LIMERICK’S annual contemporary art festival is set to get a new home this year, following a fire which destroyed one of its previous exhibition spaces.
EVA International, which has previously staged exhibitions in the Sailors’ Home on O’Curry Street, will hold events in Gardens International building on Henry Street following the recent fire at the Sailors’ Home.
Gardens International have stepped in to host four artworks from artists Sarah Durcan, Frank Sweeney, Cliodhna Timoney, and Amna Walayat, following the burning of the historic O’Curry Street building, which was previously slated to host the autumn show.
The Gardens International building, owned by Limerick Twenty Thirty, will be one of the key venues for the annual exhibition of modern and contemporary art.
Artworks will be on display across the building’s foyer area, a retail unit, and its 3rd floor and 4th floor spaces of the ‘No 19’ Gardens campus at the corner of Henry Street and Lower Glentworth Street.
Gardens International, which was first developed in 1808 by the Roche family, was a revolutionary project of its day, designed with a sophisticated heating and irrigation system to support roof-top hanging/vertical gardens with vegetation such as exotic fruits like oranges, grapes, and pineapples.
The modern part of the building was constructed in 2000 and taken over by Limerick Twenty Thirty in 2016.
Limerick Twenty Thirty CEO David Conway said: “We’re delighted to make our space available free of charge to EVA International. This is really a superb fit for us both.”
“EVA International is a world-class, modern, and visionary arts event and our own vision in Limerick Twenty Thirty is to be recognised as an international exemplar in what we do, and we have achieved this in Gardens International.”
EVA Director Matt Packer said: “EVA International has a wonderful association with Limerick going back 47 years now. The city has been such a warm and embracing host. It’s also been an inspirational one because of its story as a city, its edge, its curiosity, and all these characteristics are wrapped up in the Gardens International building.”
“We’ve had many great venues in Limerick over the years and Gardens International is right up there among the very best.
“We believe that people attending the exhibitions here will be captivated by the artists’ work but also by where those works are showcased. It really is a special place.”
