Sheltered Arts Music Festival 2024

About Sheltered Arts

John Brookes had a rough start in life, being diagnosed with leukemia at the tender age of 5. The severity of the illness and the long stays in the hospital made it difficult to keep up to date scholastically and to fully develop his passion for art. He warmly credits his aunt for taking him in as a teenager and helping him finish his schooling before he trained as a sculptor in Co. Clare.

In 2019, he grew disillusioned about the endemic homelessness crisis in Ireland and conceptualized the idea of an organization which would showcase and sell struggling artists’ work while also generating money to donate to charitable organizations.

Despite falling ill, John, with the help of Tony Strickland, an art curator, organized a 3 day event at The Copper House Gallery, which featured the work of 30 artists along with 30 performing artists. 50% of all proceeds were donated to The Peter McVerry Trust, a charity helping homeless people in Ireland. The success of the event signaled the birth of Sheltered Arts.

This successful event was only the beginning. With the help of Rory Boyle Sterne, John was able to get Hrissi Hasamova onboard to turn Sheltered arts into a permanent digital marketplace that showcases and sells the work of Irish artists. A percentage of each sale would be donated to charities that helped the homeless.

This led to the enlistment of 5 artists  and the creation of a traveling gallery which sells limited edition prints at music festivals in aid of Barnardos. Axel J Rothoux, their resident artist, made a live painting over the course of the festival which we raffled to raise much needed funds for their website.

Sheltered Arts Mission

The life of a struggling artist is characterized by uncertainty and a lack of financial security. Sheltered Arts aims to celebrate the work of artists by providing them a platform to showcase their art and providing the opportunity to have some financial stability through the sale of their pieces. 

These sales also serve a philanthropic purpose, as a percentage of all proceeds go to charitable organizations which provide support to the homeless, such as Barnardos.

Sheltered Arts has created a unique economy for artists, art collectors, and charities. 

When you purchase an art piece from their online store or at an event, such as the  Sheltered Arts Music Festival 2024 which is part of the Baggotonia Festival 2024, the artist receives 65% of the proceeds, while a charity receives 10%. The remaining 25% goes to Sheltered Arts to maintain their online store, organize future events, and to sustain this unique economy. 

I spoke to Ru O’Shea about Sheltered Arts, one of the artists performing at the festival, he said, “I think the organization is doing beautiful work in the cause.” He continues, “We’ve got a severe homelessness crisis in the country, well, a full blown humanitarian crisis. To bring funding and awareness to that, I think, is a very worthy goal, and they’re doing that beautifully.”

I asked another artist whose work is exhibited at the festival, Brian Gormley, about the festival and the goal of spreading awareness. He says, “Art is very healing, you know. We’re trying to bring the arts and music, and all these healing powers into this festival and to also highlight what’s going on in Ireland”.

The Festival Line Up

Friday, 20 September

Jar! Sound System kicks off the festival, performing from 12 to 1pm. This is followed by Damo, running from 1-2pm. Eclectrika/Dj Pierr takes the stage at 2pm.

At 3pm you can enjoy the honeyed words and spoken word poetry of The Vagabond Queen. This is followed by singer/songwriter, Benjamin Doser, at 4pm. Another singer/songwriter, Joe Black Ryder, provides some more acoustic sounds at 5pm.

At 6pm, we pick up the tempo with a set by Syl Black. At 7pm, The Brothers of Unity provide some soulful jazz. Jar! Sound System takes to the stage again to finish the day off with another set.

Saturday, 21 September

Jar! Sound System picks up where they left off, starting the day with a set at 12pm. If you missed her on Friday, you can catch the poetic stylings of The Vagabond Queen again at 1pm. This is followed by a set by the DJ, Salim, at 2pm. 

At 3pm, the trad Irish musician, Ru O’Shea, provides some authentic Irish sounds. If you missed Benjamin Doser on Friday, you can catch him At 4pm. 

At 5pm, Irish jazz punk band, Vernon Jane, will be doing an unplugged set. This is followed by the Dublin-based three-piece, post-punk, art rock band  Annie & The Witness at 6pm. The day finishes off with sets by Leo Carp Diem at 7pm, Eclectrika at 8pm, and finally Jar! Sound Systems at 9pm.

Enjoy the Show

The festival is packed with both visual and auditory art. Please head to Haddington Road, Dublin 4, on the 20th and 21st of September to support local artists and the charities associated with the event. If you can’t make it, you can head to the Sheltered Arts website to make a donation.