centre), the Office of Public Works (OPW) and The Heritage Council of Ireland.
Further research on the Irish Ethnographic Survey(1891-1903) led to the setting up of the ‘Haddon in Ireland’ project in association with the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Cambridge), TCD and Maynooth University. This project secured funding from the Irish Research Council in 2015.
Since then Ciarán Walsh has worked as a postgraduate researcher with Maynooth University (Anthropology PhD Programme) under Dr Mark Maguire in association with Prof. Martina Hennessy of the School of Medicine, TCD. Kimmage Development Studies Centre (Dr. Rob Kevlihan) has joined the project as enterprise partners.
The research is focussed on the records of the Irish Ethnographic Survey which operated out of the Anatomy Dept. in TCD between 1891 and 1903.
The primary aim is to reconstruct the archive of the Survey and place it in the public domain. It will address (a) challenges posed by the dispersed nature of the archive and (b) exploit opportunities for access to and engagement with cultural resources generated by digital media and networks.
The contemporary significance of this project is enormous. The Survey’s attempt to trace the origins of the Irish people continues with the genetic study of populations. This project will add enormously to the public’s awareness of the construction of anthropological knowledge and, indeed, the role that this played in the historical configuration of Irish identities. It will also add to our understanding of how collections and museums in general work in the digital age.
Pat Togher of Bristol, England, whose great grandfather features in the Ethnography of the Mullet.
Michael Faherty, Inis Meain, the Aran islands, 1890-1, from the archive of the Irish Ethnographic Survey (1891-1903). With the permission of the Board of Trinity College Dublin
Ciarán Walsh on location with Peadar Mór and Mairtín Ó Chonghaile, Inis Meain, The Aran Islands, 2014. Photo by Christopher Rodmell.
www.curator.ie is managed by Ciarán Walsh.
It was designed by Rob Condon of Kerrynet Solutions.
