Caroline O’Leary reveals some of her favourite sources of art news, listings and general info.
The art world can be a difficult place to negotiate, encompassing local, national and international work, big and small galleries, critically acclaimed artists and students starting off. It’s enough confusion to make a person weep in despair, as I well know from my own experiences of trying to select potential articles for the art section. Though obviously the tn2 art section and this blog are great ways to find out what is going on, here are a few other suggestions that can help you stay in the artistic loop.
As I am sure anyone reading this will know, probably your best sourse of art information is newspapers. The Guardian has one of the best art sections featured in the paper on a Wednesday and covering everything from fine art to design, photography and architecture. If you miss an edition or don’t want to shell out fifty cents every week you can check out their website at www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign where all the articles are featured along with blogs and more specific sections. Particularly worth checking out is their current series of “1000 art works to see before you die” which is in its forth volume of five and offers a huge cross-section of works across times, cultures and styles. Also definitely worth a small investment is The Sunday Times, whose Culture section mixes reviews and features on both major Irish exhibitions with important English and European shows as well as interesting art and culture based stories and interviews in the main section and News Review supplement.
For smaller, local offerings, the Temple Bar Cultural Trust office on Essex Street (just down the cobbles from the main square) is a mine of leaflets and information on local shows and exhibitions taking place in cafes, temporary exhibition spaces or even the streets. Also try to pick up local papers such as Totally Dublin which highlights more select but often facinating little shows which may only be on for a few days – blink and you’ll miss a treat!
www.dublinks.com has a great rundown of all the galleries and exhibitons in Dublin city and county. The A-Z listing on www.dublin.ie is worth a look as well. It’s also worth bearing in mind that many galleries have great websites where you can sign up to mailing lists and have information sent right to your inbox.
A little initiative and searching can yield great results for all tastes, enough to blag you through an art-based conversation at least!
