News

THE LATEST FROM THE ARTS SECTOR

Zurich Portrait Prize 2022

David Booth has won the Zurich Portrait Prize 2022 for his painting, Salvatore (2021) – a portrait of fellow artist and friend, Salvatore of Lucan. Booth said of his winning artwork: “I spotted Sal one morning while in the studio. He was suited in a brilliant red Adidas one-piece tracksuit, his hair jet-black, and his pointed features solemn and reflective. I sat Sal down and took his picture. The life of an artist is characterised by intense ambitions and doubts. With this portrait I wanted to convey this, and the way in which Sal is resting into contemplation.”

The annual competition showcases contemporary portraiture and is open to artists from across the island of Ireland, and Irish artists living abroad. Booth received a cash prize of €15,000 and was commissioned

to create a work for the National Portrait Collection, for which he will be awarded a further €5,000. Two additional awards of €1,500 were given to the highly commended works of Cara Rose and Gavin Leane.

The exhibition features the shortlisted artists: Rachel Ballagh, Zsolt Basti, Shane Blount, Patrick Bolger, Enda Burke, Aisling Coughlan, Catherine Creaney, David Creedon, Ian Cumberland, Barry Delaney, Aodán Feeney, Alexis Pearse Flynn, Vanessa Jones, Bernadette Kiely, Vera Klute, Emily McGardle, Fiach McGuinne, Tom McLean, Mick O’Dea, Liz Purtill, Sorcha Francis Ryder, Marie Smith and Marc O’Sullivan Vallig.

The exhibition will travel to the Regional Cultural Centre in Donegal from 3 June to 2 September 2023.

Zurich Portrait Prize 2022 winner David Booth with his winning artwork, Salvatore 2021; photograph © Abe Neihum, courtesy the artist and National Gallery of Ireland.

Graphic Studio Appoints Director

The board of Graphic Studio Dublin (GSD) announced the appointment of Laura Garbatavičiūtė as the new Executive Director. In her role, Laura will lead the organisation and assume the responsibility for the strategic vision, artistic development and operational management of the charity, comprising both the studio and gallery.

Laura is an award-winning entrepreneur, published author, mentor and multidisciplinary artist with a strong track record in cultural development, arts leadership and brand curation. Laura was most recently a Consultant at Design Skillnet and prior to that worked at the award-winning web agency Artizan Creative Ltd as a Mentor and Growth Consultant.

Her experience as a co-founder at Block T in Smithfield for over eight years prior to that will be extremely relevant to the Executive Director role at Graphic Studio Dublin. Block T was ground-breaking as a progressive arts organisation that subsidised a community of 120, supporting artists during the midst of a severe economic downturn. During her tenure there, Laura led the team that was responsible for producing over 500 projects, provided over 5000 mentorship hours to Block T members and students, won Cultural Attraction of the Year at the Dublin Living Awards (2011) and numerous other awards. Laura has a BA Hons Degree in Fine Art Media from NCAD.

Graphic Studio Dublin is Ireland’s oldest and largest printmaking studio with currently over 90 members. It was founded in 1960 to provide printmaking facilities to Irish artists and to facilitate the development of successful working practices for artists through all stages of their careers. Currently located on North Circular Road in Dublin 1, GSD offers printmaking facilities with technical and peer support to artists in etching, screen printing, photo intaglio, carborundum, linoprint, woodcut, Japanese woodblock, letterpress, mezzotint, and digital print. The gallery in Temple Bar was founded in 1988 and is an important unique selling point of the organisation, as no other Irish print studio has a professional stand-alone gallery space. GSD is the only gallery in Dublin dedicated solely

to the promotion of contemporary fine art print.

Creative Climate Action Fund

In late November 2022, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, and Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport, Eamon Ryan, launched a €3 million fund to support imaginative creative projects that build awareness around climate change and empower citizens to make meaningful behavioural changes.

Applications for the scheme opened in December 2022 at creativeireland.gov.ie. The successful teams will include experts from the climate science, community engagement, as well as the arts and culture sectors. The ‘Creative Climate Action II: Agents of Change’ programme is a joint initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. The programme is calling for creative projects which address the following:

• Encourage everyone to rethink their lifestyles

• Connect with the biodiversity crisis

• Enable a fair and just transition in making lifestyle changes

• Assist citizens to understand the climate crisis

• Adapt to the effects of climate change

There are two funding strands:

1. Spark: This strand is for those looking to pilot a new idea, or who want to deliver a creative project at a local level. Organisations, community groups and creative groups who can inspire, build knowledge, skills and confidence are welcome to apply for grants between €20,000 and €50,000.

2. Ignite: This funding strand is suitable for those with experience in delivering public engagement projects at scale and are proposing durational projects with extensive public participation. Applicants may be eligible for grants between €50,000 and €250,000.

Minister Martin said: “In 2021 Ireland’s

Climate Action Plan outlined the steps that needed to be taken to create a more sustainable future for Ireland. That plan was ambitious and called on all sectors of society including the creative community to play their part in achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. I am proud that the Irish government has such an explicit link between national cultural policy and climate policy. The first Creative Climate Action projects have done much to capture the public imagination, mobilise communities and show how to make the changes needed. Climate change is humanity’s most important challenge, and we need creative projects such as these to galvanise positive action.”

Minister Ryan said: “Significant cultural and systemic change across all of society is needed to address the climate crisis. This change can only be achieved through fully exploring avenues for innovative and creative ways to inspire people to take action. The cultural sector has a unique part to play in this culture change and I look forward to seeing the exciting ways projects funded through the next phase of the Creative Climate Action Programme will engage people.”

Major Redevelopment at Crawford

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D. announced the planning application for a major redevelopment at Crawford Art Gallery. This is a flagship project in the Minister’s programme of investments under the National Development Plan, which will see many of our much-loved National Cultural Institutions restored, renewed and future-proofed for generations to come.

Commenting on the planning application in late November 2022, Minister Martin said: “Today is an extremely important day not just for the Crawford Art Gallery, but for our wider cultural ecology. Today we are submitting a planning application for an ambitious project which will transform the Gallery, will create new public spaces for cultural expression and civic discourse, and critically, will see this heritage building restored and renewed to the highest standards of sustainability.”

The project has been designed by an interdisciplinary design team, led by award-winning Grafton Architects, with funding provided by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. The design will provide significant new exhibition and public spaces, a new Learn and Explore facility to engage new audiences, and a new public gallery providing panoramic views of the city. The project will also address long-standing challenges with the fabric of the historic building, will create fit-for-purpose storage spaces for our invaluable National Collection, and will significantly enhance the sustainability of the building to support meeting our national emissions reduction targets. Critically, the project will create a new entrance onto Emmet Place, opening the Crawford onto a new urban plaza at the heart of the cultural life of the city.

The project is being delivered as part of the Minister’s National Cultural Institutions Investment Programme under the National Development Plan. Under the Public Spending Code, day-to-day delivery of the project is being led by the Crawford Art Gallery and the OPW.

Film Artist in Residence at UCC

The Arts Council and University College Cork welcome Maximilian Le Cain as the newly appointed Film Artist in Residence for 2023. This role, based in the School of Film, Music and Theatre, is jointly funded by the Arts Council and UCC. It is designed to provide a film artist of distinction with a unique opportunity to develop their practice in a university environment, while offering students and staff of Film & Screen Media the opportunity to engage with a practising artist in a meaningful way during the course of their studies and wider cultural involvement in campus life.

Maximilian Le Cain is the ninth film artist to be appointed to the role and follows Carmel Winters, Gerry Stembridge, Hugh Travers, Mark O’Halloran, Pat Murphy, Alan Gilsenan, Tadhg O’Sullivan and Yvonne McDevitt who have enjoyed successful residencies at UCC since 2014.