‘Estuary’ exhibition to mark 25th anniversary of Fingal County Council’s Municipal Art Collection
A major exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of Fingal County Council’s diverse, engaging and captivating Municipal Art Collection will be officially opened on September 12.
Organised by the Fingal Arts Office, ‘Estuary’ will be launched by Mayor of Fingal Cllr Eoghan O’Brien at the Draíocht Arts Centre in Blanchardstown with special guest poet, writer and lecturer, Theo Dorgan. The exhibition will then continue until November 17.
This major exhibition curated by well-known Fingal artists Una Sealy RHA, James English RHA, Joshua Sex and Sanja Todorovic features works by national and international artists, graduates, emerging artists and local artists.
While the collection features plenty of significant works by national figures, the four curators have focused primarily on Fingal artists in the ‘Estuary’ exhibition.
The Fingal County Council Municipal Art collection features mostly two-dimensional work such as paintings, drawings, prints and photographs, which date from c1958 – 2018. There are some three-dimensional works which include sculpture, ceramics and mixed media. The collection contains a broad selection of work by artists such as Eva Rothschild, George Potter, John Kindness, Pamela Leonard, Maeve McCarthy, Patrick Scott and Michael Cullen, amongst others.
The curators, whose work also features in the collection, have selected works from the collection which will showcase both the physical and natural landscape of Fingal and the talents of local and visiting artists that have used the county as their canvas.
The official motto of Fingal County Council is “Flúirse Talaimh is Mara — the abundance of land and sea” which is reflected in some of the artworks featured in the exhibition.
Fingal’s County Arts Officer Rory O’Byrne said: “Fingal County Council is committed to collecting new art works and fostering progressive development in Arts and Culture for the benefit of all its citizens.”
He added: “The aim of the Fingal County Council Municipal Art collection is to support artists at key stages of their careers, to enhance the experience of both the staff and public through the integration of artworks in County Hall, Swords and the Civic Offices, Blanchardstown, to educate young people about visual art and provide opportunities for them to meet artists who are part of the collection to gain an insight into their work.”
Interim Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly said: “The ‘Estuary’ exhibition presents a wonderful opportunity for the public to come and see the wonderful array of work contained in the Municipal Art Collection. I would invite them along to the Draiocht Arts Centre to view the Collection during the exhibition’s two-month run.”
“Over 200 artworks have been acquired since 1994 and it has been continually evolving since with new acquisitions being added when the opportunity and resources present themselves.”
Contemporary Irish artworks are acquired in a number of ways; through commercial galleries, directly from the artists, through specific commissions and exhibition opportunities such as Amharc Fhine Gall, an annual exhibition for visual artists. Having works included in Fingal County Council’s collection can help raise the profile of an artist and can often lead to further opportunities with other collectors.
The second volume of ‘Not in Alphabetical Order’ highlighting the collection’s latest acquisitions will also be launched at the opening of ‘Estuary’.
In 2008, the first volume was produced and provided a snapshot of work from the collection. Artists were invited to comment on their particular work from the collection which provided an insight in to their creative process and was accompanied by a reflection on its inclusion in the collection by County Arts Officer Rory O’Byrne.
A free public engagement programme for adults, children and young people will coincide with the exhibition. For further details visit www.fingalarts.ie.
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For further information contact [email protected] .