The Curiosity Series with Maeve Higgins: Episode 4 - Jane O'Leary and Gwen O'Dowd

The Curiosity Series is an Arts Council podcast commissioned as part of the Council’s 70th anniversary celebrations hosted by writer, comedian and podcaster Maeve Higgins. In each episode, you’ll hear artists involved in music, dance, poetry, literature, visual arts and theatre in conversation with Maeve as they get curious about each other’s work, explore the integral role that creativity has played in their lives, and discuss the broader issues and themes that connect their art. In episode four, composer Jane O’Leary and painter Gwen O’Dowd join Maeve to delve deeper into the inspirations and motivations behind their art. Both Jane and Gwen have found artistic inspiration in the power and beauty of the sea, and in this episode they speak to Maeve about how that inspiration has taken shape in their work and how it has brought them together for artistic collaborations at the Sonic Arts Research Centre in Belfast. In a lively and perceptive conversation, Jane and Gwen discuss how colour and movement informs their artistic work, the role of the audience when making art and how they access and express emotion in the creative process. A fascinating conversation which highlights how even though the mediums are different, artists often speak the same language when creating artistic work. Production: Milestone Inventive and bigO Audio engineering: Scimitar Sound Title music: ‘Ag Oscailt’ by Gareth Quinn Redmond Music heard in this episode: Jane O’Leary, Palette of Preludes: https://soundcloud.com/janeoleary/palette-of-preludes Jane O’Leary, beneath the dark blue waves: https://diatriberecords.bandcamp.com/album/a-terrible-beauty Jane O’Leary, From Sea-Grey Shores: https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6334/ Links : Jane O’Leary website: https://janesoleary.com Jane O’Leary, Contemporary Music Centre profile: https://www.cmc.ie/composers/jane-oleary Gwen O’Dowd website: http://gwenodowd.website Gwen O’Dowd, Graphic Studio Dublin profile page: https://graphicstudiodublin.com/artist/odowd-gwen/ Gwen O’Dowd exhibition, Hillsboro Fine Art Gallery Dublin running from 22 Sept–22 Oct 2022: https://hillsborofineart.com/art/gwen-odowd-from-the-studio/?portfolioCats=38 Tickets for world premiere of unfolding soundscapes by Jane O’Leary, performed by Finghin Collins and the NSO in Galway, October 6th 2022: https://musicforgalway.ie/event/national-symphony-orchestra-and-finghin-collins/ Tickets for unfolding soundscapes by Jane O’Leary, performed by Finghin Collins and the NSO at the National Concert Hall: https://bit.ly/3BG4TYd