GMIT art students showcase their degree work in two public exhibitions

The west of Ireland’s latest wave of creative talent is to be showcased in two public exhibitions in Galway and Mayo this weekend and next. The Galway campus exhibition opens in the GMIT Centre for the Creative Arts & Media (CCAM) on Saturday, 27 May (2pm), and runs until Sunday 4 June; the Mayo campus show opens on Saturday 3 June (6pm) and runs until Friday 9 June.

Both exhibitions are fully organised by the students and are highlights of the annual arts calendar in their respective communities and regions. 

The Galway campus exhibition features the work of 48 final year students in a range of disciplines including paint, print, ceramics, textiles, sculpture, photography, and mixed media. Lecturer, Dr Suzanne O’Shea, says: “It represents the culmination of studies by the students, presented in a comprehensive exhibition of multiple fine art disciplines. Their ideas have gone through the process of refinement, through engagement with fine art discourse and development of their respective processes. Naturally the work responds to the shifts and technological changes within our society whether through reaction or use of new techniques available.”

“This group celebrates and upholds the importance of human ingenuity and craftsmanship. The exhibition will display the multiple perspectives of a diverse group of artists; using a broad range of techniques and processes unique to each discipline.”

“Images from this year include the seductive interplay of sound, water and screen in a series of exquisite ceramic pieces; a darkly concentrated face suffused with soil; a painterly walking pilgrimage to the self; sky shaping trees hauntingly printed. A body bag sculpture hugs a deserted corner while a series of beautifully illustrated story board characters leap complete from the page. There are tufted facsimile of the Wild Atlantic Way and intricate architectonic fabric designs in a rich array of dense colours. I could go on but the work is of course incomplete without the viewer. Visitors will have to map for themselves these open and passionate journeys to the human heart,” adds Dr O’Shea.

Dr Paddy Tobin, Head of Centre, CCAM, says: “Our graduates on our Art & Design programmes have again delivered a beautiful and stimulating exhibition. It is a very exciting time here in the Centre for Creative Arts & Media and in the creative sector generally, and this is reflected in the quality and diversity of the 2017 show. “

The Exhibition in GMIT Mayo will be formally opened by poet and former GMIT lecturer, Dr Sean Lysaght, at 6pm in St Mary’s Hall on campus. The show is open to the public and all exhibited works will be available to purchase.

Dr John Mulloy, Lecturer, GMIT Mayo campus, says: "This exhibition marks a major change for the teaching of art at the GMIT Mayo campus here in Castlebar as it is the last time that we will have a graduation show of the work of students on the six-year long, part-time BA in Art and Design programme. At the same time, it also marks the first graduation show of the new two-year add-on BA (Honours) in Fine Art course.”

“If there is an identifiable theme in this year's show, it is one of connection – between past and present, the local and the global, the personal and the political, ideas of memory and history, land and people – all of which are explored in abundance and at a huge variety of scales in this year’s show. These students have committed a major portion of their lives to exploring the world of art-making in a college setting, and visibly demonstrate the importance of the provision of this kind of space in education locally and regionally. "

The exhibition in St Mary’s Hall, GMIT Mayo, opens Friday, 2 June, 6pm, and is also open Saturday 3 June from 10am to 1pm, and Monday 5 to Friday 9 June, 10am to 5.30pm.

For details on GMIT art courses (CCAM), see: https://www.gmit.ie/creative-arts-and-media/centre-creative-arts-and-me…   and GMIT Mayo art course, see:
https://www.gmit.ie/lifelong-learning-mayo/creative-arts-and-media/ba-h…