Join our Lughnasa gathering at Hedge School

Dear Friends, 
 
You are warmly invited to “About Trees | Finding our Roots in Order to Rise”, an online Lughnasa gathering at Hedge School and the closing circle of our Summer trilogy This Place We Call Home. Katie Holten {artist, activist, author & creator of The Irish Tree Alphabet} and  Caimin Gilmore {musician, composer, instrumentalist} will join us on Sunday, July 31 at 7pm (Irish time) for a special evening celebrating the energies of this turning of the wheel. 

Lughnasa is an invitation to appreciate the bounty of the natural world and also to honour, harvest and share our own gifts. It was a great tradition for communities to gather at a chosen meeting place to celebrate the fresh abundance of a new harvest with joy and enjoyment. During such celebration, it was customary to acknowledge the bonds between the people and spirits of the land by decorating wells and standing stones, and we look forward to talking to our guides about the role the ancient ogham alphabet plays in their artistry. All of our Hedge School experiences are immersive and include conversation, performance and guided meditative experiences.

Irish Tree Alphabet

Our guide Katie Holten (Dublin, 1975) is a visual artist and environmental activist. In 2003 Holten represented Ireland at the 50th Venice Biennale. Her work has been exhibited in museums internationally, including solo exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, New Orleans Museum of Art, Bronx Museum, Nevada Museum of Art, and Dublin City Gallery the Hugh Lane. In 2015 she created a Tree Alphabet and published the book About Trees (Broken Dimanche Press). She recently created an Irish Tree Alphabet and a New York City Tree Alphabet. In 2018 she co-founded Friends of Ardee Bog and campaigns for Rights of Nature. Her book About Trees will be reissued by Tin House in 2023. She lives in New York City and Ardee.

Our musician Caimin Gilmore is a Composer & Double Bassist. He is a member of Crash Ensemble, s t a r g a z e and plays regularly with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland & Ulster Orchestra. He has performed & recorded with an array of different artists, including Lisa Hannigan, Damon Albarn, Zach Condon (Beirut), Squarepusher, The Staves, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Aaron Dessner (The National), Greg Saunier (Deerhoof), Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, Lisa O’Neill, Ye Vagabonds, Cormac Begley, Niamh Regan, David Kitt, Saint Sister.

Bí in éineacht linn - be with us.
Beannachtaí,
Kathy and all at The Trailblazery