Ciara Sands
Ciara Sands is a multi disciplinary artist encapsulating visual, textile and performance.
We interviewed her just after her March Late Night Art community variety event Away with the Fairies.
We attended your Late Night Art event at this month, and it was a wonderful representation of the intersectionality that can exist and always has existed in the art world. Can you tell us a bit about what the evening involved and what your inspiration for it was?
Away With The Fairies was a very special night for me. We had lots of live performances of poetry, drag, burlesque, live painting and live music. I tried to get as many different types of creative people in a room together and let them all go mad in their acts- no boundaries, no genres, full creative freedom. The artists and performers were prioritised over the audience in the planning of the event, this night was for us! I wanted to burst the wee bubble I found myself in and was keen to perform on a lineup that was exciting and bold so I made it happen the best way I could.
With budget cuts and the economy the way it is, I really thought events like Away with the Fairies were a thing of the past. How did you pull it all together?
Every single person that I asked for help said yes and showed up for me in lots of wonderful ways- performers, artists, photographers, audience members and everyone in between. It took a village to put this self funded not-for-profit event on. Stephen set up spot lights and handed out salt and chili deep fried mushrooms. A girl from the audience bought more wine for the raffle table in the middle of the night, I still owe her twenty quid. Costas, an artist from the Netherlands, made a three headed psychedelic mask especially for the occasion. Carly helped me decorate the gallery. Matthew helped me pack it all away. Everyone showed up in every way they could. The support I received in planning and executing the whole thing was unreal. I managed to throw everyone a tenner with the help of tips from the best audience in Belfast.
You performed some original songs as well as a few powerful covers of bands like The Cranberries and Sinead O Connor, is this mix your signature style?
I love that word 'powerful'- that's exactly how performing this music makes me feel. The covers were requested by my friend and brilliant musician Joseph, who performed with me on the night. I felt like the covers were a challenge in the set, they are not easy to perform and I wanted to do Sinead and Dolores justice and embody their authenticity. I love women, I love Ireland, I love queers and I love creative arts - I don't care so much about the details. I'm not sure what my signature style is yet, a lot of the set was improvised and of different genres so I'm sure it'll keep changing every day.
You are a multi disciplinary artist, that is clear to see. Will you focus on a select few disciplines going forward, or do you prefer to remain unthethered? Talk to us about your creative process.
My creative process is about necessity- it's answering the question of what do I need that day and how do I get it? I have struggled with mental illness since I was a wee girl and writing poems, singing songs and engaging in creative arts is the only thing that has given me long term relief. Art and music catches my attention in a way that nothing else can. It has connected me to people in a way that nothing else has. I would love to focus on a select few disciplines but I've never been able to stop myself exploring and experimenting with new things. I continue to find the more variation in my process, the better I feel about them all. The better I feel about them all, the longer I'll get to do them. I love to learn more than anything so will be exploring new creative processes for as long as I can.
What advice would you give to someone who would like to produce an event or get up on stage, but just can't step off the ledge?
Ask for help! DM me, we can do it together :)
