The Arts Council is delighted to announce that our Director Maureen Kennelly will launch an exhibition celebrating 60 years of the Arts Council Collection at Uillinn on Thursday 24 November at 3.00pm.
The exhibition presents a selection of work by seventeen artists, from the collection who are based in or connected with Cork, going back over 60 years, celebrating the breadth and depth of the Collection as an archive of arts practice and resource across six decades.
Speaking about the Collection, Maureen Kennelly said, “As the Arts Council this year marks the 70th anniversary of its very first meeting in 1952, we also proudly celebrate 60 years of the Arts Council Collection. The Arts Council Collection in a very real sense embodies the goals and aspirations which the Council has towards supporting artists and allowing public audiences across the country to engage with great works of art. The Collection artworks on show at Uillinn highlight amazing artists and practices with a particular connection to Cork and its own immense history of achievement in the Visual arts. Through the exhibition the Arts Council is delighted to showcase the incredible standard of visual art produced in Ireland as well as the success and impact which our artists continue to have on both the national and international stage.”
The exhibition includes painting, print, installation, photography, sculpture and video by Katherine Boucher Beug, John Burke, Pat Connor, Maud Cotter, Dorothy Cross, Sarah Dwyer, Sarah Iremonger, Jesse Jones, Hina Khan, Roseanne Lynch, Kevin Mooney, Leanne McDonagh, Eilis O’Connell, Linda Quinlan, Vivienne Roche, Patrick Scott and Pádraig Spillane.
Since 1962, the Arts Council has been buying art from working artists. The Collection that evolved tells the story of modern and contemporary Irish visual art in a unique and fascinating way. Today the Collection continues to grow, comprising more than 1,300 artworks including sculpture, painting, performance, print, video, installation, photography and other works, many of which are on display in public spaces all over Ireland for people to experience and enjoy first hand.
The Collection has always been unique in that works have only been acquired from artists during their lives, either directly from their studio or from the galleries they work with. Acting as ‘a museum without walls’ works from the Collection are loaned to exhibitions, events, festivals and biennales in Ireland and internationally, as well as on display in long-term loans in healthcare settings, schools, libraries, universities and other public buildings. Artworks in the Collection can be viewed on the Arts Council’s website.
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