Altered Images, a ground-breaking, multi-sensory accessible visual arts exhibition, which aims to introduce new ways of seeing and experiencing art for both disabled and non-disabled people opened in the Ballina Arts Centre yesterday evening and will run until September 30.
Altered Images is a partnership project of Mayo County Council Arts Office, South Tipperary County Council Arts Service, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, supported by the Arts Council. The exhibition contains works from the three partner organisations’ collections by Abigail O’Brien, Caroline McCarthy, Alice Maher, David Creedon, Thomas Brezing, and specially commissioned works by Amanda Coogan and Daphne Wright.
The exhibition is the first of its kind in Ireland; the partnership was keen to expand the audience for visual arts by being as inclusive as possible. Therefore, the exhibition is accompanied by three-dimensional reliefs (specially made by Loz Simpson ), audio descriptions of the art works (by Anne Hornsby ), and recordings of the artists talking about their work. The catalogue and labels are large print and available in Braille and on CD. Amanda Coogan’s work is an interpretation of the exhibition in Irish Sign Language. There is an accessible website with a virtual tour of the exhibition at www.alteredimages.ie There will be an education and outreach programme running for the duration of the exhibition, August 13 to September 30 in Ballina, which includes tours and workshops. Sign language tours are available and can be booked in advance. Everybody is welcome. For further details contact Sean Walsh, director, Ballina Arts Centre, Arran Place, Ballina, on 096 73593 or via e-mail at [email protected]
