b'Q. Q.Patrick, how do you like to introduce the Royal How else does the Royal Hibernian AcademyHibernian Academy to people who are new to your support and promote Irish artists?mission?A. Were truly here to support Irish artists in each stage of their career, much A.Firstandforemost,weareagroupoflivingartistswithagreat like the three stages of life.When theyre crawling like babies, we help them tradition. The artists work in many different styles. They work figuratively,stand up and give them some direction and support. An artists middle years they work in abstraction, they work in sculpture, and they work in photogra- can be established but they can often be very difficult as well because so phy. What we do is twofold, we try to really promote and document current art many awards are directed towards young artists. So those middle years need madebycurrentartistslivingandworkinginIreland.Wealsotryto attention too. Then when theyre senior, we can document them, give them contextualize Irish art with art from other places so we have guest artists andmajor retrospectives. To offer them the opportunity to see all of their workexhibitions. Currently, there are 30 Members, 15 Senior Members and 10 together. So thats our commitment to the individual Irish artist.Associate Members, all of whom are professional artists. Membership is for life and a new member is not voted in unless another member passes. Q.The Ireland Funds have been long-term supporters Q. of The Royal Hibernian Academy. What has thatThe Annual Exhibition of the Royal HibernianAcademy is an unusually democratic open call for relationship meant? artists. How doesA.TheIrelandFunds that work?have been so vital to us by A.Each year the Acad- supporting and facilitat-emy does an open call toinggifts.ThatsupportartistsaroundIrelandhasallowedustobeforourAnnualExhibi- ambitious. For the last 6 tionwhichrunsfromyears in Ireland, there was MaythroughAugust.Soplenty of ambition but very beginning in September,little fuel, very little money we open our doors to art- to fuel that ambition. In ists and ask them to senda number of key impor-orbringintheirworktantpointsoverthose forconsideration.Thatyears, The Ireland Funds workisthenjudgedby supporthashelpedus membersoftheAcad- maintain ambition. It has emy. This year celebratesallowed us to bring into the the 185th Anniversary ofcity and to our audience, the exhibition as we hadartworkthattheywould nearly 3,000 works sub- not have seen without that mittedandonly280offunding.those works were chosenStephen Johnston, and who are you? 2015, Oil on canvas, 100 x 150cm, Image courtesy of the artist.Q. Can you share to show in the exhibition,an example? where you can see a mix of work by these new artists and current Members from the Academy. And aside from commissioned portraits, all of the work is for saleA. The support has meant we can be very innovative and challenge our audi-to the public. This is key because it goes directly to support the artists. ence. It has been remarkable that we can get some of the most esteemed artists of the 20th century, such as Philip Guston, a really important American artist Q. of the mid to late 20th century and Bruce Nauman, one of the most formidable The logistics of managing 3,000 submissions foran exhibition must be quite a challenge. artists working today in video and in performance art. We created an exhibition A.Ithappensoverfivedays.Artistspullupincarsandvans,theres that combined their work with films of plays by Samuel Beckett in celebration truckloads coming in from all over the island. All this work comes in theof Becketts centenary.door and has to be signed in and carefully packed away before being seen andQ.adjudicated. So yes, its a real logistical challenge. But you know, I think thatsIrelands culture is celebrated around the world.fabulous because art is physical. What is distinctive about Irish art?A.Is there an Irish-ness to Irish art? Its a question yet to be answered.I think that its very difficult. But I do believe that if the gift of Ireland wasliterature in the 20th century, then the surge and the gift of Ireland to the world will be to the visual arts in the 21st century. Theres a new breath of fresh airhappening this year, almost a tentative romanticism in the content of what were seeing submitted. SOMETHING IS REALLY HAPPENING HERE AND ITS EXCITING.connect2015 | 46'