Women of the Aran Islands

I just received one of my letters of support from a woman in Ireland who has volunteered to be interviewed. I worked for her in the Summer of 2000 as an assistant teacher to children on the Aran Islands. I have decided to include the geographic area of the Aran Islands in my documentary. I can think of no more pointed example of a traditional micro-culture that has been subjected to the influx of social change. In researching my proposal, I have been hard pressed to find any other accounts of Aran womens personal stories regarding the ways their lives have changed in the last few decades. My contact in Ireland has already spoken to a woman from Inis Oirr (the smallest Island) who has agreed to be interviewed. Provided i receive the scholarship and am able to travel to Ireland, I believe I could have an invaluable oral and visual record of a changing time. I can already visualize the shots I plan to take of this photogenic land.
www.aranislands.ie

Two Weeks Away

Letters of Recommendation are an interesting item to procure. "Please write down everything great about me.." I have been really fortunate to have some generous people willing to divulge the reasons they believe I am suited for this project. So now.. revised proposal in hand I am two weeks away from submitting my proposal. Then the waiting game begins. I've added two links to this blog. They are the art schools I plan to visit in Ireland and the sites are absolutely worth perusing.

Revising Haas Proposal

I am applying for the Haas Scholarship http://research.berkeley.edu/haas_scholars/
This award grants a generous amount of resources to ambitious students, to enable an extended period of concentrated research in an area of their choosing.
I grew up in Ireland and have been dying to spend some time exploring and recording the vast social change that has occurred there in the last thirty years. I plan to interview five women about their experiences of shifts in the social fabric of Ireland. I will also photograph and paint specific sites that have undergone significant change. The end project will be a documentary film, photographs and paintings that will be on display in an installation in the Kroeber art gallery at UC Berkeley.
I've been editing and re editing my proposal, getting clearer about my concepts and my outline of what I aim to do. I will post it once it is a little more refined. I find out mid- March if I receive the award and if so I plan to travel to Ireland in May or August and will spend around 3 weeks there doing research and photographing sites.
I will open this site up to the women that I interview also so that they will co-author the site.
Once I post my proposal I would love feedback on which aspects are interesting to viewers and any ideas or input will be greatly appreciated. Back to editing...