In celebration of Northern Ireland’s rich craft landscape, past and present, five makers were invited to produce new work in response to heritage footage from Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive. This film shows one of the makers response alongside the archive footage that inspired him. 

Ronan Lowery is a furniture makers who grew up in rural Donegal before moving to Connemara in 2005 to study at the renowned Furniture College at Letterfrack. A fascination for mathematics and geometry is a strong influence in his work; sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle. 

“For me, the archive footage inspires themes of storytelling, mark making and identity within the maker’s environment. In this piece I used laser engraving to mark the chair’s surface with distilled images from the footage as a means of telling the story of each maker; their process, tools, product and inspiration. I formed the curves by bent lamination as a response to the traditional method of steam-bending utilised by the bodhrán maker and the Lambeg drum makers.” - Ronan Lowery

Film|Makers is possible thanks to the initial support of R-Space Gallery, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, The Braid Mid-Antrim Museum, BFI Film Audience Network and BFI Unlocking Film Heritage awarding funds from the National Lottery. A special thanks to the original film makers and rights holders of the archive material that continues to be such a rich source of inspiration.

The current incarnation of Film|Makers, on show in Nerve Visual Gallery until February 18th 2018, is part of the Reimagine, Remake, Replay project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Kick the Dust programme. Reimagine, Remake, Replay will connect young people with heritage in meaningful ways through creative media and in the latest digital technologies. The project is delivered by a consortium of partners including Nerve Centre, Northern Ireland Museums Council, National Museums Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen.

Directors: Simon Mills, Lorna Mills, and Sinéad Bhreathnach-Cashell

Supported by Craft Northern Ireland, Film Hub NI and the BFI.

• TACA Works
• Design Onion
• R-Space Gallery