Frances Ruane applauds the role played by Fergus Ahern in the development of his community’s Civic Art Collectio n as the RHA hosts an exhibition curated from its holdings
Whether public or private, the process of building an art collection, especially a serious one, generally involves frequent visits to art galleries, exhibitions, auctions and artists’ studios to find the right acquisition. The Boyle Civic Collection, comprised of about 300 pieces of Irish contemporary art, turned this model of collecting completely on its head, using an inventive and ambitious community-based strategy driven by the passion of a unique individual. Over the past two decades, until his untimely death in 2010, Fergus Ahern was committed to making the Boyle Arts Festival a national event but also one that would permanently enrich the local community by using it to generate a permanent art collection.
With the recent passing of Ronald Tallon, Seán Ó Laoire reflects on the end of an era and remembers Michael Scott, founder and charismatic figurehead of Scott Tallon Walker
Catherine Marshall assesses the unwavering artistic journey of Maria Simonds-Gooding in advance of her retrospective in Dublin
The class of 2014 is looking anew to the tangible joys of creativity, in contrast to its documentation, writes Gerry Walker of the trends emerging from this year’s graduate shows.