ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

2017 – Royal Ulster Academy of Arts Exhibition

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The RUA (Royal Ulster Academy of Arts) 136 Annual Exhibition took place last year in the Ulster Museum, Belfast.   The exhibition was on the 5th floor of the museum (one floor up from the Game of Thrones (GOT) tapestry) and the consisted of works by 266 artists, 169 of whom had been selected from countries, including Germany, Poland, USA< France, Italy, Finland and Denmark.

A backdrop to the RUA’s exhibition was the display of Poppies: Weeping Window sculpture by artist Paul Cumins and designer Tom Piper.  The original installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Sea of Red’ was originally at HM Tower of London in 2014.  This installation was to reflect, as with all 14-18 NOW projects,  aims to prompt a new, nationwide dialogue around the legacy of the First World War.

 

 

Whilst there is no direct link between the two events, the sculpture of poppies certainly made for an interesting talking point for many visitors, whether this is outside, in the refreshment area, the shop or the other areas of the museum.

Returning to the RUA exhibition, for myself, I did not find any of the items on display stood out as exceptional.  They were obviously all of a high calibre, selected for their excellence by the panels, however, I did go back to the exhibition three times and from my visits I came away with these artists as someone to relook at:

 

Crossing - RUA Exhibition

Crossing

Kevin - RUA Exhibition

Kevin

As I said I did go back to the exhibition a number of times and was drawn over that time by a few pieces which seem to hold an affinity for me.  They stopped me, made me think and reflect, and after all that is what art in any shape or form should do – I look forward to this years exhibition, and again will be asking what would I like on my wall, what could and would I talk about but wouldn’t have on my wall?

National Day of Remembrance on Sunday

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RemembrancePoppiesThe annual Act of Remembrance for those who died in the two World Wars will be held this coming Sunday (8 November) at The Cenotaph, Garden of Remembrance, City Hall, Belfast.

The service will commence at 11am, and is expected to last around an hour. Anyone who wishes to attend can join us in the UUP room in City Hall (ground floor front) beforehand. There is a reception afterwards.

I spoke on Monday night in council on the minutes of the Diversity Working Group of 8 October 2015 (extract below) to encourage a substantial Blitz Memorial inscribed with the names of the 1,000 dead and the affected streets to be placed on the west side of City Hall. (I am chairman of the DWG.) The Belfast Telegraph has covered the matter in an article  with some evocative images (link further below).

“Officers have also discussed possible locations available for a large-scale memorial within the grounds of City Hall. It is estimated that the current monument to the Titanic cost in the region of £120,000 – £150,000. Any monument in the grounds of City Hall would require Listed Building Consent, and previous discussions with Environmental and Heritage Services indicate there may be difficulties obtaining planning permission for any structure which is considerable in size.

Also, finding an appropriate space in the East side would be extremely difficult because of the existing Titanic Memorial Garden. The front of City Hall is mainly laid out in lawns and recent commemoration structures such as the Magennis (VC) Memorial have been small in nature and balanced off with other statues.

Members may consider that due to the nature of the proposed Blitz memorial, the Cenotaph area might be deemed a more appropriate location.”

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/archive/events/belfast-plans-to-mark-75th-anniversary-of-blitz-34171488.html