A nomadic reading group in Cork city. 

 

This reading and discussion group sets out to consider the pressing question of how we live now, as we become ever more squeezed by the political-economic machine of Neoliberalism. Value and meaning are increasingly questioned by the many who find themselves marginalised by dominant narratives. Although spaces of contestation are difficult to initiate or to maintain, an alternative critical culture seems to be fermenting in the gaps and in-between spaces that the displacements of social and economic adjustment produce.

 

The reading group takes its impetus from the singular event of the Cork Caucus (2005), a critical moment in the Irish cultural landscape that hasn't fully realised its potential. The precedent of the Caucus serves as an opportunity to extend the interrogative field of critical discourse that it set in motion, and references will be drawn from its archive. 

 

The reading and discussion group will take place monthly in a range of different venues, to be decided by the participants, as a way to absorb different aspects of the city and the cultural landscape of Cork. The first meeting of the group will take place in the Mezzanine space of the National Sculpture Factory on Thursday 14th May at 7.30 pm. 

 

All are welcome: we ask that you engage with the readings in advance. For details of readings and suggested questions for discussion please visit the project website.

 

On the Borderlines of the Present is a joint undertaking by Eve Olney and Fiona Woods, who met through practice-based research projects which they are carrying out in association with the National Sculpture Factory in Cork.