This will make for an interesting stroll around town.

Five unique pieces of art will be appearing at key locations throughout Cork city later this month, creating a novel artistic experience for audiences.

As part of GRAFT, the first collaboration of its kind between the Glucksman Gallery and the National Sculpture Factory, five individual artists based in Ireland have been commissioned to create a temporary installation each. They will be unveiled on September 17th, as part of Culture Night, and will be in place until Halloween, October 31st, 2021.

Each artist is working on a site-specific sculpture:

‘Swing-like’ sculptures in Bishop Lucey Park: Seoidín O’Sullivan, originally from Zambia and an Art Lecturer in NCAD, is producing a series of ‘swing-like’ sculptural works for the city centre park, Bishop Lucey Park. These objects will use copper-plated text to draw a connection between Cork, Zambia, copper mining, Afrofuturism, space exploration and her own family background.

Check out the aprons in the English Market: Linda Quinlan, a native of Cork city, aims to capture the living spirit of the city’s renowned English Market by creating a series of paintings depicting foodstuffs that will be presented on customised aprons worn by market traders.

Outdoor film on Oliver Plunkett Street: Bríd Murphy, a Dublin-based visual artist, will highlight the lack of suitable, affordable accommodation for young people by creating a series of new films which will be projected from inside the former Liam Ruiséal bookshop out onto Oliver Plunkett Street.

Follow the solar-powered loudspeakers: Artist and Research Masters student Adam Gibney has created a network of solar-powered loudspeakers which will be arranged throughout Cork city and that together will convey a phrase that will steer audiences across multiple audible points from one speaker to the next.

Riverbank ceramics: In Wandesford Quay along the banks of the River Lee, Spanish-born Vanessa Donoso López will exhibit over 100 kiln-fired ceramics embedded with intricate designs and patterns. The ceramics will be clustered on embankments and outcroppings of land. Over the course of GRAFT these will also be submerged but still visible.

“Covid-19 has forced us to re-evaluate how we use our built environment and public spaces,” said Valerie Byrne, Director of the National Sculpture Factory.

“A lot of the spaces in our towns and cities have been wonderfully repurposed for commercial reasons, but it is important that our public spaces are accessible to everyone. With GRAFT, we can now see how these can be reimagined in a similar way but for the benefit of everyone.

“The exhibition is a blueprint for our villages, towns and cities to encourage public interaction with our public spaces and to reinvigorate the built environment.”