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Artscope Magazine | January/February 2021

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art in embassies

Residence of the Irish Ambassador to the US, Washington, D.C.

A VISIT TO THE EMBASSY OF IRELAND AND THE RESIDENCE OF THE IRISH AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON, D.C.

// Artscope Online, Featured, News, Visual Arts

by Nancy Nesvet

Washington, D.C. - The government shutdown of United States government institutions, including museums, during the end of last year and start of 2019, encouraged me to find the best art then available for free, public viewing in Washington, D.C. Ministerial visits at the Irish embassy prevented me from seeing the collection during February, but Ms. Siobhan Miley kindly arranged a visit in early March. It was worth the wait. The Embassy of Ireland’s site was purchased by Henrietta Halliday in 1906, with the mansion built by architect William Penn Cresson between 1908 and 1909. The semi-detached limestone building at 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Sheridan Circle, was purchased by the government of Ireland in 1949. From my first visit at Passport DC, an annual tour, open to the public, of EU embassies during a May weekend, and other … [Read more...] about A VISIT TO THE EMBASSY OF IRELAND AND THE RESIDENCE OF THE IRISH AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Sosint Naing Naing, Myanmar, Curve of the Century, 2018, pigment print, World Bank Gallery, Washington, D.C.

VISUAL DIPLOMACY: GLOBAL EMBASSIES OPEN GALLERIES TO U.S. VISITORS

// Current Issue, Issue Articles, March/April 2019

by Nancy Nesvet

The 35 days of the United States Government partial shutdown in late December through late January left the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. barren and vacant of visitors. Tourists and locals, temporarily not working, roamed, as in a sci-fi movie, the nation’s capital looking for open, free cultural exhibitions. Private museums, including the Phillips Collection and Kreeger Museum, charged fees that tourists were unwilling to pay, and locals at this time could not pay, not knowing when the situation would resolve and when their paychecks would arrive. The United Kingdom and France managed to keep their museums open, free and accessible during government strikes and temporary shutdowns; the embassies of these and other nations satisfied cultural cravings for all visitors. Foreign embassies, foreign collections and cultural centers offer permanent art on view, while temporary … [Read more...] about VISUAL DIPLOMACY: GLOBAL EMBASSIES OPEN GALLERIES TO U.S. VISITORS