The Floating Flagtone
The Floating Flagstone is a collaborative, community project by Lisa Fingleton and Rena Blake. Supported by Creative Ireland Kerry and Kerry County Council Arts Office, this project explores issues relating to biodiversity and climate change while responding to the lost legacy of Lixnaw.
This project was both challenging and rewarding in ways we could never have imagined at its conception. Who could have anticipated, when we wrote this proposal, that we would be in the midst of a global pandemic? There were no such things as lockdowns and social distancing in that time BC, Before Covid. It raised so many questions. How do we safely engage with a community in the midst of such constraints? How do we enhance the well being of the wider community through art and creativity?
The project had to change and shape shift all the way through, with new learning and new ways of engaging. Everything interaction with local schools and community groups had to be outdoors or online. We also spent time at the North Kerry Museum exploring the rich artifacts relating to farming and food there. This has opened the way for further collaboration in the future.
Initially we thought there would be more of a focus on climate change and biodiversity loss. However as the Covid 19 pandemic became more serious (and directly impacted on the community in Lixnaw itself) we realised that we couldn’t directly address such a serious issue without causing further distress to an already stressed community. Flooding is a real, lived experience here for farmers in North Kerry on the west coast. Instead we focused on identifying and celebrating the rich biodiversity in North Kerry and the Lost Legacy of LIxnaw.
