Dock man to pilot Republic to Venice / warm North-South feelings (Wednesday 30 April 2008)
From Carlow to Leitrim to Venice...
Caoimhín Corrigan is to be the Republic's next Venice Biennale Commissioner. He was selected through an open-application process, the first time this approach has been tried in this context. Currently Arts Officer of Leitrim County Council, he is also Curator of The Dock in Carrick on Shannon, where he has instigated a quite remarkable series of exhibitions / events, placing The Dock firmly on the art map in a very short period of time, less than three years. Corrigan came to Leitrim from Carlow, where he was closely involved with the highly successful Visualise programme of temporary public art projects, also acting as "lead advisor on VISUAL – The National Centre for Contemporary Art, due to open in Carlow next year." The press release continues:
His curatorial approach in both Carlow and Leitrim has been marked by a commitment to artist-led work which seeks to engage directly with publics/audiences, and he has worked with previous Venice Biennale participants Mark Garry and Stephen Brandes (Ireland), Adrian Paci (Albania) and Alfredo Jaar (Chile), as well as working with a number of previous commissioners from Ireland and abroad.
In relation to his appointment Corrigan said “With Gerard Byrne, Ireland’s participation at Venice 2007 was a major success. While I believe we should build on this, I also believe Ireland should vary the approach for 2009, and open up another avenue for the international art community to engage with contemporary art in Ireland. It is for this reason that I will be commissioning younger artists whose work I believe can stand apart from the 70 or 80 other countries and 100 other exhibitions at the 2009 Biennale.
North / South: getting along better
Talking of Venice, many will remember the last time round, where the 'pavilions' of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland occupied the same compound in a very favourable location. NI's space was more accessible within the compound, but the Republic's was very classy. Can it really be true that the Republic has subsequently nabbed NI's space for the next Biennale next year? Surely not ...
If so, it doesn't seem to have impinged on warm feelings at the recent meeting of the two arts councils in Ireland - An Chomhairle Ealaíon and The Arts Council of Northern Ireland. They have announced the desire to cooperate more closely. The most interesting potential change comes in an intention of "harmonising support for artists," according to a statement issued on Monday.
Meanwhile, the NI Commissioner for Venice has yet to be selected; it too is an open-application process, as it was the last time round.
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feedback:
News item 595
What's this ageism in the selection of the artists? Otherwise, gr...
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Well deserved! The right person for the job!...
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a ludicrous decision for Venice... The biennale is not some cou...
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Is this the photograph of the exact painting hanging in the art g...
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Quote "They are politically engaged, challenge our inherited powe...
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you have an opinion on this article? If so, please click here for our comments form.
| Responses so far |
| Comment 1 |
a ludicrous decision for Venice... The biennale is not
some country backwater. Let's hope that the commissioner is
up to the challenge of last year's high standard, and not
fall back to the abysmal standards of the previous two
Irish outings in Venice
|
| Comment 2 |
Well deserved! The right person for the job!
|
| Comment 3 |
What's this ageism in the selection of the artists?
Otherwise, great decision.
|
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