Art in the countryside
Open-air exhibition in Birdhill
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Edwina Knight beside her painting at the Open Air Art Exhibition at Birdhill.Image 2 of 5
RIGHT: Turdann O’Brien with a painting from Nenagh College at the art exhibition.Image 3 of 5
He loves his hurling and Darragh Harrington choose the sport theme for his painting on exhibition at Birdhill.Image 4 of 5
Zoe Parker beside one of the paintings from Nenagh College on display at the art exhibition.Image 5 of 5
With her painting at the art exhibition at Birdhill is Maree Ryan.Scores of art enthusiasts from near and afar have been admiring the variety of colourful paintings positioned along the tranquil Pollaghs Walking Trail over the past month.
With the theme ‘Capturing the moment’, is an open- air exhibition of art works spaced along the walking trail close to the village of Birdhill, which is now in its fifth year and has become an annual super attraction for art lovers. The exhibition for 2024 is now into the final two weeks and is due to conclude at the end of the month.
It comprises of a collection of work by more than 50 artists from a broad area of the region, including some newcomers to the country from abroad and presents an unusual variety of paintings.
The participants range from school students to professionals and the quality of the work continues to attract widespread interest for the quality of the work, imagination of the artists, young and not so young and their wide range of colours.
Each of the large paintings is fixed to posts firmly set in the ground and spaced along the winding rural walking trail route through the quiet countryside.
The exhibition is hosted by Birdhill Art Club, under the management of Australian-born, Melissa Ryan, in conjunction with Birdhill Tidy Village and the support of Creative Ireland and Tipperary Arts Council, the co-operation of local landowners and the generosity of its sponsors.
In her brief to the participants she explained that the chosen theme “refers to a feeling, an emotion, a vibe or an action picture”.
She told them that their work should be about “capturing a moment in time, capturing a scene, a person, a thing, or an action through painting encapsulating a moment and preserve it through creative expression”.
She encouraged them to show their ability to capture a moment in time to relive the image and share it with others, having created an everlasting memory that the viewer can revisit multiple times. For the duration of the exhibition, the Birdhill Art Hubs social media pages has been offering the opportunity to visitors to vote for their favourite piece of art on exhibition or for their choice of favourite artist from the work exhibited.
An added attraction this year is the ‘Free Little Art Gallery’ situated on the route, which contains a number of small pieces of art and visitors over the weeks have been invited to add their own piece of art to the collection or take a piece of art from the collection for free.