“I paint in response to the world around me in an attempt to speak to it, because I can’t separate the world from myself.”
– Patrick Hall

Swallowing Geography is a dual-venue exhibition and public programme at the Regional Cultural Centre and Glebe House & Gallery in Donegal. The intent of this exhibition is to observe the dynamics between belonging and exclusion in response to the Donegal context. It presents the lived and imagined experiences of inhabiting space, while exploring our engagement with geographical, domestic and digital worlds.

The title Swallowing Geography is borrowed from Deborah Levy’s novella which questions the idea of home – “Is home a good place? Or just somewhere to return to?”– and expands on our perception of belonging. The exhibition attempts to share the complex narratives about securing a place in the world where belonging is measured alongside exclusion, and broadly shares experiences of migration, displacement and marginalisation.

The exhibition includes a broad selection of artworks from the Arts Council Collection by Bassam Al-Sabah, John Beattie, Carmel Benson, Pauline Bewick, Deirdre Carr, Francis Carty, Carey Clarke, Felicity Clear, Dorothy Cross, James Dixon, Genieve Figgis, Hannah Fitz, Margaret Fitzgibbon, Martin Gale, Anita Groener, Patrick Hall, Patrick Hennessy, Patrick Jolley, Eithne Jordan, Allyson Keehan, Louis le Brocquy, Ruth E Lyons, Marielle MacLeman, Eleanor McCaughey, Sibyl Montague, Ciarán Murphy, Isobel Nolan, Mairead O’hEocha, Nano Reid, Constance Short, Maria Simonds-Gooding, Rajinder Singh and Andrew Vickery; Caroline McCarthy from the Irish Museum Modern Art Collection; and new commissioned work by Donegal artists Cara Donaghey, Laura McCafferty, Eoghan McIntyre and Jill Quigley. The commissioned exhibition text is written by Emily Cooper and Dean Fee, editors of The Pig’s Back journal.

Curator Audio Tour available here.

The official opening takes place on Saturday 15 October, 6pm – 9pm, at the Regional Cultural Centre and Sunday 16 October, 2pm – 5pm, at the Glebe House & Gallery.

• Regional Cultural Centre opens Saturday 15 October to Saturday 17 December, Tuesday to Friday, 11am – 5pm, Saturday, 1pm – 5pm.
• Glebe House & Gallery opens on Friday 7 October to Wednesday 30 November, Monday to Sunday in October, 11am – 5pm / Saturday and Sunday in November, 11am – 4pm.

Events Programme

• Thursday 3 November, 7 – 8pm: Screening The Land Question: Where the fuck am I supposed to have sex?, discussion with Eimear Walshe and invited guest, at the Regional Cultural Centre.

• Saturday 12 November, 2pm: Curator Tour, Regional Cultural Centre.

• Thursday 24 November, 7 – 8.30pm: Screening Masquerades of Research: Part I & II, discussion with Padraig Robinson and invited guest, at the Regional Cultural Centre.

Donegal Leaving Certificate students are invited to a two day intensive workshop in September to engage with contemporary art, develop an understanding of exhibition-making and deepen their appreciation. For more information ask your Art Teacher! The participants will curate their own exhibition in Gallery 2 at the Regional Cultural Centre, opening Saturday 15 October.

Swallowing Geography is produced and presented by the Regional Cultural Centre and Glebe House & Gallery, curated by the Early Career Curator in residence Rachel Botha.

Kindly supported by the Arts Council Ireland, OPW – Office of Public Works, Donegal County Council, Creative Ireland and Donegal Film Office.