Helena Tobin

At the 2013 Kilkenny Arts Festival, we at SITEATION arts collective were invited to occupy Rothe House; a 17th century merchant’s townhouse in the city. The house was being used as a venue for the work of artist Bob and Roberta Smith. He named it “The Centre For Argument”.

Bob And Roberta Smith put some of his paintings in the room, and a soapbox in the middle of the room, with a microphone where people could come and give their views on whatever they wanted.

We decided to find ways to engage the people who would come to see the art, to get them talking about politics, or art, or society. We went about creating a space where you could discuss these things without feeling awkward. We discovered that people really want to talk about issues in our society.

Watch a little video of our experiences there below (5 minutes). This video was made with footage sourced from the mobile phones of participants of The Centre For Argument.