TRADE is a collaborative visual arts programme between Leitrim and Roscommon County Councils providing knowledge, resources and opportunities for visual artists to engage internationally. Rather than considering ‘rural’ as ‘isolationary’, TRADE emphasises that art is a global construct and encourages a freeflow of ideas and opportunities both for local artists to engage internationally as well as for international artists to participate locally.

Founded in 2004, TRADE (then called Artist as Traveller), invited artists such as Hou Hanru, H�seyin Bhari Alptekin, Shin Egashira and Julie Bacon among others. Trade 2005 invited artists’ agencies including N55, myvillages.org and M & M proyectos. Since 2006, TRADE consists of two elements — a residential programme and a seminar event. Under our first residential programme, artists Alfredo Jaar and Rebecca Fortnum each worked with a group of artists from the two counties over the course of a year. The outcomes of these residencies were presented at the TRADE seminar the following December.

TRADE: Artists In Conversation

This weekend The Dock, in Carrick-on-Shannon, are hosting the 3 day seminar full of lectures, exhibitions and possibly a flood tour! John Gibbons and Darren Almond are currently leading two programmes of work with eight artists from Roscommon and Leitrim. At the seminar, Gibbons and Almond will give presentations about their own practice, whilst the two groups of artists they have been working with over the last number of months will give group presentations about their experience of the TRADE programme. Almond and Gibbons have invited Rod Menghan and Brian Dillon to also give keynote presentations at the seminar. Other speakers over the weekend include Katie Browne, Anna Mcleod and Christine Mackey, who have been participating in international residencies sponsored by TRADE.

The weekend is facilitated by Aideen Barry, Valerie Connor, Tessa Giblin, Mike Fitzpatrick and Declan McGonagle (Chair). TRADE is a partnership programme of Roscommon and Leitrim Arts Offices, supported by Roscommon and Leitrim County Councils and the Arts Council of Ireland.

For booking, registration and the full schedule, please visit the TRADE site.