BALLINA SUCCESS AT NATIONAL AWARDS CEREMONY
The Local Authority Members Association took place in the Crowne Plaza, Dublin on Saturday night 22nd January, 2011. The Awards were presented by Miriam O’Callaghan.
These awards highlight and recognise excellence in construction and economic development at local, county and national level.
This year Mayo County Council and Ballina Town Council had seven projects shortlisted for awards and were delighted when Ballina Town Council won the category for the best piece of Art/Sculpture.
Ballina Town Councils winning project: “Flow” – A New Public Art Work for Pearse Street.
The artwork, titled “Flow” was commissioned by Mayo County Council’s Arts Office as part of the ongoing public art commissioning programme, funded via the government’s per cent for art scheme and also Ballina Town Council.
The sculpture is five metres in height and constructed from stainless steel, copper, bronze and a special polyurethane resin. It is believed to the first artwork of its kind in the country constructed from this unusual material.
The original concept for this piece was to celebrate the notion of the local salmon, acknowledging the town’s status as Salmon Capital of Ireland. The sculpture consists of two vertical forms based on the form of diving salmon. The translucent quality of the resin material and the blue/green colour also add to the theme of movement through water. The sculpture takes on a different appearance at night time as the artist Joe Neeson has included internal low energy LED lights which give the artwork a soft glow and come on automatically at dusk each evening.
The award was accepted by the Mayor of Ballina Town Council Cllr Frances McAndrew, Leas Cathaoireach of Mayo County Council Cllr Peter Flynn, Cllr. Joe Mellett, Gaynor Seville Arts Office, along with Town Clerk Carmel Murphy.
Mayor of Ballina Town Council Frances McAndrew outlined that “it was a great achievement for Ballina and that she was very proud to receive the award”. She particularly wanted to thank The Arts Office in Mayo Council for their involvement in selecting this piece of art for our newly refurbished Pearse Street”.
