Moving Futures ESB Brighter Future Arts Fund in partnership with Business to Arts

Kindred Public Installation at ESB Head Office

ESB and Dublin Dance Festival selected acclaimed Irish choreographer Liz Roche and Lightscape, award-winning specialists in projection, motion and interaction design, to collaborate on this new temporary public installation. This innovative digital dance work invited the public to consider how we connect with nature and with others to positively impact the environment. Bringing dance and technology together and featuring a soundscape by Ray Harman and Brian Crosby, Kindred was presented at ESB’s new sustainable headquarters on Fitzwilliam Street Lower from 19 – 28 May as part of Dublin Dance Festival’s 2023 Edition.

During the development phase, Liz Roche hosted a session with ESB employees to invite responses to the work, which informed the choreography and soundscape for the installation. A workshop for local school children around the themes of nature and energy was also delivered while the installation was live.

Round Table Discussion: Sustainable Connections – a Collaborative Exploration

Feimatta Conteh, Environmental Sustainability Manager of Factory International, led a round table discussion with invited guests to explore our relationship with one another and the planet; deepening our understanding of the ecology of the world around and within us. This discussion took place at ESB Head Office on the 23rd May, while the installation was live. The event was open to the public and free of charge.

Alongside the discussion, DDF commissioned Feimatta Conteh to curate a series of three Digital Essays on the topic of sustainability:
1. Carbon Footprint, Queer Compost by Fearghus Ó Conchúir
2. Ecology of Entanglements by Karishma Rafferty
3. A Ceilidh of Moths by Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan

Moving Futures was commissioned by The ESB Brighter Future Arts Fund, an all-island Arts Fund which aligns with ESB’s ‘Brighter Future’ purpose and net zero strategy by promoting environmental sustainability in diverse and ambitious ways. The fund was established in 2021 to support artists and arts organisations to deliver creative projects that will promote awareness of climate change and inspire positive action.

The Sustainable Connections discussion and Digital Essay series was also supported by Capacity Building Arts Funding from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon.