DUBLIN CONTEMPORARY ANNOUNCES EXHIBITION VENUE

Dublin Contemporary is Ireland’s new large-scale visual art exhibition, and its debut will take place from September 6–October 31, 2011. Today its organizers have announced its main exhibition venue––the Earlsfort Terrace, a historic venue, in the heart of the city. Home to University College Dublin for 124 years, the main exhibition hall at Earlsfort Terrace is located within the grounds of the National Concert Hall. This landmark site first housed the immense Dublin International Exhibition of 1865.

Curators Jota Castro and Christian Viveros-Fauné have expressed significant interest in the changing role the main exhibition hall has played throughout history in Irish society as well as its original architectural character. According to Castro: “We are not interested in smoothing out the walls, hiding the marks of multiple uses, or turning these unique spaces into a generic series of white cubes, there will be no effort to hide the history of the building. Emphasis will remain on the display of art, the compositions of the individual rooms, playing with scale and making good use of abundant natural light.”

Dublin Contemporary, which is themed “Terrible Beauty—Art, Crisis, Change, and the Office of Non-Compliance,” recently announced seventeen Irish and international artists who will take part in the event with more artist announcements planned in the summer. Partner venues will also be announced as part of the preparations for the citywide event.