CROWNED MAYO - Braids

Culture Night 2023 - CROWNED MAYO BRAIDS
An evening of exploration of hair and identity through story, conversation and artwork from African women living in the northwest of Ireland at the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar.
The event featured four women, Celesta Khosa, Ayandolapo Ayannike Abiolu, Rispa Mwang and Maureen Nalubega, from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda in conversation with Breda Mayock. They shared life stories and personal narratives that are intertwined with hair - their crowning glory. The four speakers have all lived in Direct Provision and are collaborating with artist Breda Mayock to tell their stories through various media - video, sound, conversation & portraiture. CROWNED is an opportunity to celebrate the unique, challenging and beautiful aspect of female hair and new Irish communities.
This event comes as a result of the project, CROWNED, which is an ongoing project in Ballyhaunis Direct Provision Centre and The Connaught Inn Direct Provision Centre, Castlebar, Co Mayo. Breda Mayock is a well-known artist and musician, whose previous projects include ‘CROWN - Hair & Identity in Traveller Culture,’ 2019-2020 as featured on RTÉ. Exhibitions include, ‘The Narrow Gate of the Here-and-Now, Protest and Conflict, IMMA, 2021-2023; Guides - Linenhall Arts Centre, curated by Séamus Nolan, 2022; ‘Tangled,’ Municipal Gallery, Dún Laoghaire, 2021.
Supported by The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) 2018-2022 is funded by the Irish Government through the Department of Rural and Community Development and co-funded by the European Social Fund under the Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) 2014-2020.