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About Kildare County Council's Municipal Art Collection
Kildare County Council's municipal art collection is an eclectic assemblage of paintings, prints and sculptures. Many of the works date from the 1970s, when Kildare County Council, under the Arts Council Joint Purchase Scheme, purchased a series of contemporary works. The collection boasts work from some of Irelands most acclaimed visual artists including Evie Hone, Patrick Pye, Patrick Collins, Charlie Brady, Martin Gale, Sean Mc Sweeney, Robert Ballagh, Norah Mc Guinness, and many more.
The Council continue to purchase work to further develop the collection. Recent acquisitions include work by emerging artist Sean Cotter.
Other initiatives include commissioning new work, under the Department of the Environment and Local Government Per Cent for Art Scheme - the most significant work being 'Perpetual Motion', by Remco de Fouw and Rachel Joynt, located in Naas - and other programmes.
In 2005, Kildare County Council embarked on a cleaning, restoration and cataloguing programme of the collection.
Arising from this work, 'A Collection Uncovered', selected works from the collection are on display in Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co Kildare until the August 20th. Martin Gale, RHA, is guest speaker at the launch on 28th July at 7pm. Artist, Paul Mc Kinley curated the exhibition.
'Oisin Caught in the Time Warp' by James Mc Kenna (1933-2000) was recently bequeathed to Kildare County Council by Desmond Egan for permanent display in the Civic Offices, Naas, due to open in autumn 2005. The impressive sculpture was carved in wood and measures 6.5m x 6.5m. The piece is currently under restoration.
The Arts Council Joint Purchase Scheme in Visual Art has been in existence for 40 years and is intended to assist public bodies and organisations to buy works of contemporary art jointly with the Arts Council. The works of art must be displayed by the partner organisation in a place frequented by the public.
Aims of the Award
To increase the audience for the Visual Arts- To promote contemporary Irish Art and Artists
- To increase the sales of contemporary Irish Art
- To encourage opportunities for contemporary Irish galleries
- To encourage organisations to instigate or enlarge their visual art collections.
For further information, contact:
Lucina Russell, Kildare County Arts Officer,
Riverbank, Main Street, Newbridge, Co Kildare.Tel: 045-448318; Email: lrussell@kildarecoco.ie
