Once Upon A Sound at THE HIDE SCULPTURE

Fingal County Council’s Arts Office presents ‘Once Upon A Sound at the Hide Sculpture’

‘Once Upon A Sound at the Hide Sculpture’ sees acclaimed broadcaster Donal Dineen take us on a deep exploration of music in the company of some of the finest music makers in the land. Together they will tell the story of their sound, the songs, the instruments and their connection to them.

In each series they will perform at the Hide Sculpture, a sculpture by artist Garrett Phelan that invites contemplation and deep listening. It is located along the Rogerstown Estuary, North County Dublin and home to a diverse population of resident and migrating birds that have chosen this place as their home.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. David Healy said: “These recordings are another innovative use of the Hide Sculpture at Rogerstown Park and I congratulate those who are developing the park as a greater asset for the Fingal community and am delighted to see the arts contributing to this process.”

Caroline Cowley, Public Art Co-Ordinator has expressed: “This series has allowed us to expand audience engagement with the Hide Sculpture as the park continues to develop into a public amenity while continuing to acknowledge the wide reach that this permanent sculpture has across a range of cultural platforms.”

‘Once Upon A Sound at the Hide Sculpture’ is recorded and released as an ongoing online series. This Spring/Summer edition will feature interviews and performances with some of Ireland’s most exciting performers. This month we are delighted to present Niwel Tsumbu. Since arriving in Ireland in 2004 from the Congo, Niwel Tsumbu has developed an enviable reputation as a masterfully elegant and fluent guitarist, vocalist, musician, collaborator and composer. He has performed with the finest Irish and international musicians while continuing to craft his own distinctive fusion of new jazz, rhumba, world, flamenco, rock, soukous and classical.

Niwel speaks about music in the same fluid way he plays the guitar. We were lucky enough to capture him in full flow for the third episode of Once Upon A Sound at the Hide Sculpture.

Emer O’Gorman, Director of Tourism, Economic and Cultural Development for Fingal County Council spoke of the initiative: ”We are delighted to support this series especially as part of our significant investment in the Hide Sculpture at Rogerstown Park, Lusk especially during Covid 19 where it is more important than ever to support artists, especially musicians affected by the reduced opportunities to tour and perform live which has been very much missed by everyone.”

The location for this project is the Hide Sculpture a permanent public art work by artist Garrett Phelan. It is located on the Rogerstown Estuary, Lusk and is commissioned through Fingal County Council's Public Art Programme. Garrett has created the Hide Sculpture as a 21st Century Monument that incorporates function by inviting a range of engagements with it across the spheres of education, music, activism and community to enable a greater understanding of the place of art in society. The Hide Sculpture and its proximity to the changing tides and migratory bird patterns of the Rogerstown Estuary, reminds us of how connected we are to our natural environment, the rituals of our ancient past and to those who valued nature as their guide and inspiration for language, music and art.

Garrett Phelan, local artist said: “Having created several portraits of Donal Dineen for over a decade it was a natural and perfect progression for me to invite Donal ‘s experience and curation of musicians and music into the atmosphere, meaning and machinations of the Hide Sculpture in the most natural possible way.”

We are delighted to present these episodes of ‘Once Upon A Sound at the Hide Sculpture’ with Donal Dineen who represents integrity and seriousness to his core audience, many of whom have developed their musical knowledge with him over many years. Donal is a consistent in his commitment to connect, understand and introduce to new perspectives on music to audiences for over two decades.

‘Once Upon a Sound at the Hide Sculpture’ featuring Niwel Tsumbu will be available to view on Fingal Arts Vimeo & www.thehideproject.com where you can also catch up on the series so far with stunning performances by Liam Ó Maonlaí and Anna Mieke.

Watch the latest  Episode here https://vimeo.com/516309893

For further information contact Caroline Cowley – Public Art co-ordinator Caroline.Cowley@fingal.ie

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For further information contact press@fingal.ie