University of New Hampshire Museum of Art
Paul Creative Arts Center
30 College Road
Durham, New Hampshire;/br>
Through April 8
EIGHTEEN IRISH ARTISTS ARE REPRESENTED IN THIS COLLABORATIVE EXHIBITION BETWEEN WASHINGTON, D.C.'S INTERNATIONAL ARTS & ARTISTS, THE BELFAST PRING WORKSHOP, SEACOURT PRINT WORKSHOP AND THE ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND, WITH THE NEW ECONOMIC OPENNESS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE RESOLUTION OF POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS STRIFE IN IRELAND, THE STAGE HAS BEEN SET FOR CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC RENAISSANCE. THUS UNH ENJOYS THE "RENEWAL." BELFAST AND BANGOR, COUNTY DOWN, NORTHERN IRELAND, HAVE LONG LEF THE WAY AS CULTURAL CENTERS AND MUCH EMPHASIS HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE CREATIVE ECONOMY AS A DRIVER OF BOTH SPIRITUAL AND URBAN RENEWAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND.
Unusual to Americans is the idea of art centers like the Belfast Print
Workshop in Belfast and the Seacourt Print Workshop in Bangor, established
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It’s rare in the US that rookies and
established artists work in one place, share tools and presses, work in
multiple print disciplines, and show together. These unique arrangements
offer members and communities of artists (of all abilities) traditional
and experimental art and print media opportunities. This includes gallery and exhibit space, access to international shows, working studios, Renewal : Printmakers from the New Northern Ireland and classes in lithography, etching, screen and relief printing, book making, and digital printmaking. For established artists, the workshops provide technical and professional development and residencies too.
For those who love textual works, art books and evocative ephemera, the multimedia work of Belfast’s Jill McKeown stands ready to intrigue. As a member of Seacourt, her work’s been seen on three continents: Vancouver, British Columbia and Washington D.C.
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