Summary

The Gap Arts Festival was founded in 2011 with the aim of bringing professional theatre to the rural hillside community of Ballythomas in north Wexford, Ireland: ‘bringing arts to places it wouldn’t otherwise reach’. Taking place over 2 days in August, it currently also showcases live music, poetry, film, outdoor cinema and creative workshops (including photography, film making, acrobatics and dance). Run by local volunteers on a non-profit basis, it benefitted from a LEADER grant to purchase film and photography equipment and training. This enabled local people to capture and record images and use these experiences to consider the question: ‘what is community’, using film and photographs.

Results

11 adults participated in a two-month photography training workshop

1 local artist was employed to deliver the two-month photography training

2 films have been made using the equipment by members of the local community focused on topics of local culture and heritage

1 short film is in pre-production

500 plus photographs were taken at the ‘Face of the Festival’ event during the festival weekend from 10 to 12 August 2018 involving 80 different families and individuals.