C Both Sides was a collective art project founded in 2006 by artists Teresa Doyle and Edel O Reilly Flynn in association with

Westmeath County Council Westmeath County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na hIarmhí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Westmeath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...

. They invited people across

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

to send them

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

s for display in

Mullingar Arts Centre Mullingar Arts Centre is a performing arts centre in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. History The site was previously occupied by the old county gaol which was built in the late 18th century. The current building was commissioned as the ...

in 2007. The project later expanded and culminated in a 2009

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

exhibition.

Background

Initially, knowledge of the project spread through internet postings and press releases in local papers. Over 500 cards were received and collated. This small exhibition then travelled to New York. The project was intended to create a social document of Ireland at the time. Following the initial C Both Sides exhibition,

An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provided include letter post, p ...

decided to sponsor the ongoing project. The launch of "An Post C Both Sides", a 12-month project, took place in November 2007 at the Gallery of Photography, Meeting House Square in Temple Bar. At the launch, Teresa Doyle described the project as Ireland's largest "collaborative art exhibition".

Activities

Each month of the project's operation had a different theme, which guided the participants when creating a postcard. Workshops were held based on the theme of the month. In August 2008, for example, the theme was migration, and a workshop was held in

Ilac Centre The Ilac Centre is a shopping centre, located in central Dublin, north of the River Liffey. It has entrances opening onto Henry Street, Parnell Street and Moore Street. History The Ilac Centre was opened in 1981, and was one of the first shoppi ...

City Library, with a group of migrants. Also each month, a public figure was invited to make a postcard, which was featured on the website along with a short interview based on the topic of postcards. With

's sponsorship, the project was rolled out nationally, and each household in Ireland received a blank postcard. The participants were encouraged to consider "both sides" of the postcard. In total, over 3,000 submissions were received, of which 250 were chosen by a panel, to be displayed in an exhibition.

Exhibition

The 12-month project culminated in an exhibition in the Dublin Civic Offices, on Wood Quay. Travel writer and broadcaster,

Manchán Magan Manchán Magan is an Irish writer, traveller, author, and television programme maker. Career Magan has made over 70 travel documentaries focusing on issues of world cultures and globalisation, 12 of them packaged under the Global Nomad series w ...

opened the exhibition in March 2009. The postcards were displayed in pigeon-holes which were fitted with clear Perspex frames mounted on a rotating spindle. This allowed the viewer to see "both sides" of the postcard.

References

External links

Anpostcbothsides.ie
(archived) *{{cite web , url=http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/News+and+Information/AnPostCBothSides.htm , title=An Post C Both Sides , publisher=Anpost.ie , date= , accessdate=2016-09-30 , archive-date=20 July 2011 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720084955/http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/News+and+Information/AnPostCBothSides.htm , url-status=dead Arts in Ireland Republic of Ireland postal system 2007 in art 2007 in the Republic of Ireland