Crawford Art Gallery reopening for busy spring/summer season

THE iconic Crawford Art Gallery is reopening tomorrow after a month-long closure to investigate redevelopment options for the 300-year-old building.

The purpose of the investigations, which were carried out on schedule, was to understand more about the fabric of the building in order to assist with the design and cost plans for the redevelopment which is due to begin on-site in late 2023.

A full programme of exhibitions and events will be available from tomorrow.

Commenting on the year ahead, director Mary McCarthy said: “‘We are relieved to have phase one of the investigations work complete, which went really smoothly thanks to the expert team from PJ Hegarty’s and the collaboration with the OPW.

“It was a fascinating process seeing deep into the building, below the floors and into the walls. The investigations will continue at the back of house areas for a further number of weeks as planned.”

From April, Crawford offers a diverse programme of exhibitions featuring the gallery’s own national collection with ‘Botanica: The Art of Plants’ and The Port of Cork Collection as well as additional contemporary exhibitions, ‘Saturation: The everyday transformed’ and the brand new Zurich Portrait Prize 2021 and Zurich Young Portrait Prize 2021.

A showing of Jellyfish Lake by Dorothy Cross also features in the screening room.

Mrs McCarthy said: “We are delighted to be open as we enter late spring and summer and have an exciting programme of new exhibitions opening Thursday, including the hugely popular Zurich Portrait Prize in collaboration with National Gallery of Ireland and ‘Botanica: The Art of Plants’ an exhibition on plant life that features many of our recent acquisitions.

“We are reinvigorating our family tours and Sunday programmes and we look forward to having the public back in the building and supporting Cork thrive as a cultural city.

“The summer programme will be dynamic and participative with a significant Summer exhibition Meat and Potatoes — which explores food through artworks over the centuries and brings together some of Cork’s leading food advocates for discussions and experiments”.

Crawford Art Gallery once again welcomes the highly anticipated Zurich Portrait Prize to Cork and Munster, in partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland.

Sponsored by Zurich Ireland, this is the third time the exhibition will travel outside of Dublin to Crawford Art Gallery, creating a wider opportunity for the public to encounter the remarkable portraits on display.

Visitors can also look forward to the return of the popular free tours every Sunday and bank holiday Mondays at 2pm and a vibrant ‘Learn and Explore’ programme for schools, specialist groups, and the wider community.