Ormston House is a meeting place for the arts in the heart of Limerick City. We opened in 2011 as a Cultural Resource Centre to create new opportunities for artists and arts workers. Our core question is: how can we support artists better? The three pillars of our programme are artistic ambition, community engagement and professional development. The Artists-in-Residence play a central role in our thinking. Ormston House welcomes audiences seeking intimate arts experiences. Our programme is co-designed with citizens to promote access and inclusion, resulting in community partnerships, multi-annual projects and cultural events that are responsive to the city and its context. We have developed a participatory model to connect local wisdom with diverse approaches to artistic practice. Ormston House is part of the Limerick Public Participation Network and the Irish Network Against Racism. We are also active members of two international networks: Artists’ Initiatives Meetings and Trans Europe Halles.

Vanessa Donoso López’s work focuses on a mental state described as Persistent Immigrant Homesickness. Away from home, people will almost certainly miss something about their home-place making homesickness a near-universal experience. Some may consider the luxury of travel and the emotional response caused by being away from home to be the preserve of western middle-class travellers. However, current research suggests that an investigation of homesickness may be an important tool for developing strategies needed to improve the quality of life for those who are forced to travel as refugees or economic migrants. The artist says “It is sad to think that you might only be enjoying a watered-down version of the relationship you might be having if you were to share the same mother tongue. Or maybe it is this unadorned speech that is the more authentic, the one which comes when you have not yet learnt to manipulate the said language into the shape of appearance, lies, sarcasm or puzzle”.