The Arts Council and Culture Ireland have announced the artist and commissioner/curator to represent Ireland at the Venice Art Biennale in 2013, which is an initiative of Culture Ireland, in partnership with the Arts Council.

The Commissioner/Curator for Venice 2013 is Anna O’Sullivan, Director of the Butler Gallery in Kilkenny, who has selected artist, Richard Mosse, to present a highly ambitious eight-channel multimedia installation on the subject of the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Commenting on the selection, Ms. O’Sullivan explained: “Richard is an outstanding choice to represent Ireland at the Venice Biennale 2013.He has already gained international recognition, especially for his ongoing work, Infra. At Venice, Richard will push this work into a strong, immersive multimedia environment. I am thrilled for Richard, who I know will rise to the challenge of this important opportunity, and will create an extremely original installation that will represent Ireland powerfully on the international stage”.

www.richardmosse.com | www.artscouncil.ie | www.cultureireland.ie |

Artist Angie Duignan Explains How She Created Work for the ‘Imagination of Childhood’ Exhibition at the V&A  Museum of Childhood in London, which ran from October 2011 to February 2012

‘The Imagination of Children’ brings together nine visual artists who are fascinated by children’s ability to play and ‘make believe’; in particular, the ways in which they can live in their imagination. Historically, children’s imaginings have been seen as a source of conflict with the adult world, but this display recognises and celebrates the profound creativity of a child’s imagination. Some works observe that children can readily become someone they are not for the purposes of a game, and that fantastical stories are created on a daily basis. Other pieces take, as a starting point, the way in which a child’s perception of the world can often find expression through their physical activity. (more…)

Visual Artists Ireland attended a consultative breakfast on the visual arts in Iveagh House hosted by Micheál Martin T.D. Included at the breakfast were representatives of the Arts Council, Culture Ireland, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Tourism, Culture & Sport, key commerical and not-for-profit institutions, and independent curators.  The meeting was to discuss how the Irish diplomatic service can work with the visual arts sector for the promotion of the visual arts internationally.  The meeting provided strong input in many areas of cross over that will inform government policy in this area.