New Ecologies of Practice

9/02/2012 – 13/04/2012
NCAD Gallery, 100 Thomas Street, Dublin

A short season of projects by Catalyst Arts [Belfast] / Occupy Space [Limerick] / The Good Hatchery [Offaly] / Basic Space [Dublin]

NCAD Gallery is presenting a series of new projects which will represent the work of a number of artist led initiatives, working throughout Ireland, which embodies a new approach and a challenge to institutional visual arts programming. In this programme NCAD Gallery would also like to highlight the National Visual Arts Library (NIVAL) housed at NCAD Library.

In recent years, and pre-dating recession in some cases, Catalyst Arts [Belfast]; Occupy Space [Limerick]; The Good Hatchery [Offaly] and Basic Space [Dublin] have established strong, coherent and critically significant presences in the Irish visual arts context and, in their strategic ideologies, argue for a reconfiguration of inherited thinking about the nature and purpose of art and the nature and purpose of art institutional practice. This aligns with other transnational artist led initiatives and ideologies which respond to ‘situations’.

BASIC SPACE located on Vicar Street, across the road from the NCAD Gallery has been running since August 2010 and during this time has existed as a space for exhibitions and projects. For the duration of a week BASIC SPACE Shop will open at the NCAD Gallery. Mementoes from artworks and performances, limited edition collectables and memorabilia from exhibitions, and the opportunity to be involved in “Sq Foot of BASIC SPACE” scheme, will all be up for grabs. Avoiding romantisization of BASIC SPACE while outlining the physical and ideological elements that structure the space, the visitor can ‘browse’ the shop, but will be immediately involved in accumulating a knowledge of BASIC SPACE that is recognisably estranged from the memorabilia.

* BASIC SPACE Shop opening view Monday 26th March 6-9 pm, it is open to the public from 26th–30th March from 10am-9pm and remains in situ at NCAD Gallery from Thursday 22nd March–Friday 13th April 2012. BASIC SPACE Artist talk Wednesday 28th March at 5pm Harry Clarke Lecture Theatre, NCAD. * Refreshments & Discounts available on the opening view night.

In addition to work by the artist-led initiatives the exhibition programme includes The Artist-led Archive – Sustainable Activism and the Embrace of Flux open to the public to view by appointment at the National Visual Arts Library (NIVAL) housed at NCAD Library. The archive was initiated by the artist and curator Megs Morley in 2006 as part of an on-going investigation into artist-led initiatives in Ireland. The project aimed to decipher the kind of cultural conditions that led to artist-led initiative’s birth, their economic independence (or lack of), their organizational structures and how all of these factors effected their activities and life spans.

For more information on The Artist-led Archive please see www.theartistledarchive.com. *NIVAL is open Monday-Friday 10am– 5pm Contact: +353 (0)1 636 4347 or +353 (0)1 636 1102 and romanod@ncad.ie.

For more information on NIVAL please see www.nival.ie

To coincide with New Ecologies of Practice exhibition What Do You Stand For Now? is a public seminar and discussion that looks at some artistic and curatorial practices from the last few decades in Ireland. In particular, they all proposed methods and models of display and distribution as alternatives to established mainstream and institutional practices. What Do You Stand For Now? is chaired by Francis Halsall and Vaari Claffey, speakers include Valerie Connor; Mark Garry; Garrett Phelan; Sarah Pierce; members of The Enquiry, Gradcam and others.

What Do You Stand For Now? Saturday 31st March, 2012, 12.30-5pm at the National College of Art and Design, (Harry Clarke Lecture Theatre), Dublin.

Gallery of exhibitions