Visit to ArtEZ Institute of the Arts Enschede

Poster in the Entrance Hall of the ArtEZ Institute of the Arts Enschede

I was in Enschede, The Netherlands earlier this month for my exhibition opening, and also at ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, (Aki/ ArtEZ) to give a lecture about my work, specifically on the development of a body of work and the refining of thought through a reflective practice. Following the lecture I met with students and gave tutorials.

I first visited the college last year to co-deliver a workshop using large format film cameras in the photography department as part of their multi-institutional Memento project. It was a delight to to meet staff I had met previously and to discuss the possibility of further staff exchanges between AKI & CIT/Crawford College of Art & Design in the future. My involvement is with the print, ceramics and photography departments there, and they are innovative and enthusiastic to share their time with us in CIT/ Crawford and we talked of some interesting projects we would like to develop together.

Thanks again to the Dean & Staff of ArtEZ Academy of the Arts (AKI) for the invitation to come to Enschede, and to Erasmus and Culture Ireland for helping to fund the visit. It was a very successful & interesting trip both as an artist and educator.

Document at Fotogalerie Objectief

Fotogalerie Objectief, Enschede.

Enschede, in eastern Holland, is a historic university town with a strong connection to the arts.

The exhibition, Document, is a solo show of my work at FotoGalerie Objectief at the invitation of ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, Enschede (AKI). The gallery space fits the work beautifully, allowing for quiet contemplative viewer engagement, exactly as the work was intended to be seen.

Document on the walls of Fotogalerie Objectief, Enschede

The exhibition was opened by Anke Weeda, the new Dean of ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, who gave a wonderful, well researched speech.

The opening night gave me a wonderful opportunity to chat to students as well as local people.

I was delighted to meet photographer Hans Bol at the opening. We have had some conversations by email so it was great to speak to him in person. I also met Martha Haveman and Karel Betman of Galerie Beeld & Aambeeld at the opening and was invited to meet them in their gallery the morning before I left. They have lots of Irish connections as they work closely with the Crafts Council of Ireland, Kilkenny design and they represent the Cork artist Billy Foley.

Opening of Document at Fotogalerie Objectief, Enschede

A huge thanks to the gallery committee, the Dean and staff at ArtEZ/AKI, and especially Marcel Vos, from their photography dept, who invited me to have the show, co-ordinated it all, and hung the show with me (well he did all the hard work and I encouraged him!) Thank you also to Culture Ireland for supporting this exhibition.

Document continues at Fotogalarie Objectief, Enschede until 28^th April 2012.