The official opening of the Turner Prize winning installation from the Array Collective took place at Nuns Island Theatre recently with members of the Belfast-based collective in attendance.
Curated by Megs Morley, director of Galway Arts Centre, the exhibition is now on in Galway until 1 October and takes place across two venues; Nuns Island Theatre and Galway Arts Centre on Dominick Street. The exhibition is free to attend and opening hours are Monday – Saturday from 10am – 5pm (closed Sundays ).
The Turner Prize is one of the best-known prizes for visual arts and is a highlight of the contemporary art calendar. It is awarded to artists from, or based in the UK for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work. This is the first time for the Array Collective to present their award-winning work in Ireland.
The Array Collective is a group of 11 Belfast-based artists creating collaborative projects in response to issues affecting Northern Ireland and issues around access to abortion, gay rights, mental health, gentrification and social welfare. The work on display here in Galway is on loan from National Museums NI, who acquired the work for their permanent collection at the Ulster Museum.
Visitors to Nuns Island Theatre will enter a built installation of an Irish síbín – an illegal bar – titled, The Druthaib’s Ball. Audiences will be invited into an immersive experience reflecting the lively community hub of the síbin, a long-established tradition of an illegal bar and space of contradiction, dark humour, and craic. A wider exhibition of works will be on display in Galway Arts Centre’s gallery space on Dominick Street just a short walk away.
To accompany the installation there will be a programme of events with local social justice groups, artists and musicians to animate the sibín with traditional music sessions, dance, storytelling and song.
Galway Arts Centre’s Director/Curator Megs Morley said. “We are absolutely thrilled to be presenting the Array Collective’s Turner Prize winning work in our spaces in Nuns Island Theatre and Galway Arts Centre. This event marks a significant milestone for Galway Arts Centre and we’re excited to invite audiences from near and far to Galway to be the first to see this work in Ireland.”
For more information about the 2021 Turner Prize winning work from the Array Collective see https://www.galwayartscentre.ie
The exhibition is now on until 1 October and takes place across Nuns Island Theatre and Galway Arts Centre.
