The Public Eye
dal 16/1/2002 al 16/3/2002
Segnalato da
Colin Middleton
TP Flanagan
Dan O' Neill
William Scott
John Luke
Basil Blackshaw
Rita Duffy
Micky Donnelly
Dermot Seymour
16/1/2002
The Public Eye
Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast
50 Years Of The Arts Council Collection. More than 100 major works of art by more than 80 artists from Northern Ireland are to go on view for the first time in a special exhibition in the Ormeau Baths Gallery in Belfast. The show gathers together art works by the major figures of 20th century art in Ireland since the war. Among those with works on view are Colin Middleton, TP Flanagan, Dan O' Neill, William Scott, John Luke, Basil Blackshaw, Rita Duffy, Micky Donnelly and Dermot Seymour.
50 Years Of The Arts Council Collection
The show gathers together art works by the major figures of 20th century art in Ireland
since the war. Among those with works on view are Colin Middleton, TP
Flanagan, Dan O' Neill, William Scott, John Luke, Basil Blackshaw, Rita
Duffy, Micky Donnelly and Dermot Seymour.
Purchasing of works began in 1944 with the purpose of providing support
for artists and forming a permanent collection. It has grown from first
purchases of 16 works to its current strength of more than 900
individual works. It is a working collection, which has been available
for loan, free of charge, and circulated widely to schools, hospitals
and public buildings for more than 50 years. It was designated a
Heritage Asset in 2001.
Speaking about the collection, Prof Brian Walker, Chairman of the Arts
Council, said "It has provided a vital resource for current arts
practice as well as a valuable record of the significant achievement in
the visual arts of this relatively small region of the British Isles. It
has proved one of the most valuable and popular assets in our cultural
history with around half of the collection out on loan at any one time."
In his catalogue essay complementing the exhibition, Brian Ferran,
former Chief Executive of the Arts Council and himself a noted artist,
said: "The collection tells a story of the visual arts in Northern
Ireland; the collection growing organically, through long periods of
turbulence which it often reflects, responded to the preoccupations of
the art community and to the changing cultural environment."
A satellite exhibition featuring political works from the collection
will open in the Context Gallery in Derry City on Friday 18th January,
and a number of other satellite shows are being organised for regional
venues over the following months.
The shows come at a time when the Arts Council is reviewing its
collecting policy and the best future for the now historically and
culturally important works in its care.
Opening January 17th at 7pm
Opening Hours: Tuesdays - Saturdays, 10am - 6pm
Admission Free - Disabled Access
Follow the shows at www.artscouncil-ni.org/collection
For more information contact Damian Smyth, Arts Council, Tel. (028) 90385204, or Katherine Thompson, Ormeau Baths Gallery, Tel (028) 90321402
ORMEAU BATHS GALLERY
18a Ormeau Avenue
Belfast BT2 8HS
Northern Ireland - Europe
tel. 02890321402