The forest that won’t forget is a collaborative artwork by artists Fiona Whelan and John Conway, and the 221+ Patient Support Group in partnership with Hometree.
Core collaborators
221+
The 221+ Patient Support Group was established in July 2018 to provide information, advice, and support to the women and families directly affected by failures in the CervicalCheck Screening Programme that came to light following Vicky Phelan’s court case in April 2018. The group is governed by a steering committee, which includes representation from the Irish Cancer Society, the Marie Keating Foundation, the Irish Patients Association, and several members. We are a completely independent organisation and are not operated by the HSE or Department of Health.
The 221+ core group for the art project are Lyn Fenton, Elizabeth Byrne, Wendy Stringer, Nicola O’ Sullivan and Carla Duggan.
Fiona Whelan
Dr. Fiona Whelan a Dublin based artist, writer and educator. Fiona’s arts practice is committed to exploring and responding to systemic power relations and inequalities through long-term cross-sectoral collaborations with diverse individuals, groups and organisations. These processes are rooted in complex relational networks and typically accumulate over time through a series of public manifestations, including text-based, visual, performative and dialogical artworks, that take direction from the collaborative process and the lived experiences of those involved.
Common to all work is an interrogation of multiple power relations that are identified through the process, such as the power relations between police and young people; the state-run medical services and patients; national housing policy and those experiencing housing injustice; as well as less tangible power relations experienced as social norms related to class and gender. Fiona is also a committed writer, her writing focusing on the complex relationality, labour and ethical challenges of her arts practice. Fiona is Programme Leader of the MA/MFA Art and Social Action at NCAD.
John Conway
John Conway is a visual artist working extensively in complex healthcare and community health contexts. He is motivated to explore the role of the artist in relation to sensitive and traumatic lived experiences through high-quality, critical art practice. John’s work is characterised by acute listening, sensitivity to context, and a robust interrogation of artistic processes across collaborative contextual work and gallery output.
Ongoing projects include the development of a series of permanent artworks for The Alders Child Sexual Assault Unit, Conolly Hospital - in collaboration with staff and service users, and an intergenerational public art commission in North Clondalkin, exploring the lived experience of bereavement by suicide – in collaboration with theatre maker Shaun Dunne, visual artist Elaine Hoey, and local communities. Previous projects include long term collaborations with breast cancer survivors, mothers of children in end of life care, paediatric healthcare staff, and family members of forensic mental healthcare patients.
Hometree
Hometree is a nature restoration charity, based in the west of Ireland who work to establish and restore resilient habitats, focusing on native temperate rainforests. Hometree's approach integrates community, culture, science and natural systems. Through afforestation, conservation, restoration and education Hometree hope to nourish the landscape and create new ways for communities to relate to nature.
Supporters
To date The forest that won’t forget has been funded by 221+ and the Arts Council, via a Project Award for Participation. The project is also supported by the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the National Museum of Ireland.
The earlier phases of the project’s development received support from a range of individuals and organisations. We would especially like to acknowledge Create—the national development agency for collaborative arts, for their advice and guidance, with particular thanks to Aine Crowley and the late Ailbhe Murphy.
Thanks also to Padraig McKeon for ongoing communications support; Sara Murphy for carpentry support; Kate MacDonagh for printing support; Luncheonette and Ósta Cafe for hospitality; Vagabond Reviews and Réalta for advisory support; Take Courage for website design and build; Killian Waters in Arcade Film and João Tudella (Sea Water Media) for videography; Killian Waters, Louis Haugh, Anna Leask and Eamon Ward for photography; and The Model, Letterkenny Arts Centre and Crawford Art Gallery for their openness to supporting regional encounters.
Final thanks to Ray Ó Foghlú for his commitment to finding us the right piece of land, and to Edward for his passion and knowledge of the land, and for introducing us to the one hundred year old Crab Apple tree and her daughters.
The project requires new and ongoing funding. If you are in a position to offer support, please go to the Donate page for more information.
