C Both Sides

C Both Sides is a collective art project that started in 2006 by artists Teresa Doyle and Edel O Reilly Flynn in association with Westmeath County Council.[1] The project consisted of people being invited to send postcards from all over Ireland to Doyle and O Reilly Flynn's addresses which were then later displayed in Mullingar Arts Centre in 2007.

Background

Knowledge of the project spread through word of mouth, internet postings and press releases in local papers. Over 500 cards were received. The project was intended to be accessible to all. Teresa Doyle felt that handwriting was a dying art form, and through this project herself and Edel O Reilly Flynn strived to reawaken it. This small exhibition then travelled to New York, which encouraged a more international group of participants. The project was intended to create a social document of Ireland at the time.[2]

Following the initial C Both Sides exhibition, An Post decided to sponsor the ongoing project, which allowed it to reach a wider audience.[3] The launch of An Post C Both Sides, a 12-month project, took place in November 2007 at the Gallery of Photography, Meeting House Square in Temple Bar.[4] It was launched by the Chief Executive of An Post, Donal Connell.[5][6] Teresa Doyle also made a speech about the beginning of Ireland's largest "collaborative art exhibition".[6]

Workshops

Each month of the project's operation had a different theme, which guided the participants when creating a postcard.[3] Workshops were held based on the theme of the month. In July, for example, the theme was prisoners, and a workshop was held in Limerick Prison with some of the inmates. The theme for August was migration, and a workshop was held in Ilac Centre City Library, with a group of migrants.[7][8] Similar workshops were held throughout the country for other themes. Each month, a celebrity was invited to make a postcard, which was also featured on the website along with a short interview based on the topic of postcards.[9]

National project

With An Post's sponsorship, the project was rolled out. Each household in Ireland received a blank postcard. The participants were encouraged to consider "both sides" of the postcard. This highlighted the importance of the recipient and the message as well as the visual aspects of the postcard. In total, over 3,000 submissions were received, of which 250 were chosen by a panel, to be displayed. Helen Carey was the curator of the exhibition.[10]

Exhibition

The final culmination of a year's work was the opening of the exhibition in the Dublin Civic Offices, on Wood Quay. Travel writer and broadcaster, Manchán Magan opened the exhibition.[11]

The postcards were displayed in pigeonholes that used to integral to the sorting of post before the new mechanised sorting machines. The pigeonholes were fitted with clear Perspex frames, which were mounted on a rotating spindle. This allowed the viewer to see "both sides" of the postcard. This way of displaying the postcards was designed by Fiona Coffey.[10]

References
  1. "Fri, Mar 28, 2008 – Wishing they were here to stay". The Irish Times. 3 March 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  2. "Tue, Nov 06, 2007 – Postcard art exhibition plan unveiled". The Irish Times. 11 November 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  3. "Postcard art exhibition plan unveiled – The Irish Times – Tue, Nov 06, 2007". The Irish Times. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  4. "An Post". Anpostcbothsides.ie. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Mullingar art idea goes national – so get drawing! – News – Roundup – Articles – Westmeath Examiner". Westmeathexaminer.ie. 24 November 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  7. "Migrants put thoughts into designing postcards as part of An Post scheme – The Irish Times – Mon, Jul 28, 2008". The Irish Times. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  8. "Forum on Migration and Communications". FOMACS. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  9. "An Post". Anpostcbothsides.ie. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Postcards from home". The Irish Times. 3 March 2009.
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