Spotlight on Lasta 

In a new, innovative approach to programming, twenty-one young curators were selected by eight arts venues nationwide to programme a festival of work for children and young people as part of Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh. Their joint programmes are presented as Lasta, a national arts programme curated entirely by young people: the first of its kind in Ireland. 

A few days ago, we met with some of the curators who for the last few weeks have juggled exams, assignments, jobs and lockdown while creating a programme of work that showcases new, emerging and young artists nationwide. We wanted to know what their inspirations were, what they’ve learned, the challenges they’ve faced and their thoughts on how Covid-19 has impacted the arts in Ireland today. 

How has your curatorial vision and practice developed as part of this process?

Helen Major, Pavilion: My principal interest has been art for young audiences and arts for my age group. There’s three people on my team and we were all able to bring a different flavour to our programme. We wouldn’t have had the ideas alone and my sensibility has definitely changed as part of this process. It’s been helpful and frustrating to learn and realise that not all of your great ideas are available or will work! But the process has also helped me become aware of my blind spots and find artforms and artists I didn’t know much about but am excited by now. At the start, I found that my ideas were geared towards a certain age range, but that has expanded over time.  

Mamobo Ogoro, Lime Tree Theatre Limerick: Like Helen, I became aware of my blindspots as part of this project! My background isn’t really in the arts so I wanted to bring my interests and background into the programme. I’ve been interested in the rise of social consciousness in Ireland, which is tied to my progressional background, so a lot of our programme presents work that highlights this. We’re doing that through panel discussions, performances, even a dance piece, so working on Lasta has definitely expanded the artforms I might previously have considered not relevant to my interests. 

Daire Ó Muirí, Backstage Theatre, Longford: We went through this same process last year with Backstage (who developed the initial idea for Lasta last year) so I felt quite excited to further develop my skills here. I come from a theatre background and that’s definitely influenced what we programmed. I remember our first meeting, when the curators were introduced to each other for the first time, hearing about everyone’s interests and backgrounds. It was amazing, because it immediately broadened our knowledge of the nationwide arts landscape. Being introduced to artists and art forms I haven’t worked in before has opened up routes for us to explore in programming too. 

How did your relationship with your co-curators work?

Daire: We all presented our ideas to each and saw where they intersected, and that became the most interesting starting point for us. Some projects developed out of those initial ideas, and ideas shaped and changed over time. We let ourselves work with our gut instincts and see where those ideas led us.  

Doug Reddan, glór, Ennis: I knew my strengths going in, but also was aware of the stuff I didn’t know! Being able to work with Mary, a writer and classical musician, meant we had four genres we were definitely interested in and quickly realised that merging those interests was the best way to collaborate. I’ve learned so much about the size of the arts community in Ireland and have had the opportunity to meet incredible new artists I wouldn’t have come across otherwise. I also felt like, ok, I’m the only dancer in this group, so I was conscious of not staying solely in that lane and wanted to branch out into other artforms. 

How has the nationwide element of this project informed your programming decisions?

Doug: It was funny, when people were naming names early on, I had to research so many of them, which means I now have an amazing Spotify playlist of new music acts! Being prompted to research other artists has shown me the diversity of people working in the arts and creatively in Ireland, but also how connected we all are and how entwined the arts community is. 

Helen: Yes, Ireland is small! We realised that early on when in conversation with some artists we approached that we were competing with other Lasta curators for certain acts! 

Tell us about how you programmed

Mamobo: Coming into it I had some ideas which were tied to existing events or people I knew. But over time, my own ideas developed and were supported by the venue in finding the right artists and people to work on them. In some cases, the time we had to programme worked against us, but that really helped me learn how to shape an event when obstacles arise. Which they often do!

Where did Covid-19 fit into your curatorial vision - were you keen to curate work responsive to it or did you try to avoid it?

Doug: When we were trying to determine the focus for the festival, before we got to the programming stage, I’d just seen a few shows that were made in response to Covid and it was, to be honest, draining. I felt like my escapism route was becoming really heavy, so I went in thinking I want to programme work which celebrates and brings joy or entertainment. My co-curator Mary strongly felt that it’s our duty to respond to the times we are in, so we spoke about our experience of the last year, and realised that all of our experiences were very different. I found a lot of hope and healing and change in the last year, and so that informed some of our decisions and perspectives. We haven’t totally avoided it, but we definitely want to offer some escapism too. 

Is your intention to become a curator or programmer?

Dara: It’s always been an interest. You know, you hear about curators and meet programmers but I often felt like it would be an impossible role to find. You don’t get many opportunities like this! 

Mamobo: 100% yes! I’m part of a collective called Afro Pop City and we programme events in Limerick that celebrate afro beat and afro dance and dancehall. I’ve always wanted to programme a festival that focuses on Afrocentric vibes and Afrocentric fusion, dance and food. So this opportunity has been amazing - I’m learning how all of that is actually done, from programming to marketing to promotion and sales… it’s been amazing to see what’s involved from the inside. 

So, who do you want to see the programme you’ve created? 

Mamobo: We want to reach people our age. We want people to enjoy their first ever theatre experience, to attend their first ever arts event at Lasta. We’re excited to present our programmes which are catered to them. We want to show young adults that really, this stuff is cool! 

Helen: My dream audience is the people who are really, really hungry for arts. We want to put interesting things in front of the people who have missed the arts for the last year!

Doug: I think creating a platform that’s of interest and exciting to people already engaging in digital arts has been a goal for us, but we want to introduce the arts to young people who we know will love it. 

Dara: We wanted to curate for young people, but also curate to showcase our local talent and show the creativity in young people who are local to the venue I’m working with. We want to celebrate the talent that exists here - there are artistic people in Longford!