INTO THE LIGHT: THE ARTS COUNCIL – 60 YEARS SUPPORTING THE ARTS

Crawford Art Gallery, Cork
(4 Dec 2012 – 23 Feb 2013).

Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane
(28 Nov 2012 – 24 Feb 2013)
.

Limerick City Gallery
(30 Nov 2012 – 18 Jan 2013)
.

The Model, Sligo
(7 Dec 2012 – 24 March 2013).

 

 

‘Into the Light: The Arts Council – 60 Years of Supporting the Arts’ marks the sixtieth anniversary of the Arts Council and comprises a series of four exhibitions at Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Limerick City Gallery and The Model, Sligo, respectively. ‘Into the Light’ was developed by Lead Curator, Karen Downey and is accompanied by a publication, which features illustrations of works by over 100 artists and commissioned essays by Diarmaid Ferriter and Caoimhín MacGiolla Léith. Each of the four partner curators was invited to select works from the Arts Council collection to create a discrete exhibition that would reflect the interests and the ethos of each specific institution. Partner institutions were chosen, which themselves had a history of collecting and, in two cases, works from the institutions’ own collections are on view side by side with works from the Arts Council collection.

It is interesting that, although the four partner curators were free to select the works that they felt best reflected their own concerns, and a variety of curatorial approaches is certainly apparent, there are still some overarching themes that run through the four shows. For example, all four venues address the concept of the institutional frame, albeit from different perspectives. [Read more…]