COMING SOON:
HOW TO TELL A HAWK FROM A HANDSAW:
Abstract Art from the Waterford Art Collection
This exhibition presents a selection of both historic and newly acquired abstract artworks from the permanent Waterford Art Collection. Alongside artworks can also be found archival information, newspaper cuttings, and descriptions from the artists themselves, as well as critique by a cross-section of individuals invited and interested in demystifying this still often divisive visual language.
Artworks on show by: Arthur Armstrong, Shelia Naughton, Colin Middleton, Aidan Dunne, Phoebe Donovan, Julie Cusack, Anne Yeats, Susan Connolly, Ciara Rodgers, Jonathan Wade, Susan Montgomery, Darragh Lyons, Evie Hone, John McHarg and more…
12 February – 20 June 2026
Special exhibition launch 6pm 26 February
COMING SOON:
Robert Jackson, ‘As Below so Above’
Waterford Gallery of Art is delighted to present ‘as below, so above’, a solo exhibition of new and recent paintings by Robert Jackson. Launching 6pm on 26th February, this free exhibition runs until 20 June 2026.
Robert Jackson is a painter and printmaker based in Fife, Scotland. Jackson spent his early years in Waterford and attended Newtown School and the Central Technical Institute before studying Fine Art Printmaking at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, and receiving his MFA from Duncan Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee.
His artwork is held in private and public collections worldwide including the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and Waterford Healing Arts Trust, and the Waterford Gallery of Art. Jackson has won numerous commissions and awards and has previously exhibited work nationally and internationally including at the RHA Annual Exhibitions, AIB National Gallery of Ireland Portrait Prize, Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition, Royal Society of Miniature Painters, the Scottish National Portrait Awards, and most recently at Cahir Arts.
This exhibition brings together a selection of Jacksons many and distinct series of works developed over the last 15 years including miniature portraiture and skyscapes (Tiny Skies), fragmented dream infused landscapes (Interruption Paintings), meticulous lace fabric studies (Secret and Solitary Vice), and an incredibly ambitious new large scale work developed specifically for the exhibition, ‘Your soul is a chosen landscape’.
Open Tuesday – Saturday until 20 June 2026
Launch, 6pm 26th February
Admission free
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS:
Michael Cullen (1946-2020)
Trav’lin’ Light
2 October 2025 — 14 February 2026
Exhibition of paintings from over five decades of work by the prolific Irish painter, Michael Cullen (1946-2020). Cullen was born in Kilcoole, County Wicklow. He studied anatomy at night classes under Seán Keating at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin in the 1960s; life drawing at the Central School of Art and Design in London; and then attended NCAD full time (scholarship, nominated by Keating).
Cullen was prominently associated with the Independent Artists and the Neo-Expressionist movement in Ireland in the 1980s and early 1990s.
In 1984, Cullen was elected a member of the Irish Academy of the Arts, Aosdána, for his contribution to Irish art.
Michael Cullen spent periods living and working in: Spain (1969–70 and from 2002 on), Morocco (1973–74), United States and Mexico (1980), Berlin (1984–87 and 1988–89), Mexico (1993), and France (1995–99).
Previous Exhibitions
The Sea Around Us
2 October 2025 — 22 January 2026
The Sea Around Us is a thematic group exhibition showcasing artwork from the Waterford Art Collection as well as loans, commissions and open call submissions inspired by our relationship with the sea. Featuring painting, sculpture, photography, sound, and installation by artists including Killian Browne, Maura Culbert, Mick O’Dea, Phoebe Donovan, Paul Henry, Jane Jermyn, Patrick Leonard, Tanja Novacic, Eilis O’Toole, Clare Scott, John Skelton, Jack Thompson, Síle Walsh and more.
The exhibition launches on Culture Night, 6PM, September 19
Official launch 6PM, October 2
Catherine Barron
You couldn’t make it up
17 April – 16 August 2025
Waterford Gallery of Art are delighted to present a new solo exhibition of retrospective paintings from 2010 – 2025 by Dungarvan based award winning artist, Catherine Barron. Salvaged metal plates, vintage 78rpm records, book covers, and playing cards serve as the artists canvas to reveal a deeply personal, as well as allegorical, biographical journey. Catherine Barron was born in Co. Carlow, lives and works in Dungarvan co. Waterford since 2017, and is represented by the Molesworth Gallery.
Faith in the Process
17 April – 16 August 2025
An exhibition of artworks from the Waterford Art Collection, as well as loans and commissions, informed by religious or spiritual experience, including works by: George William Russell (AE), Mainie Jellett, Evie Hone, Father Jack P Hanlon, Annie Shaw, John Foley, Ireland 3000, Pat O’Brien, Gerhardt Gallagher, Rayleen Clancy, Ben Hennessy, Patrick Collins, Canon T Patrick, Louisa Marchioness of Waterford, Imogen Stuart and more.
OPEN CALL:
Calling all photographers!
To coincide with the Waterford Gallery of Art’s next major exhibition, ‘The Sea Around Us’, we are looking for your photographs of the sea, coast, beaches and quaysides – images inspired by joy, awe, ecology or heritage and the importance of the sea to our everyday lives.
Send us a high-resolution photograph (no larger than 10MB) for the chance of your image(s) to be included on-screen within our next exhibition – the winning entry will receive €250 and their work printed and framed to feature in the exhibition as well as be included in the permanent Waterford Art Collection.
- Images can be black and white, colour, impressionistic, documentary, macro etc…though must feature the sea in some way.
- All works must be your own images and creations.
- Files sent for selection must be high resolution, though less than 10MB.
- Competition is open to all ages.
- Please send no more than 3 images per submission.
- Please label the files you have submitted with your name, location, year and image title (if relevant).
- Images submitted must be from the last 5 years.
- Artists and photographers must be living and working on the island of Ireland, and images submitted must depict the Irish coast.
- There is no fee for submitting works to this competition
- Deadline for submissions 12noon, 09/08/2025
The Waterford Gallery of Art is home to the Waterford Art Collection. One of the oldest and best civic collections of art in Ireland. ‘The Sea Around’ us (opening September 2025) features works by artists from the Waterford Art Collection (inc. Micheál de Burca, Patrick Leonard, Bea Orpen, William Leech and more) as well as recent acquisitions, loans, and new commissions.
To enter, send all images to: waterfordgallery@waterfordcouncil.ie
Please title the subject of your email: ‘Open Call: The Sea Around Us’
BOOK LAUNCH & GALLERY TALK:
You are invited to the official book launch of Catherine Barron’s, ‘You couldn’t make it up’ – a landmark mid-career retrospective exhibition and publication.
The launch will also feature a very special in-conversation session between Barron and art critic, broadcaster and author, Cristín Leach.
2pm, Saturday 24th May
Waterford Gallery of Art
Spaces are limited so please RSVP to guarantee a seat at this event: Waterford Gallery: WaterfordGallery@waterfordcouncil.ie
GALLERY TALK:
Catherine Barron:
Performance lecture and Q&A on the discovery of the:
O(Map), A theory of creativity
Thursday 8th May, 6-7pm at:
The Waterford Gallery of Art, O’Connell Street, X91 RR2R
The O(map) is a visual articulation that resolves the problem of defining creativity by “seeing” and describing how it works.
Catherine Barron was born in Co. Carlow, lives and works in Dungarvan co. Waterford since 2017, and is represented by the Molesworth Gallery. Barron’s solo exhibition, ‘You couldn’t make it up’ is currently on at the Waterford Gallery of Art, 17 April – 16 August 2025
Please RSVP to confirm your attendance to this session:waterfordgallery@waterfordcouncil.ie
GALLERY TALK:
As part of our series of free events for the current exhibition, ‘GROUND (two-unfold), hear Susan Connolly, Dr Michael Waldron, and Brian Fay discuss their work, research, and the present reappraisal of Mainie Jellett and the genesis of Modernism in Irish Art.
Dr Michael Waldron is an academic and the Curator of Collections and Special Projects at the Crawford Art Gallery.
Brain Fay is a Dublin-based artist and Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at TU Dublin.
Susan Connolly is an artist and Visual Arts Course Leader at SETU.
The exhibition, Susan Connolly ‘GROUND (two-unfold) is at WGOA until April 5.
12 March 2025
18:00
Booking essential to guarantee a seat – please email: waterfordgallery@waterfordcouncil.ie
More info soon!
Free lunchtime artists talk at WGOA on Wednesday 5th February, 1-2pm.
Susan Connolly and Ramon Kassam – Artists Conversation
Drop in free event but to guarantee a place please email: waterfordgallery@waterfordcouncil.ie
Exhibition GROUND (two-unfold) presents the second iteration of Susan Connolly’s painting project, exploring the history of abstract painting in Ireland through the lens of Mainie Jellett’s historical painting Decoration (1923). During this event, Connolly will discuss her research and the creation of 100 +one paintings inspired by this process. She will be joined by fellow painter and academic Ramon Kassam for a conversation about the evolution of the project and the connections between Jellett’s work and contemporary abstract practices.
EXHIBITION:
Susan Connolly
GROUND (two-unfold)
5 December 2024 – 5 April 2025
We are delighted to present GROUND (two-unfold), the first iteration of Susan Connolly’s exhibition GROUND (100+one), originally commissioned by the F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council. GROUND (100+one) saw Connolly consider what one hundred plus one years of abstraction on the island of Ireland could mean for Irish painting today. Taking Mainie Jellett’s now celebrated painting, Decoration (1923) as the work that first introduced an Irish audience to abstraction, Connolly set herself the task of making 100 paintings on canvas as an homage but more importantly as a way to tease out and make visible questions that have intrigued her own established abstract painting practice.
BODIES:
Life Studies from the Waterford Art Collection
5 December 2024 – 5 April 2025
Showcase of artworks and new commissions from the Waterford Art Collection inspired by the human form. Includes paintings, drawings, photography and sculpture by William Orpen, John Luke, Nicolo D’Ardia Caracciolo, Pat O’Brien, Barbara Warren, and Mainie Jellett as well as recent works by Áine Ryan, Eamon Gray & James Horan, HK Stuart, and Cúan Cusack. This exhibition also launches the new OPW and WC&CC commissioned portrait of Dr Mary Strangman by Una Sealy.
26 July to 26 November 2024 (Wed-Sat, 10am-5pm, FREE).
The revival of the modern Olympic Games by Pierre De Coubertin embodied the ideal of a marriage between ‘Art and Sport, Muscles and Mind’. This exhibition features artists from the Waterford Art Collection who competed for Ireland in the Olympic Games from 1924-48 including: Jack B. Yeats, Letitia Hamilton, Séan Keating, Mainie Jellett, Fr. Jack P. Hanlon, Sir John Lavery, Hilda Roberts, Harry Kernoff and more.
The exhibition will also include works by selected contemporary ‘Irish Art Olympians’: Catherine Barron, James Horan, Ramon Kassam, Alison Lowry, Seamus O’Brien, Noel O’Donoghue, Laurence O’Toole, Csilla Toldy, Duc Van Pham, Síle Walsh, Lee Welch, and SETU 2024 Graduate Award winner, Sammy Kane.
TALK:
MUSCLES & MIND SYMPOSIUM
21st OCTOBER 2024. 18:30
WATERFORD GALLERY OF ART
An evening exploring the intersection and divergences of art and sport, competition, perfection, failure and funding.
Hear Olympic silver medalist and sports administrator John Treacy discuss his career and recent portrait by SETU Graduate Award winner Sammy Kane.
Shane O’Driscoll talks us through his recent role as Team Ireland Artist in Residence for the Paris 2024 Paris Olympics.
Round table discussion and Q&A with Ben Johnson (IRL Olympic Hockey Team) and Damien Vereker (IRL Olympic Para Cycling Team) with artists Catherine Barron, Síle Walsh, Ramon Kassam, and Seamus O’Brien.
This project is supported by Creative Ireland, Waterford Arts Office and the Olympic Federation of Ireland.
To guarantee a place please email: waterfordgallery@waterfordcouncil.ie
Image: Shane O’Driscoll, Team Ireland Centenary Print
CULTURE NIGHT 2024:
Late night free art, workshops at tours at Waterford Gallery of Art, 20th Sept 2024 from 18:00
18:00-22:00: Our doors will stay open for a late night opening at the gallery which currently hosts our Olympic themed exhibition, ‘Muscles and Mind…’, Waterford Walls courtyard mural by NY artist Daze, SETU Graduate Award Portrait of John Treacy by Sammy Kane and Creative Ireland funded open-call artists Catherine Barron, James Horan, Ramon Kassam, Alison Lowry, Seamus O’Brien, Noel O’Donoghue, Laurence O’Toole, Csilla Toldy, Duc Van Pham, Sile Walsh and Lee Welch.
FREE
18:15: Curators tour of ‘Muscles and Mind: Irish art Olympians’ exhibition featuring artworks by Jack B Yeats, Letitia Hamilton, Mainie Jellett, Desmond Broe, Father Jack P Hanlon, Stella Steyn and more.
FREE – to guarantee a place please email waterfordgallery@waterfordcouncil.ie
19:00-22:00: Life drawing with artist, writer and researcher, Catherine Barron. A relaxed study of the human form for all ages and abilities.
FREE DROP-IN SESSION – to guarantee a place please email waterfordgallery@waterfordcouncil.ie
POETRY:
ARCHIVE:
TALK:
Waterford Walls Artist Talk with Daze at WGOA
Chris Daze Ellis was born in 1962 in New York City. He began his prolific Career painting New York City subway cars in 1976 while attending The High School of Art and Design. He remains one of the few artists of his generation to make the successful transition from the subways to the studio.
This talk showcases an in-depth look at the history of street art & its rise from painting trains in 1970’s New York to the professional mainstream artform we see today. 1 hour plus Q+A.
Sunday, August 11 · 6 – 7:15pm
EXHIBITION:
‘PANACEA’ POP-UP EXHIBITION
‘Panacea’, is a group exhibition presenting the work of seven artists, each exploring individual narratives and shared experiences through the medium of paint. Together, the work offers a whimsical interplay between the physical and intangible elements that often permeate daily life.
Artist exhibiting include: Alison Boyle, Suzanne Buggy, Julie Cusack, Teresa Ellen Fitzgerald, Caoilfhionn Hanton, Oonagh Latchford, Maurice Quillinan.
– with support from WGOA/Waterford City and County Council/ Big Look/Arts Council
Launch and reception of Panacea on Thursday, July 18th at 7:00 PM
OPEN CALL : CALL FOR ARTISTS
The Waterford Gallery of Art (WGOA) and Waterford Arts Office are seeking proposals from artists to participate in their summer exhibition, ‘Muscles and Mind: Irish Art Olympians’ (26th July – 26th November).
From 1912-1948, art was a competitive element of the Olympic Games with three Irish Art Olympians winning medals for Ireland (Jack B Yeats, Letitia Marion Hamilton, and Oliver St John Gogarty).
Ireland entered the Olympics in 1924 a year and half after the Free State had been declared. Jack B Yeats’ Silver medal for ‘The Liffey Swim’ (1923) painting, and Oliver St John Gogarty’s Bronze for his ‘Ode to the Tailteann Games’ were the first Olympic Medals won for Ireland as a free nation.
But what does it mean to compete as an artist? What does it mean to represent your nation alongside, and against, others? Who decides the difference between gold, silver and bronze levels of creativity – and does it matter?
Funded by Creative Ireland and Waterford Arts, with support from the Olympic Federation of Ireland and Arts Council Ireland, WGOA seeks to exhibit new and recent artworks as part of this group exhibition on the themes of Nationality, Representation, and Art as Competition.
Ten artworks will be selected to be included within the display for the duration of the exhibition, with 3 being awarded a further Gold, Silver and Bronze award, as decided by our visitors to the gallery.
Each selected artist will receive an exhibiting fee of €250. Artists selected to receive an award will receive an additional €300 for ‘Bronze, €400 for ‘Silver’, and €500 for ‘Gold’.
In accordance with the original participating criteria for Olympic artists, works must be inspired by or reference Olympic ideals such as competition, excellence, unity, representing your nation etc. – though do not need to directly include sport as a subject matter.
Works can be submitted from any of the following categories which featured in the early modern Olympic Games.
– Painting and Drawing
– Music
– Literature
– Sculpture
– Architecture
To find our more or apply visit: https://waterfordarts.com/open-call-call-for-artists/
St. Patrick’s Day at WGOA
Join us this Saturday 16th March for free St Patrick’s Day activities in the galley.
– Make a real shamrock pin badge
– Design your own snake inspired poster
– Paint on Lorenzo, our Pig of Peace
– Create your own transfer prints
Activities take place from 11am-4pm. No booking require.
Suitable for all ages and abilities. All materials supplied.
EXHIBITIONS!
100 Years of the FNCI
14th February 2024 – 13th July 2024
2024 marks the one-hundredth year of the founding of the Friends of the National Collections of Ireland (FNCI) by renowned artist and long-term resident of Dungarvan, Sarah Purser. The FNCI is the oldest arts charity in Ireland, established for the purpose of acquiring works of art and objects of historical interest and donating them to national and regional art galleries and museums throughout the country. Since the very beginnings of the Waterford Art Collection in 1939 it has been incredibly fortunate to have benefited from the continued generosity of the FNCI. On show will be artworks gifted by the FNCI to the collection by artists Grace Henry, Sylvia Cooke-Collis, Jack P. Hanlon, Augustus John, Bernard Lintoff, Ferenc Martyn, Caroline Scally, Gerard Vulliamy and Robert Burke as well as Sarah Purser’s painting ‘A Woman’ (c.1880) gifted as part of the Richard Irvine Best bequest.
Prints and Drawings from the Waterford Art Collection
14th February 2024 – 13th July 2024
An exhibition showcasing printed and graphic works on paper from the Waterford Art Collection, much of which has been recently restored and conserved. When the Waterford Art Collection was established in 1939 it comprised of seventeen artworks by primarily well-known Irish artists. Among the oil paint and watercolour landscapes, pastel portraits, a marble bust and an Irish Chippendale chair was a single mezzotint copy of a Jan Steen self-portrait by Eugène James Tily. Preceding Waterford Art Exhibitions were formed through displays of reproductions of works by Old Masters, the enthusiasm for which soon made evident a burgeoning artistic appetite within the City. This exhibition includes works by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, William Mulready, Antoni Tàpies, Anne Yeats, Patrick Hickey, Elizabeth Rivers, Alice Hanratty and more.
NEW WGOA NEWSLETTER FOR DECEMBER 2024
Merry Christmas and a huge thank you to all our supporters and visitors in 2023.
To find out more about what we’ve been up to and to keep up to date with our programme of exhibitions, talks, workshops, tours and more, please have a look and subscribe to our gallery newsletter:
https://mailchi.mp/ba8d958d23d0/waterford-gallery-of-art-newsletter-december-2023
EXHIBITION:
Arnold & Hilda
A celebration of the life and works of Arnold Marsh and Hilda Roberts (HRHA) and their lasting influence within the arts and education in Waterford. This exhibition coincides with the release of Marsh’s memoirs, ‘The Happy Belfast Man’ (Lilliput Press) and features over fifty works of art as well as archival material, photography, ceramics and textiles from private lenders and the Waterford Collection of Art.
Marsh (1890 -1977) is best remembered as an educationist and headmaster of Newtown Quaker School, Waterford. He travelled extensively, including working gold mines in Northern Ontario, on railway construction in British Columbia, as a lumberjack in Alaska and as an extra in the Douglas Fairbanks movie ‘A Modern Musketeer’. He was eventually ‘inducted’ into the US Army at Camp Lewis, Washington, and sent to France to join the front line before returning to Ireland to marry fellow Quaker, Hilda Roberts.
Roberts (1901-1982), a pupil of Patrick Tuohy, studied fine art in London and Paris. Predominantly a painter and illustrator, Roberts got her first commission at the age of seventeen, when she illustrated the Lorimers’ translation of Persian Tales. Roberts was a prolific artist throughout her lifetime, obtaining numerous awards as well as representing Ireland in the 1932 Summer Olympics.
November 17th 2023 – February 3 2024
BOOK:
MEMOIRS OF A HAPPY BELFAST MAN
It’s here! We now have a limited pre-order quantity of Arnold Marsh’s memoirs in stock. Order ‘ Memoirs of a Happy Belfast Man’ from WGOA or come in and collect from the gallery. Almost 400 pages, photographs and drawings from this pioneering figure of Waterford and Ireland’s past. €30
TALK:
LANDSCAPE SYMPOSIUM AT WGOA:
Join us on the 27th Sept, 6:30 – 8:00pm for an evening of artist talks, music, poetry, photography competition prize announcement and more…
This event coincides with the gallery’s ‘A Survey of the Landscape’ exhibition and the Landscape Alliance National Landscape Forum 2023 held at Mount Congreve, 28th – 29th Sept.
Tickets are free to the WGOA Symposium but to guarantee a place please email: waterfordgallery@waterfordcouncil.ie
Gallery will be open from 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start
Artist project Talks: Paula Barrett | Carmel Cleary
Paula Barrett is a visual artist whose multidisciplinary practice centers on the theme of landscape and the systems which inform our experience of it. She graduated from the National College of Art and Design Dublin with a BA in Fine Art Media and History of Art in 2006 and a practice/theory MA (Art in the Contemporary World) in 2010. In 2015, she initiated Turf Projects, a photographic study of the particular qualities of light and colour experienced in the Irish landscape. She has been compiling a catalogue of Irish colour palettes from around Ireland.
Born in Waterford, Carmel Cleary studied photography at the Crawford College of Art & Design in Cork. Since graduating in 1990 she has received many awards including Photographer of the year in her graduating class. She is the first ever photographer to win the prestigious Alice Berger Hammerschlag Travel Award which she used for a photographic tour of Utah & Arizona. Her other numerous awards include Arts Council Bursaries, Travel awards & Exhibition assistance funding.
Artist commission launch: Caoilfhionn Hanton
Hanton is a young Irish street artist, who has completed large murals and also smaller works across the country. A recent graduate of SETU’s Visual Art BA (Hons) she was recently awarded the Waterford Gallery of Art Graduate Commission Award.
Reshaping Art & The Landscape: Molly Twomey | Samuel Yakura | Mike Ryan
Molly Twomey grew up in Lismore, County Waterford, and graduated in 2019 with an MA in Creative Writing from University College Cork. Her first collection, Raised Among Vultures, was published in 2022 by The Gallery Press. It won the Southword Debut Collection Poetry Award, was shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney Poetry Prize for Best First Collection, and the Farmgate National Poetry Award. Her work has appeared in New England Review, Poetry Review, Poetry Ireland Review, Banshee, The Irish Times, Mslexia, The Stinging Fly and elsewhere. She was awarded the 2023 Ireland Chair of Poetry Bursary.
Mike Ryan is the Artistic Director of Briery Gap Cultural Centre in Macroom. He has worked as an artist liaison with the Cork Midsummer Festival, reviewer and journalist for The Thin Air magazine, a script reader for the Abbey Theatre and as a judge for the Northern Ireland Music Prize. He has also participated in several prestigious arts development schemes including MAKE, Gap Day and Pop-Up and is a passionate advocate for inclusivity in the arts. He creates zines, music and works of street art through his alter ego ‘Red Mask’.
Samuel Yakura is a Nigerian Born Writer, Poet and Performing Artist residing in Ireland. He’s a multiple-time Slam Champion both in Nigeria and Ireland, winning Slam competitions like ALS, OxFam, and Talkatives. He’s a member with the Wearegriot Poetry Collective based in Dublin. He has done commissioned works for the likes of Summer in the city, Poetry Ireland, Dublin Fringe, Adrian Brinkerhoff Foundation, IMMA, Gaisce Awards, amongst others. His works reflect heavily on observing the human condition, their relationships and interaction with society and culture. He is currently in the works with the WeareGriot collective putting together their new Poetry Play “DEITIES”
Landscape Alliance: Terry O’Regan
Over the past ten years Terry O’ Regan has lead Landscape Alliance Ireland which he founded in 1995, an informal loosely-structured NGO, whose objectives are to provide an open forum for discussing and exploring all aspects of landscape and landscape management, to engage in research, to develop a database of information and to act as advocates for effective landscape policies, strategies and instruments for implementation at European, National, Regional and Local level.
His participation in the development of the European Landscape Convention and the promotion of the Convention in Ireland led to Irelands early signing and ratifying of the Convention in March 2002.
Photography Prize
‘Your landscape’ open-call photography prize winner announcement
CULTURE NIGHT AT WGOA:
WATERFORD WRITERS WEEKEND AT WGOA:
Waterford City & County Council is pleased to announce details of the Waterford Writers Weekend 2023 under the curatorship of Eimear Cheasty.
There is a broad range of events and workshops to suit writers and readers alike of all ages.
In the spirit of one Waterford, we are pleased this year to have a West Waterford programme in Dungarvan, in addition to our City offering.
Working with our Arts and Library service, we are confident that the Waterford Writers Weekend is a ‘must’ on the artistic calendar. Bain taitneamh as.
Click Here to View and Download the Waterford Writers Weekend 2023 Programme
EXHIBITION:
A SURVEY OF THE LANDSCAPE (MAY 4-NOV 4 2023)
‘A Survey of the Landscape’ focuses on how the environment has been captured, depicted, and reframed by artists, and will feature works by some of Ireland’s most renowned artists including Mary Swanzy HRHA, Seán Keating PPRHA, William Conor RHA PPRUA, Eileen Murray, Paul Henry RHA, Dermod O’Brien PPRHA, Bea Orpen HRHA, Donald Teskey RHA and more.
The exhibition will also launch two new exciting commissions for the gallery. Supported by Creative Ireland, visual artist Paula Barrett has developed a series of three photographic images as part of her Turf Projects series. A graduate of the National College of Art and Design (Dublin) Barrett centres her work on the theme of Landscape and the systems which inform our experience of it.
In 2015 she initiated Turf Projects, a photographic study of the particular qualities of light and colour experienced in the Irish Landscape. She has been compiling a catalogue of Irish colour palettes from around Ireland and alongside her photographic palettes she has created a set of paints and worked with communities in Cork and Roscommon to put these colours back into the landscape, drawing attention to the natural features of these areas and promoting a specificity and harmony between the natural landscape and the built environment. Barrett says, “The historical genre of landscape painting is the primary reference point for my work. I am interested in place-making and perception of place, the crossover between the wild and domestic.”
The exhibition will also feature a new immersive artwork by Waterford native Carmel Cleary, who studied photography at the Crawford College of Art & Design in Cork. Since graduating in 1990 Cleary has received many awards including Photographer of the Year in her graduating class.
Cleary notes, “Nature fascinates and inspires me. Rock, which appears solid and immobile, is shaped and softened as water insistently carves a pathway for itself.
“Boundaries are overstepped. As I photograph nature it is framed by my interpretation and echoes human sensuality.”
Recent generous donations of artworks will be included as highlights of the exhibition. The Friends of the National Collections of Ireland (FNCI) have acquired for the gallery ‘The Coulin’, c.1949, painted by Waterford based artist, Robert Burke. The FNCI, founded in 1924, have been long standing supporters of the gallery and its collection and The Waterford Gallery of Art is in particular extremely grateful to FNCI Council Member, Dr Bulbulia.
Artform Dunmore East will also present to the collection a significant new artwork, ‘Parchment Tree 5’ (2018) by artist Michael Wann. Born in Dublin in 1969, Wann lives and works in Co. Sligo, gaining his BA in Fine Art from Sligo Institute of Technology. Wann’s work is specifically drawing-based and often featuring masterful charcoal mark-making techniques to depict the surrounding natural environment.
Joan and Roger Johnson and Newtown School (the historic foundation of the Waterford Art Collection) very kindly donated a fascinating map of the city of Waterford created in 1948, also by artist Robert Burke.
‘A Survey of the Landscape’ takes place from May 4th to November 4th 2023.
NATIONAL DRAWING DAY AT WGOA
Celebrate National Drawing Day 2023 (20th May) at WGOA and get ready to mark-make with nature. Learn how to make some simple tools from found natural materials and get creative using natural dyes and colours.
Suitable for all ages and abilities.
Drop in session – no booking necessary, all materials provided.
FILM:
WRITING HOME – FREE SCREENING OF DUCUMENTARY BY COLM KEEGAN
The Waterford Gallery of Art, Thursday 16th of March 6.30pm
In association with Waterford City Arts Office there will be a free screening of Writing Home, a documentary about creative engagement developed by poet Colm Keegan for homeless service users. The programme was supported by Kilkenny County Council, Creative Ireland and Poetry Ireland.
The initiative was developed to improve understanding around issues of homelessness while supporting social integration and aims to inform policy decisions around the use of the arts within state funded services.
Colm worked with several service providers across the country, developing and delivering a programme of workshops to engage with homeless service users in Dublin, Kilkenny and Waterford with each location working towards a public celebration of the creativity of participants.
Colm worked with selected groups over a period of 6 weeks. These groups explored multiple means of written self-expression and reflection, like rap and spoken word as well as looking at structure, character and storytelling. Each participant created a small body of work, based on their own life experiences.
The process was far more successful than envisaged, with real engagement from homeless service users, a marginalised group who can be difficult to reach using established Arts project delivery. The creative potential unleashed and the wellbeing outcomes were such a revelation that the initiative was awarded Best Education/Training Initiative at the All Ireland Community & Council Awards (LAMAs).
Tickets are free but booking is advised as there is limited space.
For more information visit www.colmkeeganpoetry.com
TALK:
FREE TALK | MARY PALLISER & FREDERIC WILLIAM BURTON | SPEAKER DR. MARIE BOURKE
FREE TALK AT WGOA: On Saturday 11 February, 13:30pm, hear Dr Marie Bourke’s fascinating talk on the painter-director Sir Frederic William Burton (1816-1900) – an artist renowned for creating ‘Ireland’s Favourite Painting’. Burton was born in Wicklow though his background was in Clare. Bourke will shed light on the career of this artist, renowned for his ‘The Meeting on The Turret Stairs’1864 (National Gallery of Ireland), and discuss some of the women in his life, notably his fiancée, Mary Palliser from Waterford. Burton’s painting ‘Portrait of Mary Palliser’ (1871) can be seen on display in the current WGOA exhibition, ‘Portraits: People & Place’.
Dr Marie Bourke is a cultural historian and former Keeper-Head of Education at the National Gallery of Ireland. The author of ‘The Story of Irish Museums 1790-2000’(2013), she curated the National Gallery of Ireland’s recent Frederic William Burton exhibition ‘For the Love of Art.’ She is an Assessor on the Heritage Council’s Museum Standards Programme chair of the RDS Arts Committee and, member of the board of the National Library of Ireland.
Tickets are free to this event. To guarantee a seat, for questions regarding accessibility, or further information, please email: WaterfordGallery@waterfordcouncil.ie
EXHIBITION
This building-wide exhibition presents over fifty key artworks from the Waterford Art Collection, with a particular focus on the different ways that artists have attempted to depict the essence and personality of people and places within their work.
The newly designed in-house display includes paintings, drawings, films, photography and audio by artists Una Sealy (RHA), James Hanley (RHA), Thomas Ryan (PPRHA), John Behan (RHA), Hilda Roberts (HRHA), Mildred Anne Butler (RA, RWS), Tony Ryan and more. Accompany the exhibition is a series of talks, events, workshops and artist commissions.
One of the highlights on show is the painting, ‘Portrait of Mary Palliser’ by Fredric William Burton (1871), currently on loan from the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is thought that the painting was initially gifted to Palliser as an engagement gift from Burton. The couple were engaged for 10 years though never married. Mary died of pneumonia in 1879 and is buried at Comeragh Cemetery, Waterford, close to her family home.
Sound & Portraits presents a series of open-call commissions for musicians, artists and those working with sound. The project aims to spotlight how identity, representation and lived experiences are also captured creatively beyond the canvas. A gallery tour and live performances of the work will take place during Imagine Arts Festival, October 2022.
Dates: 8th September 2022 – 18th March 2023
Launch and Private View, Oíche Chultúir / Culture Night, 23rd September 2022
WATERFORD POETRY PRIZE WINNERS 2022:
The Arts Office, Waterford City and County Council is pleased to announce the winners of the national Waterford Poetry Prize 2022.
First prize goes to ‘In Between’ by Ian Hickey, Limerick. Ian Hickey grew up and lives in Limerick City. He currently works as a lecturer, teaching English literature. His first book Haunted Heaney: Spectres and the Poetry was published by Routledge in 2021 which was the joint winner of the British Association for Contemporary Literary Studies Monograph prize. He is developing his interest in poetry. His passion in life in surfing, and he says would give up everything to just spend to rest of his days aimlessly wandering Ireland’s west coast in search of waves. Ian was awarded €400 plus a course at the Molly Keane Writers Retreat, Ardmore.
Second prize goes to ‘A Break in the Weather’ by Christina Park, Wexford. Christina is a freelance writer and editor based in Wexford who has had pieces published in various national newspapers, and broadcast on RTÉ’s Sunday Miscellany. Her poems have appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, the Stinging Fly, the SHOp and Crannóg. She was shortlisted for the 2015 Bridport Prize, runner up in the 2020 Trócaire/Poetry Ireland Poetry Competition and placed second in the Shahidah Janjua Poetry Competition 2022. Christina receives €300 in prize money plus a writing course in Ardmore, Co. Waterford.
Third Prize is Pigs Meat by Ciarán O’ Rourke, Galway. Ciarán’s first collection The Buried Breath, was highly commended by the Forward Foundation in 2019. His second collection Phantom Gang has just been published by The Irish Pages Press. He is a previous winner of the Cúirt New Irish Writing Award, the Fish Poetry Prize, and the Westport Poetry Prize. More information about his work is available on www.ragpickerpoetry.net. Ciarán was awarded €200.
Margaret Organ, Arts Officer said that the Waterford Poetry Prize was an integral part of the Waterford Writers Weekend and that it played a part in stimulating new poetry from all over the country. She thanked everyone who has taken the time to enter and remarked on the energy and enthusiasm of the writer Colm Keegan who took considerable time over the adjudication process. You can see Colm Keegan read the winning poems and give the background as to why he chose them on the YouTube section of www.imagineartsfestival.com
OPEN CALL:
The Waterford Gallery of Art (WGOA) and Waterford Arts Office are seeking proposals from musicians and sound artists to create new audio artworks to be performed as part of the 2022 Imagine Arts Festival. ‘Sound & Portraits’ presents a series of five small artist commissions inspired by the gallery’s current exhibition, ‘Portraits: People & Place’.
Category: Commission (sound)
Application Deadline: 11:59am 7th October 2022
Link to further details: CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE AND APPLY (PDF)
Artist Payment: €500
Submission fee to apply: None
Denis Power: O’Connell Street 1900 Wall Mural
Waterford Gallery of Art unveils new courtyard wall mural depicting O’Connell Street in 1900
A new artwork by Waterford artist Denis Power was unveiled this week as part of the galleries ‘Recent Works: Donations, Acquisitions, Commissions’ exhibition. The artwork was inspired by a series of photographs depicting the street in 1900 and includes a portrayal of the Waterford Gallery of Art with its now removed clock tower. The gallery was built in 1845 as a savings bank and also hosted the first ever art school in Waterford in 1950.
Power is mixed media artist who studied art at Waterford Institute of Technology (now SETU) under Tony Ryan. He takes his influence from his childhood memories, pop culture, and the environment. Power is a resident artist at GOMA, co-founder of the Rogue Gallery, and has been involved in various art institutes in the city including Waterford Healing Arts Trust, Greyfriars, and Waterford Gallery of Art.
Power notes: “After over a year of trial and error, lessons learned, stops and starts, sections redone and an ungodly battle with the very concept of perspective, it’s finally done! My Mum joked that it wouldn’t be finished in her lifetime, something she was heartbreakingly right about. I’d like to dedicate this piece to her.”
The mural and exhibition is free to visit during gallery opening hours, Wed-Sat, 10am-5pm
Other artworks on show in the ‘Recent Works’ exhibition include paintings by: Letitia Marion Hamilton (RHA), Geraldine O’Brien, Harry Kernoff, Lillian Davidson (ARHA), Rebecca Shackleton, Frances Kelly (ARHA), Josephine Webb, Damaris Lysaght, Fr. Jack Hanlon, Tony Ryan, Anna Moore, Samuel McCloy and Patric Stevenson (PPRUA).
Times: The gallery is open to the public Wednesday -Saturday, 10am-5pm – Free for all.
EXHIBITION:
RECENT WORKS: Donations, Acquisitions, Commissions presents key artworks newly gifted, purchased or commissioned by the Waterford Gallery of Art and the Waterford Arts Office. Much of the work on show has rarely been seen on public display before. Exhibiting these significant additions to the Waterford Collection of Art acknowledges the generosity and foresight of those that have helped to further enrich the cultural heritage of Waterford and the South East.
On view will be artworks by Letitia Marion Hamilton (RHA), Geraldine O’Brien, Harry Kernoff, Lillian Davidson (ARHA), Rebecca Shackleton, Frances Kelly (ARHA), Josephine Webb, Damaris Lysaght, Fr. Jack Hanlon, Tony Ryan, Anna Moore, and Patric Stevenson (PPRUA).
The exhibition also features: recently commissioned poetry in partnership with the Waterford literary journal The Waxed Lemon; Waterford Cultural Quarter films celebrating the rich heritage of O’Connell Street; work in progress by SETU graduate and Waterford Collection of Art Graduate Award winner, Rhys Wallace; courtyard wall mural by Denis Power; documentary short film on Una Sealy (RHA) whose painting ‘Portrait of Caoilfhionn Hanton, Waterford’ was commissioned by Waterford City and County Council and featured in the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA) Annual Exhibition 2022 (this work will be shown in the upcoming WGOA exhibition, ‘Portraits: People & Place’ opening 8th September 2022).
Waterford City and County Council, Waterford Gallery of Art, and Waterford Arts Office wish to thank and acknowledge:
John Sexton and the family of Oswald Reeves
The Sweeney family in memory of Eric Sweeny
David Sheehan in memory of Thomas and Eilish Sheehan
Family and friends of Anna Moore
The artworks on display in this temporary exhibition have all been selected by the Waterford Young Arts Critics and launches in association with SprÓg – an annual arts festival for children and families run by Garter Lane Arts Centre.
18th May – 25th June
Waterford Designers and Makers Exhibition 2022
Creative Waterford and Waterford Local Enterprise Office showcase a group exhibition of exquisite works by some of the best designers and makers from across the city and county of Waterford. FIND OUT MORE HERE
WALKING TOUR
26th May at 2pm
Free Walking Tour of The Index Gallery & Waterford Gallery of Art 26th of May 2022 at 2pm as part of the Bealtaine Festival. Register Now by emailing: jloughran@waterfordcouncil.ie
FILM SCREENING at Garter Lane: Pissarro Father of Modern Impressionism
Book Now!
Date: 19th May (Thursday)
Time: 7.30 pm
Duration: 94 minutes
Price: €7.50/ €9
Booking: https://garterlane.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173624952
The Ashmolean Museum has a long tradition of excellence. As the UK’s first ever public museum (it opened its doors in May 1683) it houses a wonderfully rich collection, including the remarkable Pissarro archive. With exclusive access to most extensive archive of any Impressionist painter, and to the first major Pissarro retrospective in four decades, this film explores and highlights the enthralling and hugely important biography and output of an incredible artist.
