16 June – 31 August 2022
A collaboration between Municipal Gallery, dlr Lexicon and Highlanes Gallery
From mid-June 2022, two neighbouring art galleries, in Dún Laoghaire and Drogheda presented ‘A Collection of Conversations’, a dementia inclusive exhibition. The artworks featured were from the dlr County Collection and the Drogheda Municipal Art Collection, and both exhibitions were specially selected by artists and trained Azure facilitators, Claire Halpin, Julie Merriman and Orla Goodwin for visitors with dementia in mind.
A series of free dementia inclusive events and tours took place throughout the exhibition run, inviting those living with dementia and their carers/ families to visit.
A multi-sensory installation was created in Gallery 2, dlr LexIcon, with the aim of being engaging as possible for people with dementia who visit the exhibition. The Growing Gallery was created by artist Joanna Hopkins.
This is supported by Creative Ireland under the Creativity in Older Age Scheme 2022.
Speaking about the selection of artworks, Claire Halpin, Julie Merriman and Orla Goodwin said:
“A Collection of Conversations reflects the rich and engaging conversations we as Azure trained facilitators have had with dementia groups looking at artworks in the two Collections, the tangents of discussions, the listening, the looking, the back and forth, exchange of stories inspired by what we see in the artworks.”
The exhibition included a wide range of engaging art works by important modern and contemporary artists on loan from Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda featuring artists Gerard Dillon, Evie Hone, Mary Swanzy, Nano Reid, William Leech, Nathaniel Hone, Diana Copperwhite, Thomas Brezing, Anthony Haughey, Kathy Tynan and Andrew Vickery and many others. These were shown alongside a selection of work from the DLR County Collection.
At the same time, in Highlanes Gallery Drogheda, works by Mainie Jellet, Melanie le Brocquy, Paul Hallahan, Bassam Al Sabah, George Potter, John Behan and many others were be presented with other key works from the dlr County Collection.
Gallery
