IRISH WAVE 2015
This is a very quick overview to March 2015 exhibitions in Beijing and Shanghai with media links that will provide you with a more complete picture.
Artist/curators for Irish Wave March 2015 :Fion Gunn, Brendan Jamison, Niamh Cunningham and Mark Revels.
March 2015 had I believe the most successful IRISH WAVE to date gaining international coverage by China’s national TV English language station CCTV News “A Meditation in a Time of War” at Dong Yue Art Museum won the lead story to the primetime programme Culture Express.
Link
Details of “Sailing to Byzantuim “ and the opening of the show in Inter Art Gallery 789 in Beijing was also covered by China Daily and Global times. Even funding for the printing of a catalogue was supplied by Yeats 2015 as all the exhibitions were interlaced with the poetry of Yeats celebrating the poets birth 150 years ago.
For full view of all the shows please click on this link
BIGsmallartists- Irish Wave 2015
Other media links include:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2015-04/08/content_20024890.htm
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/2015-03/17/content_19837175.htm
Golden Fleece , Inter Gallery 798 , Beijing
My ginkgo painting here was the first of the series of Ginkgo paintings based on an area in Olympic Park in Beijing. It sold later in the year as part of a large commission and is currently installed in Huaxin Hospital Orthopaedic Centre. Please see video of Chaoyang health TV programme – of Ginkgo Glade on the sidebar of the homepage of this website.
Meditation at a Time of War, Dong Yue Art Museum, Beijing
Visiting Irish Minister Alan Kelly asks about my work ” Lonely Impulse of Delight” which is based on the Yeat’s poem “An Irish Airman Foresees his Death”
I have written on this work in an earlier post. please click here details of Niamh’s work showing at Wave 2015
Small World , San Wei Art Centre, M50 , Shanghai
Intimate Perspectives, mini show and artist talk , Shanghai Grand Theatre.
All the exhibitions were based or connected with the poetry of WB Yeats. After the Beijing shows were opened the Embassy of Ireland in Beijing kindly hosted an evening called “Poetic Vision” .
And overview of the exhibitions was presented by Fion Gunn and myself and other artists spoke on their work. Also speaking was eminent translator of Yeats poetry prof Fu Hao to share some nuggets of insight to the poet’s life. Prof Fu Hao had provided us with translated poetry for our catalogue that year. Ambassador Paul Kavanagh and Rosemary Kavanagh offered a wonderful evening for all 50 participants and every seat in the room was filled.
Apart from guided bilingual tours at weekends there were additional activities. A group of college students from Hotel Management school came to experience the exhibition with very enthusiastic and curious response.
Artist/Curators from Irish Wave 2015 were were invited to speak to students at Canvard College, Beijing. This was a wonderful experience to talk on experiences of installing collaborative group shows in China . We were also very grateful to the translators who helped us with this.
Many thanks to all the supporters of Irish Wave: Culture Ireland, Yeats 2015 fund, Inter Gallery 798, Dong Yue Art Museum Beijing, San Wei Art Centre Shanghai, Shanghai Grand Theatre, the Embassy of Ireland in Beijing, the Irish Consulate in Shanghai and to all Irish and Chinese participating artists, various media organisations and everyone else who have made the March shows a success.