UPHOLD: New Collections Launch

35 DP, a stunning space on Donegall Place, Belfast, was recently transformed into a vibrant gallery for the launch of UPHOLD: New Collections. This group exhibition, produced by arts organisation Household, brought together artwork made by some of Northern Ireland’s most exciting contemporary artists, designers and collectives.

When I arrived, the space was already bustling with guests examining the works on display by 25 practitioners and two artist collectives. Each of the original pieces of artwork were selected by an experienced panel of curators and the result is a showstopping collection rich with diversity and showcasing content that tells stories and offers rich material to start important conversations. Themes and issues that are explored include displacement, belonging and nostalgia; transgression and resistance; individual and collective expressions of self; queer identity and desire; nature the body and society through a variety of media including photography, sculpture, painting, textiles, print, ceramics, drawing, design, and installation.

Guests at the launch night included: Esther Haller-Clarke of Haller-Clarke - who helped support UPHOLD in finding a home at 35 DP; Catalyst Arts’ Manuela Moser; and exhibiting artists Rachael CampbellPalmer, John Rainey, and Thomas Wells

On the night, I got speaking to Ciara Hickey from Household, who said: “UPHOLD was set up to promote Northern Irish art. We established a non-profit digital platform for selling and promoting the work of artists based in or working in Northern Ireland. In this exhibition, we have some of the best contemporary and visual artists, including Turner prize-winners and artists who have exhibited internationally in some of the best galleries of the world. All of the works here are for sale and include a huge range of different mediums and concepts.”

UPHOLD: New Collections launched on the 3rd November and ran until 20 November.

EDITED BY KELLIE BURCH KELLIE@ULSTERTATLER.COM