Event to celebrate Green Hub in Midlands with exhibition by local artists

There will be a celebration of the Green Hub in Portarlington later this week which will include the opening of an exhibition of Grágoyles created by local artists.

The event will take place in SOLAS, Lea Road, Portarlington on Friday, April 21 at 8pm.

A collaboration between MyWaste.ie; The Portarlington Art Collective, Sustainable Energy Portarlington; the Brat Bhríde Project; Laois County Council and local businesses created a pilot Green Hub project exploring how to reduce and reuse commercial waste in the town.

Artists from the collective worked with local businesses to create Grágoyles from their waste products. Local dance group, BFAB DANCE CREW, also created a dance using upcycled clothes for their costumes and local filmmaker Darren Warren has documented much of the activity for future generations. The dance was choreographed by Ramakrishnan and Divya.

The local artists involved in the exhibition of Grágoyles are ADW, Beta França, Geraldine Smyth, Kellyann Hyland, Mary Slevin and Véronique Canning and the Crafty Dreams Studio. There is also an Origin Story by young artists Tomás Duggan and Susie Gannon.

During recent roadworks in Portarlington, a 17th century channel which created a protective moat around the town was uncovered, and the Grágoyles, the protective spirits of the town were released.

The Grágoyles thought how best they could help to protect the town from the threat of pollution and climate change. Their spirits inhabited the minds of local artists and the Port Art Collective was born.

Sustainable Energy Portarlington worked with Laois County Council and waste consultant Craig Benton to audit a number of local businesses, suggesting ways in which they could engage in more sustainable waste management. Some were already implementing such good practices that there were no suggestions for them.

The exhibition will be open to the public from Saturday April 22 which is also Earth Day.