 | |
  Location within Galway | |
| Established | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Location | St Bridget’s Place, Hidden Valley, Woodquay, Galway, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°16′38″N9°02′58″W / 53.2772°N 9.0494°W |
| Type | Art Gallery |
| Founder | Austin Ivers, Ben Geoghegan |
| Website | 126gallery |
126 Artist-run Gallery is an artist-run space located in Galway City, Ireland. It was founded in 2005 and, according to the Galway Advertiser , has "built an international reputation for ambitious programming". [1]
126 was founded in 2005 by artists Austin Ivers and Ben Geoghegan in the living room of their home in Galway. [2] The gallery was named after the number of the house. The two aimed to create more exhibition opportunities in the city, and to highlight artists who had a connection to Galway. [3] After 2 years, they curated a large "quality" survey show of contemporary Irish art in the Galway Art Centre in the autumn of 2006. [4] After, in late 2006, the gallery moved to a white cube space in an industrial estate outside of Galway City showing the work of Benjamin de Burca for the Tulca Festival of Visual Arts. [5]
In January 2007, 126 was re-constituted directly on the ethos of Catalyst Arts and the Transmission Gallery democratic artist-run model – which have their roots in the Scottish New 57 Gallery. [6] [7] [8] This included a membership and annual members show, a non-commercial orientation, a voluntary board with 2-year term limits on board members, and a requirement that board members not show their own work. "The new gallery aims to provide a venue for younger, emerging artists, thus fulfilling an obvious need" and was considered "tremendously innovative" by The Irish Times art critic Aidan Dunne. [5] [9] [10] "126 is the radical departure from galleries, museums, kunsthalles, and art centres. This is a much more rarified offshoot of the world of Artist-run projects. It is derived from the model that came out of Edinburgh’s 57 Gallery." [11]
In 2009, with its future in doubt, the gallery moved to Galway City centre near the docks. [12] [13] Since, the gallery has experienced several struggles for survival in its bids for consistent funding from both local authorities and the Arts Council of Ireland. [14] [15] It has moved 2 additional times, for a total of 5 locations in 15 years. [1] [16] Its most recent location also rents artist studio spaces. [17]
126 has worked regularly with the Galway International Arts Festival, Tulca, and the Burren College of Art. [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] As well as with the Royal Hibernian Academy, Catalyst Arts, ARTFarm, and National Women's Council of Ireland. [23] [7] [24] [25] It has been described as having come to be seen as a progressive example of an artist led project, while simultaneously providing important training for its voluntary board. [26]
126 has shown many significant artists, organisations and presentations. Some of those include: Aideen Barry, Vivienne Dick, Hank Willis Thomas, Rainer Ganahl, Niall De Buitlear, Jim Ricks, Kelly Richardson, Samara Halperin, Stephanie Syjuco, Ceara Conway, Diana Copperwhite, Sylvère Lotringer, Ormston House, Transmission Gallery, and Catalyst Arts. [27]
Edward Delaney was an Irish sculptor born in Claremorris in County Mayo in 1930. His best-known works include the 1967 statue of Wolfe Tone and famine memorial at the northeastern corner of St Stephen's Green in Dublin and the statue of Thomas Davis in College Green, opposite Trinity College Dublin. These are both examples of lost-wax bronze castings, his main technique during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Gort is a town of around 2,800 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 and R460 regional roads, which connect to the M18 motorway.
Áine Phillips is a performance and visual artist based in Galway, Ireland.
An artist-run space or artist-run centre (Canada) is a gallery or other facility operated or directed by artists, frequently circumventing the structures of public art centers, museums, or commercial galleries and allowing for a more experimental program. An artist-run initiative (ARI) is any project run by artists, including sound or visual artists, to present their and others' projects. They might approximate a traditional art gallery space in appearance or function, or they may take a markedly different approach, limited only by the artist's understanding of the term. "Artist-run initiatives" is an umbrella name for many types of artist-generated activity.
Temple Bar Gallery + Studios (TBG+S) is a contemporary gallery and visual artist studio space located in the centre of Dublin in Temple Bar.
Burren College of Art is an Irish non-profit independent art college specialising in undergraduate and graduate Fine Art education, located in Ballyvaughan, County Clare, Ireland. The Master of Fine Art programme is accredited by the University of Galway. The college has a substantial gallery space.
Eileen MacDonagh was born in Geevagh, County Sligo in 1956 and has worked as a sculptor since the 1980s. For her contribution to sculpture and the Arts in Ireland, MacDonagh was elected in 2004 to Aosdána, the Irish organisation that recognises artists that have contributed a unique body of work.
Catalyst Arts a non-profit artist-run space based in Belfast city centre.
Mary FitzGerald is an Irish artist. She lives and works in Dublin and County Waterford. After graduating from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 1977, she moved to Japan where she lived and exhibited between 1979 and 1981. FitzGerald has held numerous solo exhibitions in Ireland, Europe and the United States and has participated in group exhibitions worldwide. She has represented Ireland at ROSC, L'Imaginaire Irlandais and the XVIII Bienal de Sao Paulo.
Niall de Buitléar is an Irish artist working in sculpture, painting, printmaking and drawing.
Michael Evin Nolan was an Irish abstract painter and sculptor. He was much inspired by Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso and Jacques Lipchitz. His work is often distinguished by vibrant colours and geometric forms.
Jim Ricks is an American–born Irish conceptual artist, writer, and curator. He has exhibited throughout Ireland and internationally, including a number of public art projects.
Sue Kneebone is an Adelaide-based artist and arts educator who lectures at Adelaide Central School of Art.
Helen O'Leary is an Irish-born artist based in the United States and Ireland, known for constructions that blur the boundaries between painting and sculpture and object and image. She uses bricolage and handicraft approaches to refashion older works, studio castoffs and diverse materials into abstract pieces that explore materials, language, remnants of the past, and the visual, cultural and emotional influences of origin. She has exhibited internationally, including shows at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) (Belfast), American Academy of Arts and Letters, SFMOMA, the Sanskriti Foundation, Victorian College of the Arts (Melbourne), and Centre Culturel Irlandais (Paris). Her work has been recognized by the American Academy in Rome and John S. Guggenheim, Pollock-Krasner and Joan Mitchell foundations, numerous residencies, and reviews in The Times (UK), The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Irish Times, and Arts Magazine, among others.
The Pallas Projects/Studios(PP/S, Pallas Studios, Pallas Contemporary Projects) is an artist-run and non-commercial gallery and studio space in Dublin, Ireland.
Niamh O'Malley is a contemporary Irish artist known for sculptures and moving image installations. She was elected to membership in Ireland's artistic academy, Aosdána, and represented the country at the 59th Venice Biennale.
Sarah Browne is a contemporary Irish artist who works in public art, performance, sculpture, and collaboration. She represented Ireland with a collaborator at the 2009 Venice Biennale.
Geraldine O'Reilly is an Irish painter, drawer and printmaker. She is a member of Aosdána, an elite Irish association of artists.
The Olivier Cornet Gallery is a contemporary commercial art gallery in Dublin, Ireland, owned and run by French-born Olivier Cornet.
Galway Arts Centre is a non-profit cultural organization established in 1982, dedicated to promoting the arts in Galway City, Ireland. It aims to provide "year-round access" to a number of artistic disciplines in an "inclusive, welcoming hub in the heart of Galway City".