Art @ ATU Exhibition

Date: 10-11-2022

Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Mayo and Mayo County Council Arts Service jointly host Art@ATU, a contemporary art exhibition of artworks from the Mayo County Council Art Collection. The exhibition is an introduction to contemporary art for a youth audience as part of Excel, Mayo County Council’s Youth Art Programme. The exhibition is curated by third year students on the ATU Mayo BA in Contemporary Arts Practices in collaboration with Aoife O’Toole, Acting Public Art Coordinator, Mayo County Council Arts Service and ATU Mayo BA in Contemporary Art Practices lecturers; Dr John Mulloy, Hazel Walker and Denis Farrell. The exhibition will be launched by John McHugh, Manager, Custom House Studios and Gallery, on 16 November at 5pm at ATU Mayo campus (South Entrance).

Dr John Mulloy, chair of the BA in Contemporary Art Practices programme, says: “This partnership between the BA in Contemporary Art Practices course at ATU Mayo and the Mayo County Council Arts Service gives us a great opportunity to build capacity for emerging artists in the county, as well as giving a chance for local schools to engage with contemporary art. We are very excited that our learners can curate an important exhibition like this and develop a school’s programme as part of their Professional Art Practice module, connecting their learning to the community. We look forward to building on this project in the future and further strengthening our relationship with the Mayo County Council Arts Service”.

The exhibition presents a prestigious selection of art works by Irish artists from the Mayo County Council Art Collection.

Artworks by Mary Lavelle-Burke, Basil Backshaw, Dermot Seymour, and Camille Souter among others will be presented. The artwork by the late esteemed Achill artist Mary Lavelle-Burke have a significant linkage to the university as the Achill Heinrich Böll Association established a bursary award for graduates of the programme, in honour of this artist, who graduated as a mature student from the BA in Art and Design programme at the Mayo campus of the university in 2007.

Mayo County Council has been collecting art for many years and has now acquired a substantial collection of almost 200 works. The collection includes paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, and mixed-media works, by artists from or living in Mayo, or those who have exhibited in the county. Works from the collection are displayed on a permanent basis in publicly accessible venues and in county council buildings around the county.

Aoife O’Toole, Acting Public Art Coordinator, explains:

“Mayo County Council Arts Service is delighted to partner with the Contemporary Art Practices students and lecturers at ATU Mayo on this project. This exhibition has been curated as part of the Mayo County Council’s Excel Youth Arts Programme. It is a wonderful opportunity for students, staff, and visitors of the ATU Mayo Campus to enjoy artworks from the Mayo County Council Art Collection. The students have embraced the opportunity to curate an exhibition for their campus and have developed activities specifically for a youth audience. For the Mayo County Council Arts Service this collaboration is one of number of initiatives that gives the public access to the County Art Collection as well as complementing our professional development programme for Mayo artists”.

The exhibition will be on display during the university’s Open Day on 7 December attended by secondary schools and youth in the region. The exhibition will provide pupils with an introduction to contemporary artworks. There will be guided tours of the exhibition on the day and two free workshops for secondary schools attending open day. For further information about booking workshops for schools on the day please contact ATU BA in Contemporary Art Practices student Miriam Byrne on 0872721035.

The exhibition is open for the public to visit and will run from 17 November to 13 December 2022. Opening hours 9am -5pm, Monday – Friday.

For further information contact:

Aoife O’Toole, Acting Public Art Coordinator, Mayo County Council. aotoole@mayococo.ie; 0949064376.