Pic: Gareth Williams / Press 22
LIMERICK City Gallery of Art (LCGA) is celebrating 30 years as a dedicated art museum at the Carnegie Building in Pery Square by hosting an exhibition of its permanent collection of 18th, 19th and 20th century Irish artworks.
Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan has officially launched the exhibition, which runs until October 30 and features 3,000 historic and contemporary works from hundreds of artists including Jack B. Yeats, John Shinnors, William Leech, Sir John Lavery, Paul and Grace Henry, Sir William Orpen, Séan Keating, Dermod O’Brien, Robert Carver and Charles Lamb.
The LCGA permanent collection is one of the largest and most significant in the country tracing the development of modern Irish art in painting, sculpture, drawing, photography and new media.
The upcoming exhibition will run concurrently with an exhibition by artist researcher and educator, Mark Curran who has spent the past two years negotiating access to stock and commodity exchanges around the globe as part of his research.
Curated by Fire Station Artists’ Studios director Helen Carey, ‘The Economy Of Appearances’ is a multi-media project focusing on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. On September 10 at LCGA, University of Limerick economist Dr Stephen Kinsella, will examine the theme of the exhibition.
“These exhibitions will celebrate the 30 years since the whole of the Carnegie Building in Pery Square was given over to the Limerick City Gallery of Art and the appointment of a director/curator, by the Limerick Corporation back in 1985,” explained Una McCarthy, LCGA director.
“With the ongoing support of Limerick City and County Council and The Arts Council of Ireland, the reputation of LCGA has grown nationally and internationally. During this time the permanent collection has also grown to feature a number of separate collections such as the National Collection of Contemporary Drawing, (NCCD) and the Michael O’Connor International Porter Collection.”
The two upcoming exhibitions will be complemented during the month of September by a series of celebratory daily events promoting Limerick City Gallery of Art and other arts venues throughout Limerick City.
Among the featured events is ‘Sing Out With Strings’, a musical performance by local children on September 29.
‘Poetry By Heart’ on September 25, is a Limerick tribute to WB Yeats to mark the 150th anniversary of the poet’s birth. Throughout the month at The Hunt Museum, a suite of photographs by Eamonn O’Mahony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Irish Georgian Society will be on public display.
The Hub will host weekly workshops creating opportunities for children to engage with both exhibitions each Saturday during September.
