Rhyzom

PS² = Paragon Studios / project space, is a small artist collective, with studio space in the centre of Belfast.
A former shop in the same building, project space, is used as a platform for art projects and run on a voluntary, non-commercial base. The focus of the activities is on urban intervention and social interaction by artists, multidisciplinary groups and theorists, deliberately opening the traditional categories and often expanding to other locations. PS² is supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. A full archive of previous exhibitions and projects can be viewed here.

THE IRISH VILLAGE

The Irish village has a peculiar charm, and its quality should be retained. We are not doing this. Many examples come to mind where condemned houses lining a village street are pulled down and rebuilt dotted about, perhaps half a mile from the village centre. Thus the village becomes a collection of shops, a public-house or two, with gaps where houses used to be. As a substitute for the village dwellings, thin ‘ribbons’ sprawl along the approaches. The whole quality of communal village life has disappeared, and the one-time inhabitants have to trudge for half a mile from all directions to get to it. The policy to be adopted in the retention of the village nucleus, while preventing the town from sucking dry the life of the countryside, demands careful consideration from a central authority. Such a policy should provide for village halls and social activities which would reinstate the village as a social agricultural centre, for it is mostly the lack of social life which drives people from the country.

Manning Robertson: 'Implementing the National Plan,' 1943.

Project Context

PS²& RHYZOM will focus on the border condition on the Island of Ireland (between North and South), its different cultural policies, regional independence and creative activities in rural landscapes, villages and small towns. The border region of Co. Leitrim, Republic of Ireland- the county with the lowest population and Co. Armagh in Northern Ireland (Portadown/Craigavon) are the research areas. They allow for a compact, comparative study of cultural, social, political and rural/urban similarities and differences and its impact on the cultural production. The multidisciplinary group of artists, cultural geographer and architect from the North and South of Ireland will analyse these divergent developments and come up with individual projects, which will contribute to the overall Rhyzom research.

website: www.pssquared.org/