The First Days Of An Art World

The global shockwave of COVID-19 meant our cultural identity became a distant memory. As we set out to face the challenges of a vastly different society, the genesis of this exhibition formed through a series of online conversations between curators and artists, Neil Dunne and Robyn Carey, as a means to creatively challenge the outcome of the complicated and strange world they were facing down.

The showcase of works made by artists during the lockdown expands on the idea of community and togetherness, although mainly created in isolation. It serves as a memento to how things were and how they may be. It encapsulates the awe-inspiring power held within the creative process, whatever that process may be. It is a celebration of perseverance and adaptability.

The title of the show pays homage to an essay entitled “The Last Days of the Art World ... and Perhaps the First Days of a New One: Life after the coronavirus will be very different.” written by Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz.

“Whatever happens, we’re all conscripted into the service of art; we’re all volunteers. We need to play loose, loving, generous, being as creative and as unafraid as possible, adapting to change as it comes, and not falling back on old, outmoded, mean, or inapplicable dogmas. We all want to go

the distance for what we love. That distance has begun. Things are bleak, but batons will be and are already being passed to generations who will emerge on the other side of this who will have the brilliant chance to build a whole new art world. How long the interregnum lasts, I do not know. But on the other side, the survivors will always have the knowledge of what they learned about themselves as the angel of death walked among us.”

The First Days Of An Art World is an exhibition of works created by ten emerging and established Irish artists. The original works were commissioned specifically for this show during the pandemic. The exhibition will showcase a range of styles and narratives, with both abstract and figurative works in a range of mediums including painting, printmaking, and mixed media. The project will now expand to incorporate an ongoing platform to help cultivate new and exciting interactions with disused and derelict spaces across Dublin City.