Lesotho's Finest Exhibits In Siamsa

Meshu Mokitimi is Lesotho's most prominent artist.

His career as a painter spans over fifty years and his work has earned him international recognition. Meshu spent eleven years of his life incarcerated for his political beliefs, when he and other political activists were fighting against the 'colour bar' in Lesotho.

While in prison he spent his time drawing and turned his cell into a studio and a sanctuary of peace. Meshu has been invited to Ireland by Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne, Dingle, County Kerry, as an Artist in Residence. The exhibition in The Gallery, Siamsa Tire is presented as part of this residency.

The exhibition will be opened by Mayor of Tralee, Miriam McGillycuddy, on Saturday, April 26th. For more info on the exhibition please get in touch with Siamsa Tire on 066 712 3055 or on the web at http://www.siamsatire.com/

Tralee Band, PHILTRE, Break the Bank

Tralee based, four piece, Philtre have been selected to play in The Bank of Ireland National Student Music Awards in The Village, Co. Dublin, on April 24th

And while it is a coup for the band to be selected, Philtre are no strangers to producing cutting edge live shows. With a sound that has been described as "infectious alternative rock," their live appearances are electric and have resulted in their status as one of today's hottest properties on the Irish Rock scene.

Following on from the success of their debut EP, Bullet from Nowhere, the band spent much of 2007 on the live circuit which saw them sharing the stage with international acts such as Reamonn and Republic of Loose.

Philtre were nominated as One's to Watch by the Murphy's Live judging panel which ensured mass exposure and acclaim for the band. 2007 also saw the production of a documentary, Morning Sun, which featured a live interview with band members and some exclusive stunning clips from this year's Irish tour including gigs in Whelan's, Cyprus Avenue and the coveted Murphy's live show.

Bullet from Nowhere was featured on RTE'S, The Sunday Game, and also was used this year in Setanta Sports', Magners League.

In early 2008, the band recommenced work with Tralee native and acclaimed producer Garteh Mannix in Sun Studios, Dublin. Philtre are currently on their upcoming EP which will see a nation wide release in late September and will be supported by a national tour.

Bullet from Nowhere, EP, is available for purchase on download through iTunes, HMV, Napster, and also available through Roxy Records and Lee Records in Tralee.

To Contact Philtre please email, philtremusic@gmail.com, for more information on the band please log onto www.myspace.com/philtremusic

Further Information on The Bank of Ireland National Student Music Awards can be found at the following sites:
http://www.myspace.com/nsmaireland

http://www.nsma.ie/

Book Launch at Reubens

The Seven Towers agency is launching Quincy R. Lehr's collection of poetry, Across the Grid of Streets, in Reubens on Saturday April 26th at 3.30 pm. The collection will be launched by John W. Sexton.

Interested parties should RSVP to seventowersmail@gmail.com

Quincy R. Lehr was born in Oklahoma City in 1975. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and Columbia University in New York City before relocating to Ireland, where he teaches history. His poetry has been published on both sides of the Atlantic in journals and in a small collection, William Montgomery, by New York based chapbook publisher Modern Metrics which he founded with R. Nemo Hill. He has taken part in many readings and facilitates an on-line poetry workshop.

John W. Sexton is a poet, short story writer, dramatist, children's novelist, radio scriptwriter and sometime rockstar! He has published three collections of poetry, The Prince's Brief Career (Cairn Mountain Press, 1995); Shadows Bloom/Scathanna Faoi Bhlath and Vortex (Doghouse, 2005). He is the creator of RTE's children's radio serial The Ivory Tower. His books include The Prince's Brief Career (Cairn Mountain Publishing) and The Johnny Coffin Diaries (The O'Brien Press). He has also released an album, THE SONS OF SHIVA, with legendary Stranglers frontman Hugh Cornwell.

An event with Appeal

Many cyclists got a very pleasant surprise this week when they returned to their trusty bicycles only to find a bright red bell had been attached in their absence. They were not completely left in the dark however. Their mysterious benefactors left a rather large clue. Attached to every red bell was a programme for the forthcoming Kerry Bicycle Festival. The red bells are part of Peal, a community bicycle project initiated by Michael Kelly that is to be undertaken in the week preceding the Kerry Bicycle Festival. The project involves the placing of 100 bells on 100 bikes around Tralee. The distinctive look of the bells will allow cyclists identify each other as fellow unwitting members of this project. When interviewed, Mike Kelly said, 'We hope to bring the sound of bicycle bells back into the streets of Tralee. Not only is it sociable and fun but it's safer too.'

The festival officially kicks off on Thursday night with a bicycle-inspired gig in Clubheadbangbang in the Greyhound Bar on Pembroke street. Friday night sees a public discussion take place in the Samhlaiocht Gallery on Castle Street.

This discussion is open to all and will be chaired by the Mayor of Tralee, Miriam McGillycuddy. Local bike-related issues will be discussed, including the possibility of opening a Fenit to Tralee and a Ballyroe to Tralee cycleway on the land currently occupied by disused railway line. The state of Tralee's cycle lanes will also be discussed. This discussion will be followed by a viewing of bicycled-related short movies.

Saturday sees a family cycle to Blennerville followed by general bicycle festivities in Tralee Town Square including the Fanzini brothers and Paddy Waters, the bicycle clown. There will be bicycle elves at the ready to oil your chain and the opportunity to get a bicycle portrait taken in the mobile bicycle studio. The Irish premier of a composition scored for 12 bicycles by avant garde composer Godfried-Willem Raes called 2nd Symphony for Singing Bicyles will also be performed.

A bicycle powered mobile phone charger will be at the ready if you run dry and a broken tandem found dumped in Tralee town has been carefully brought back to life for the day that's in it.

One of the highlights of the festival will be a 'Family Cycle' on Saturday Afternoon, where the organisers hope to get as many people as possible on to their bikes, the cycle will be fully supervised, and will have a 'Cycle Garda' Escort. All are welcome on this event, the meeting point is 12 noon at the Ashe Memorial Hall, and the cycle pace will be leisurely.

The festival will be brought to a close on Sunday afternoon with a bicycle picnic in Ballyseede Wood.

For more information please log onto http://www.kerrybicyclefestival.org/ or call Mike Kelly on
087 793 7471

Is Connecting Bits to Atoms Sufficient?

CIDS is a discipline-agnostic platform for research convergence. We advocate a systems approach to problem solving to generate long term sustainable and adaptable solutions. Seamless integration and coordination of diverse sub-systems usually take longer to converge since multi-disciplinary domains need orchestration to address real-world problems.

08.00 Registration and Breakfast

09.00 Welcome: Evolution of RFID4SME in an Information Age
Dr Pat Doody , Executive Director, Centre for Innovation in Distributed Systems, ITT
Mr Ed Sheldon , RFID4SME Project Coordinator, ITT

09:15 Introduction: Connecting Bits to Bits in a Systems Age
Dr Shoumen Datta , School of Engineering, MIT Forum for Supply Chain Innovation, MIT

09.30 Information Arbitrage in Healthcare
Dr Jane Grimson , Professor of Computer Science, Trinity College Dublin and Director of Health Information, HIQA

10.15 Information in EPC: Data from RFID
Mr Henri Barthel , Director, GS1-EPCGlobal

11.00 C O F F E E

11.30 RFID, Sensors, GPS and GSM: Abundance of Data yet Starved for Knowledge? ITT in cooperation with Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School

12.15 Information Identification in Decision Systems
Dr Shoumen Palit Austin Datta , School of Engineering, MIT

13.00 L U N C H

14:30 Delivering Data: Structure of Infrastructure
Drs Robbert Kuppens, CIO and Mr Ian Kennedy , Managing Director, CISCO (Europe)

15:00 Connecting Information: Global Bridge between Distributed Systems
Mr Mike Fitzgerald , CEO, Altobridge

15.30 Making Decisions: Pervasive Systemic Visibilty
Dr Joseph Salvo , Director, Pervasive Decision Lab, GE Global Research Headquarters (NY)

16.00 Data, Information, Decisions: Driving the Knowledge Economy?
Mr Mick Keyes , HP (Ireland)

16.30 C O F F E E

17:00 Opportunities for TransRegional Cooperation: ESTIIC
Mr Ivan Grimes , Assitant Director, Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly

17.15 Concluding Remarks: Convergence, Collaboration and Innovation as Catalysts
Dr Michael Hall , Head of Life Science and Chemistry, ITT

17:30 Refreshments and Networking

95,000 euro Limerick City Council Public Art Commission

Limerick City Council is offering a public art commission to commemorate in a permanent way the contribution the workers of Limerick Docks made to the cultural life of the city in the 19th and 20th Century. Limerick City Council therefore invites expressions of interest from artists who wish to be considered to undertake the project. A short list will be selected from the information submitted in the expression of interest.

The Budget available for the project is 95,000 euro

Expressions of interest should include an outline sketch of your proposal, a brief statement of the design concept and a general description of the size and the materials to be used. For a full artists' brief contact:

The Arts Office, Limerick City Council, City Hall, Merchant's Quay, Limerick.
E: artsoffice@limerickcity.ie T: (353) 61 407421 http://www.limerickcity.ie/

Deadline: Monday 28th April 2008

Young Ensembles Scheme Established

Arts Council Invites Applications for New Scheme

The Arts Council is pleased to announce a new pilot funding scheme for young ensembles. The scheme targets groups of young people between the ages of 12 and 23 years who are working collaboratively to create art, across a range of art forms. Organisations supporting or hosting young ensembles are eligible to apply.

The primary purpose of this award is to support young ensembles in the development of their artistic practice in an out of schools context. It prioritises initiatives that demonstrate clear artistic vision in the specific art form(s) represented, coupled with a process that values young people's participation, creativity and critical engagement with the arts.

The Young Ensembles Scheme is a further expression of the Arts Council's commitment to create better opportunities for young people to experience the arts, as outlined in its current strategy Partnership for the Arts.

Closing date:
Applications and supporting material must be received by the Arts Council no later than 5:30 p.m., Friday 23rd May 2008. Emailed or faxed applications will not be accepted.

Full guidelines and application forms are available to download at http://www.artscouncil.ie/ and by following the links below:
Young Ensembles Scheme – Guidelines http://www.artscouncil.ie/en/view_fund.aspx?fid=fab83980-329f-4013-94d7-0a7789841f83&sdid=8a6f9df4-e9a7-4199-881f-e65dd027d588
Young Ensembles Scheme – Application Form http://www.artscouncil.ie/en/view_fund.aspx?fid=fab83980-329f-4013-94d7-0a7789841f83&sdid=d1413b58-b81e-4d26-936c-9e7d507e4c02

For further information:
The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon
Young People, Children, and Education
Tel: +353 1 6180250
Email: mathilde.veldt@artscouncil.ie
Website: http://www.artscouncil.ie/

South Tipperary Dance Residency

South Tipperary County Council Arts Service and Tipperary Excel Arts & Cultural Centre are developing a Dance Residency. Dance artists are invited to submit a proposal (including a budget), for this residency which will be selected by an independent panel of relevant arts experts and dance practitioners. The total budget for the residency is 20,000 euro. Proposals need to be submitted by 08.05.08 to Sally O' Leary, Arts Officer, South Tipperary County Council, County Museum, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. For further information and a residency brief contact Sally O' Leary, Tel 052 34565 email: sally.oleary@southtippcoco.ie

Residency brief also available at http://www.southtippcoco.ie/ and http://www.tipperary-excel.com/