PROPEL 2024: Choy Ping Ní Chléirigh-Ng
PROPEL is a 12-month artist development and mentorship programme for independent theatre makers living and working in Ireland. This programme has been designed, and will be delivered by the Strollers Network, Irelands largest consortium of Arts Centres of which Belltable | Lime Tree Theatre is a member.
This year’s recipient is Choy Ping Ní Chléirigh-Ng (they/she), a Hong Kong-Irish theatre maker and designer of set, costume and video.
The aim of the programme is to strengthen the ecology of the Irish theatre sector by firstly supporting the development of new work by independent theatre makers, and secondly by supporting the sustainable development of artistic practice through a structured mentorship and training programme.
The Propel Programme has so far funded Choy-Ping Ní Chléirigh-Ng to up-skill through mentorships, to see work internationally, and develop two projects. One is a piece in collaboration with their father Chi Wai Ng and the other is a piece with music. These are exciting new projects that Ping is working across through writing, directing and designing.
Image descriptions
Blue photo:
Ping working on the development of a new piece with music as writer/director, with Ultan Pringle as dramaturg. Photo by Niamh Barry @narryphotographyvids.
Photo of a man in the distance by a forest:
Ping and Chi Wai have been spending time researching and developing the piece together. This has included returning to places of significance to their lives in Ireland. Ping took this photo of Chi Wai walking in a forest in Wicklow, where they have been visiting for decades.
The black and white photo of three people:
This is a photo of Chi Wai Ng, Choy-Ping Ní Chléirigh-Ng and researcher Luca Ka Lo Yau. On this day they completed an interview through Hakka, a language spoken by the Hakka people. Ping’s background studying Sociology means that often work begins with informal interviews like this one, in order to build the basis for storytelling. This work is part of Ping and Chi Wai’s second theatre collaboration since WHERE ARE YOU FROM? (Abbey Theatre, 2019).
(Featured image) Sea by Chi Wai Ng:
A photo of the sea in Shankill from Chi Wai Ng’s archive.
The Strollers Network is Irelands the largest consortium of Arts Centres. It‘s partnership is made up of ten venues from across four regions of the country. The network represents one fifth of all publicly funded Arts Centres Nationally. Partner organisations include Belltable (Limerick), Draíocht (Dublin), Watergate (Kilkenny), Solstice (Navan), Visual (Carlow), Linenhall (Mayo), Hawkswell (Sligo), Riverbank (Kildare), Source (Tipperary) and Siamsa Tire (Kerry).
Strollers Network is kindly supported by Arts Council Ireland