Dlr Open Exhibition 2019 • Selected by Aoife Ruane, Director, Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda • 13 December 2019 – 26 January 2020

Submission dates and times: Thursday 21 November, 10am – 7pm and / or Friday 22 November between 10am – 4pm.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is delighted to invite submissions from artists who have studied in, are living in, working in or originally from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County for the biennal Open Exhibition to be held at the Municipal Gallery, dlr Lexicon, Dun Laoghaire from 13 December 2019 – 26 January 2020.  The theme of the 2019 exhibition is Utopia Dystopia and the exhibition will be selected by Aoife Ruane, Director of Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda.

Aoife Ruane invites artists to respond to the theme of the exhibition, and explains:

“A utopia is a perfect world.  In utopia, there are not problems like war, disease. poverty, oppression, discrimination, inequality etc. while in dystopia, on the other hand, is a world in which nothing is perfect.  The problems that plague our world are often even more extreme in dystopia. At this moment in the 21^st century and in a complex world of extremes and oppositions what does this mean for artists today?”                                                                   

A launch will take place on Thursday 12 December for selected artists and invited guests. Dlr County Council will present an award of €1,000 to the overall winner of the Open Exhibition and two runner up prizes of €250 each.  The exhibition will be accompanied by a Learning Programme including talks, tours and workshops led by professional artists and facilitators including Open Studios in the Project Room and Dementia Friendly Gallery Tours of the exhibition. The exhibition opens on Thursday 12 December 2019 and runs until Sunday 26 January 2020 in the Municipal Gallery, dlr Lexicon, Dún Laoghaire.

For further information or images please contact Carolyn Brown, email: cbrown@dlrcoco.ie or phone dlr Arts Office: (01)236 2759.