Works of four Kilkenny artists added to National Collection
The creativity and brilliance of four Kilkenny artists has been recognised as some of their works have been added to the National Collection.
The four, Declan Byrne, Elizabeth Cope, Brianna Hurley and John Keating are among 70 artists chosen nationally, providing 422 pieces of art to the Irish Museum of Madern Art in Kilmainham and the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork.
The €1 million programme has been developed by the Department of Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to find meaningful ways to support artists across the country during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The investment enabled the two institutions charged with collecting contemporary art to work collaboratively to support artists by buying existing artworks, bringing much needed financial resources to the sector.
Speaking about the programme, Minister for Arts Catherine Martin said: “We are all aware of how difficult a time this has been for everybody in the artistic community.
“I am delighted to provide funding to IMMA and the Crawford Art Gallery so that they can support living artists by the purchase of their work. I am confident that our National Cultural Institutions will do justice to these artists in how they represent their work.
“This has also been a challenging year for all our institutions, but it has also offered an opportunity to think about museums and what they mean to people and how we share those precious artworks that form part of our National Collections,” Minister Martin concluded.
Elizabeth Cope, Generaton Gap (Menopausal series)
Cover Picture: Declan Byrne, Encrusted Dog
