Exhibition at County Hall paints disability in new light
A vibrant group exhibition featuring the work of 16 disabled artists will open in Cork early next month.
From 6 March-24 April, ‘This is Ireland’ will be open to the public at LHQ Gallery at Cork County Hall on the Carrigrohane road.
The exhibition explores how identity is shaped through storytelling, popular culture, local landscape, and shared rituals.
Among the depictions of Irish culture included, there are members of Kneecap enjoying a pint, a pair of mummers wearing straw headpieces, and familiar street scenes reflecting threads of connection and belonging.
This exhibition aims to lend a fresh perspectives on what defines Irish culture and the artwork demonstrates a fresh approach to materials and technique that looks to undermine the easy assumptions that are made about artists with a disability.
Artists include Íde Ní Shúilleabháin who has exhibited in Kilkenny, Columbia, and New York; Yvonne Condon whose artwork was exhibited on a billboard in Temple Bar; and Tom O’Sullivan who was awarded the inaugural Visibility Bursary Award from Cork City Council and the Arts Council, along with Judit Bakos, Ailbhe Barrett, Angela Burchill, David Connolly, Bríd Heffernan, Eoin O’Brion, John Keating, Mary Rose Marshall, Rosaleen Moore, Nicola Moran, Stephen Murray, Marie Sexton, and Katie Whelan. All have developed their practice through Crawford Supported Studios which provides a sustained creative art space through technical, artistic support, access, and networks.
Announcing the exhibition this week, Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr Mary Linehan Foley praised Crawford Supported Studios.
She said: “We recognise the importance of the work that Crawford Supported Studios does for these artists, and we celebrate an opportunity to bring their work to new audiences. This is Ireland presents playful, unapologetic, and brave work that we encourage all to see.”
Crawford Supported Studios offers sustained creative art spaces to artists in Cork with disabilities while providing access to artistic support, networks, and audiences outside of health and social care settings. Anchored by a long-term partnership between MTU Crawford College of Art & Design and Crawford Art Gallery, the project aims to honour the remarkable supported studio established by artist and nurse, Hermann Marbe, at the John Birmingham Day Care Centre, Cork, in 2009.
An opening reception for ‘This is Ireland’ will take place on 6 of March at 1pm at LHQ Gallery, and all are welcome to attend. LHQ Gallery is open Monday to Friday 9am-5.30pm, except for public holidays.