Laois Baby and toddler clothes swap will hopefully grow in the future

THE Dunamaise Arts Centre was a beehive of activity on Saturday 6 September as the popular Clothes Swap event took place which included the new addition of a children’s clothes swap while an art exhibition by talented Carlow-based artist Mary Cullen Kelly was launched in the centre’s art gallery.

The clothes swap events were started by artist-in-residence at the Dunamaise Rebecca Deegan and communications and sales manager Laura Dune back in 2019. Slow-fashion conscious people bring their pre-loved good quality clothes to the Dunamaise and swap them for new-to-them items of clothing.

The Autumn event saw a great flow of people on the day which is normal for the popular events which are held three times each year.

For the first time, local group Portlaoise Parents and Pals got involved and took over the café area with bundles of clothes for babies and young children to be swapped. The members' children have outgrown some of their good quality clothes that were in great condition, so those items were ideal for parents of the younger children in the group.

Commenting on the day for the Laois Nationalist, Laura Dunne said: “We have our adult clothes swap in the auditorium with My Brat Bhríde and artist and clothes designer Donna Kearns and everyone is swapping for their new-to-you wardrobes and the Portlaoise Parents and Pals group have organised a special add-on babies and toddlers clothes swap which is hopefully something that we can grow on in the future.” One of the Portlaoise Parents and Pals group members is Storm Holden.

Storm said: “We are a group for parents and their kids in Portlaoise who meet with each other and socialise together. We have a WhatsApp group where we can give advice to each other and organise meet-up events like going to Roll and Bowl and the playgrounds to socialise with the kids and the parents. Every item of clothing was donated by parents of the group.” Meanwhile as the clothes swap events were taking place downstairs, artist Mary Cullen Kelly was opening her exhibition in the upstairs art gallery.

“The artist likes to time travel in her works by using paint, print and collage. Her colourful and detailed images can feel familiar and strange simultaneously as she creates moments in time that she says, “may or may not have existed.” Mary has studied the experience of Flow Theory in relation to art making. The series of paintings, prints and objects in her thought-provoking display draws on science fiction movies from the 50s and 60s.

The wonderful exhibition remains in the Dunamaise Art Gallery until Saturday 20 September, and is well worth visiting.

The Dunamaise Arts Centre’s Autumn/Winter schedule of events is now available on its website.