Notre Dame’s En Plein Air returns to Kylemore Abbey after inaugural success

Thanks to the success of its first ever En Plein Air outdoor painting and drawing residency in Kylemore Abbey last spring, US University of Notre Dame is planning to run the event once again, starting May 2019.

Applications are still being taken online for the programme, which is the result of the inspired partnership between the prestigious US university and the Benedictine nuns of Kylemore Abbey.

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The 10-day painting residency, to which artists of all levels are invited to apply, takes place from May 26th to June 5th.

Secrets of its success

Much of the programme’s success in its augural year last year, is attributable to the winning combination of stunning west of Ireland landscapes and practical workshops led by internationally renowned artists.

“There is something about outdoor painting – perhaps the fact that it is not comfortable, that it is so affected by the weather – that pushes you on and sometimes you get better work for that,” says Lisa Caulfield, programme organiser and director of the Notre Dame Global Centre at Kylemore Abbey.

For artist Pam O’Connell, who participated in last year’s En Plein Air residency, the programme offered a welcome chance to escape into her practice.

The whole experience benefited me both artistically and personally. I came away feeling more creative and confident

“For me, the luxury of total immersion in art without the mundanity or responsibility of everyday living meant that I was able to focus entirely on painting in an environment that was stimulating both visually, educationally and socially,” says O’Connell.

As well as immersing herself in workshops, presentations and tutorials, the programme also provided her with a chance to grow as an artist, providing “a reintroduction to oils and landscape, a material and subject I had not used for many years. The whole experience benefited me both artistically and personally. I came away feeling more creative and confident.”

The partnership between the internationally esteemed American university and the nuns of Kylemore Abbey came about as a result of their mutual interest in education.

Notre Dame, which is based in Indiana, has a number of European campuses in Italy, the UK and France. It opened its first Irish centre in Dublin’s Merrion Square in 1998 - many Notre Dame students travel there each year as part of their studies. The nuns of Kylemore closed the doors on their famous secondary school in 2009 and were subsequently introduced to Notre Dame through a mutual benefactor. Notre Dame's mission is built on the three pillars for community outreach, higher level education, and faith formation. Partnering with the Benedictine's at Kylemore was "an opportunity to build on Notre Dame's vision and commitment to programs within Ireland, that we could not pass up,” says Caulfield.

Notre Dame entered into a long-term lease agreement with Kylemore, as part of which the university committed not just to bringing Notre Dame students to the west of Ireland but to engaging the wider community through a schedule of open enrolment adult education courses. The now annual En Plein Air painting and drawing workshop is a major part of this community outreach.

The Notre Dame Centre at Kylemore opened in May 2016 and was almost immediately extended to cope with demand for places. The residential campus can now accommodate bespoke groups of between 16 to 48 people.

The En Plein Air residency will once again be kept to a maximum of 20 participants, in order to provide both a sense of community and a sense of creative space for the artists.

It's an opportunity to meet with other artists and get a sense of contemporary art being done in the west of Ireland

Once again this year the programme will be led by international artists Jaclyn Dooner from New York and Simon Ramirez from Colombia. It also includes a master class from professional Irish artist Mick O’Dea, former president of the Royal Hibernian Academy.

Local artists, Alannah Robins and Mary Donnelly, will also be on hand to present and talk about their work. “It’s an opportunity to meet with other artists and get a sense of contemporary art being done in the west of Ireland,” says Caulfield.

Kylemore Abbey is surrounded by beauty, not just that of its own castle and lakeside setting, but that of the beaches of Roundstone, Killary Fjord and the wilds of the Lough Inagh Valley nearby. “From Yeats and Lady Gregory, right up to Seamus Heaney and his connection to Ballynahinch, this is a wonderful landscape that has inspired artists and writers for years,” she says.

Course participants will have the opportunity to explore the local regions with planned hikes, excursions and cultural events that are included in the program. Central to the theme of the global centre is experiential learning - exposure to the landscape from which one can draw inspiration from, including a guided hike on the Aran Islands with archeologist Micheal Gibbons. Nightly music and entertainment is also part of the experience. “It’s really a fun-filled, action-packed programme,” says Caulfield

Live Drawing Salon

In addition to the 10-day En Plein Air painting programme, which costs €2,500, this year Notre Dame at Kylemore is introducing a new initiative, the Live Drawing Salon.

The Live Drawing Salon at Kylemore is a four-day programme, running from June 6th to 9th, which will see participants receive master class instruction from world-class artists. The cost of this programme is €750.

Prices include accommodation, entertainment and tuition. Participants are welcome to attend prayer services in the Abbey if they wish.

Meals are included and are both healthy and delicious, made by local chef David Harrison, from locally sourced ingredients.

Space is limited for both programmes so early booking is advisable. “People arrive as strangers but leave as friends; the community element is very important,” says Caulfield. The idea is to paint to your heart’s content, literally.

"It is more then your average art residency. It is very much a holistic experience, allowing participants a chance to unplug from modern pressures, regroup and enrich one's soul in a safe, warm and welcoming environment. And because it is a package there is nothing to worry about while you are here - you have the opportunity to devote yourself to your art."