Dwelling

Now she's returning home with four artists to find out why the walls she left behind many years ago continue to surround, inspire and invade her imagination. Why do childhood homes have such a hold on us?

In the first of a new three part series exploring the theme of 'Dwelling', Marie Louise is joined by the poet Abby Oliviera, classical pianist Ruth McGinley, actor James Lecky and electronic musican Ryan Vail.

As they move from room to room, the artists blend memories of their own childhood homes with performances. Some are echoes of their own past and some are created from scratch to reflect the life and sounds of the house. As it becomes a living gallery space, filled with poetry and music, Marie Louise begins to understand why her childhood home is so firmly lodged in her imagination.

Produced by Conor McKay for BBC Northern Ireland.

Marie-Louise Muir invites four artists to her childhood home in Derry-Londonderry.

Marie Louise Muir sets out to explore what 'Dwelling' means to different people.

Marie Louise doesn't want to ‘fix' Catherine, she doesn't feel there's anything wrong with her. She would just like to understand her a little better.

`Although we are so close and live in the same house, we experience the world differently. It's a bit like living in a house with two rooms, and I'd like to know what it's like in her room`

Inspired by an innovative, immersive theatre experience called Reassembled Slightly Askew, which was based on the artist Shannon Sickels' experience of a serious brain infection, Marie Louise and Catherine wonder if they can use immersive sound technologies to give audiences a better understanding of autism.

Through a series of intimate conversations, they explore the different ways they view the world around them, discuss the art that has helped bridge the gap between them, and consider the potential for creativity to give neurotypical people a better understanding of the spectrum.

Marie Louise also talks to author Vicky Martin who wrote `M in the Middle` with the girls of Limpsfield Grange, a school for girls on the high functioning end of the autism spectrum - a novel which had a huge impact on both Catherine and Marie-Louise.

She meets The AutistiX, a rock band featuring three musicians on the spectrum, and joins Catherine at a physical theatre class called Kids in Control to explore the different ways that creativity and the arts can help us all feel more connected to each other.

Produced by Conor McKay for BBC Northern Ireland.

Extract from ‘Virtual Barbershop' courtesy of QSound Labs.

Can the arts help Marie Louise Muir understand her autistic daughter's world?

Marie Louise Muir sets out to explore what 'Dwelling' means to different people.

In summer 2018, an immersive theatre project called The Foyle Punt comes to the shores of the river Foyle in Derry. It is inspired by the tale of family of boat builders who fled Scotland in 1745 in search of a new home.

Meanwhile, a Syrian refugee from Aleppo tries to rebuild his singing career when he forms a new band with other migrants who now call Derry home.

As these stories come together by the banks of the river Foyle, Marie Louise considers what home means,, and the different ways in which migrants and present continuously shape the cultural landscape of this Atlantic North West region.

Produced by Conor McKay for BBC Northern Ireland.

Credits:

The Foyle Punt was created by R　ise Goan and Caitr퀀ona McLaughlin of The Local Group.

Music from Farah El Neihum, Little John Nee and the Mohamad Noor Band.

The stories of migration past and present that have shaped the Derry and Donegal region.

Marie Louise Muir sets out to explore what 'Dwelling' means to different people.