Ealaín na Gaeltachta, in partnership with Údaras na Gaeltachta, is celebrating Gaeltacht visual artists in an online exhibition called Dath an Dóchais celebrating 40 years of support for the visual arts in the Gaeltacht.
Curated by Una Campbell and the team at An Gailearaí, Gaoth Dobhair, the online exhibition can be seen online here. The virtual experience also has an audio element, as well as a commissioned essay by art critic and selector Catherine Marshall.
According to the organisers, the first step of Dath an Dóchais was the challenging task of sifting through the rich well of Gaeltacht visual arts to select 40 artists who come from or have worked in An Ghaeltacht during the past 40 years.
“The visual culture of the Gaeltacht is as vibrant and diverse as the Gaeltacht itself,” said Rachel Holstead, Ealaín na Gaeltachta.
The exhibition illuminates the breadth and diversity of work being made by artists who live and work within the Gaeltacht and celebrates several generations of artists. The online format, while necessitated by COVID, also ensures that the exhibition can be accessed throughout the Gaeltacht as well as nationally and internationally.
“As a Gaeltacht community, we are deeply indebted to our artists. Imagine a life without their vision, without their dreams,” says Rónán Mac Con Iomaire, Stiúrthóir Forbartha Réigiúin, Pobail & Teanga. “They make the world aware of who we, as a Gaeltacht community, are and they also make us aware of who we are as a community. They nurture us as a community and, as a community, we are grateful for that.”
There are also plans to launch a physical exhibition in An Gailearaí, Gaoth Dobhair for Autumn 2021 and the exhibition will be toured in 2022.