LIMERICK Printmakers are 10 years in the city, RTE lyric fm is with us 10 years also and to celebrate, these close and cultural neighbours are creating an auspicious joint celebration.
A collector’s item is in the offing. It is a boxset of museum quality, a selection of 10 pieces of music, each piece selected by one of 10 Lyric presenters to inspire art by one of 10 printmakers attached to the Robert Street gallery.
“The boxset is called X, the roman numeral for 10, for all the 10s that are in the project,” explains Melissa O’Brien, director at Limerick Printmakers. “That’s 10 years, 10 presenters, 10 pieces of music and 10 prints. The idea began with us here at Printmakers and we put it to Lyric, who were delighted to select the 10 presenters. We said the music could be chosen on either a personal or representative basis and we then transferred the selected pieces to the 10 artists by CD”.
Each of the 10 – among them Dave Lilburn, Charles Harper and Mike Byrne – accepted the music paired to their interests and skill by Limerick Printmakers. With inspired taste guaranteed by the participation of the visual arists and the ilk of John Kelly, Marty Whelan and Eileen Dunne, anyone who invests in one of these solandar boxset Xs, custom made for the anniversary, will have this special edition to grace their shelves and sound system.
The artists’ responses could be “personal or social and civic, literal, analytical or emotional, or could focus on the lyrics or technical aspects of the score”.
Only 20 Xs are being made and the mooted price is 2,500euro.
“We are launching X this Friday May 1 in the National Concert Hall with a concert by the RTE National Symphony Orchestra for Lyric’s 10th birthday,” reveals Melissa. “On Sunday May 3 the focus of the celebrations moves to University Concert Hall, Limerick for a special 8pm concert featuring guest soloists Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. The conductor will be Gerhard Markson”.
The artists will hold a launch in the Robert Streeet gallery on Saturday June 6. More anon on same.
