Project Description

Accenture's Women on Walls is a campaign that seeks to make women leaders visible through a series of commissioned portraits that will create a lasting cultural legacy for Ireland. In July 2024, University College Cork joined the campaign. Accenture’s Women on Walls at UCC is the fourth chapter of this journey. They will be hung in the Aula Maxima (see below).

Pictured at University College Cork (UCC) are (l-r): Joanne O’Riordan, sports journalist, disability activist, motivational speaker and student of law; Caitríona Twomey, volunteer co-ordinator of Cork Penny Dinners; Dola Twomey, therapist/activist at the Sexual Violence Centre Cork; Mary Crilly, feminist activist and founding member and CEO of the Sexual Violence Centre Cork; Dr. Myra Cullinane, medical doctor, barrister and Senior Dublin District coroner; Sr. Sharon Fagan, Congregational Leader, Presentation Sisters (representing Honora ‘Nano’ Nagle); Dr. Naomi Masheti, psychologist, three-time UCC graduate and Programme Director of the Cork Migrant Centre. Photo credit: Clare Keogh

Message from the President

Professor John O'Halloran, President of UCC, said: “I am delighted that UCC is partnering with Accenture and Business to Arts to bring the Women on Walls campaign to Cork. It is important the diverse talents and contributions of women are recognised and that their stories are visible and celebrated. This campaign aligns with our University’s longstanding commitment to promoting and advancing equality, diversity and inclusion and creating an environment where everyone feels they belong. We hope the trailblazing women we will spotlight as part of this campaign will inspire and encourage our students, staff, alumni, and the wider community to pursue their dreams and realise their full potential.” 

The Campaign So Far

Women on Walls began in 2016 with the RIA. Five portraits of leading female academics were commissioned–the first in their 230-year history. In 2019, Women on Walls at RCSI celebrated the pioneering achievements of eight women leaders in healthcare. In 2021, DCU unveiled the third chapter of artwork for Women on Walls commemorating five women pioneers in science.

Aula Maxima Summary- The UCC Presidential Portraits Collection

The Presidential Portraits Collection at University College Cork are hung on the western wall of the Aula Maxima. These portraits form a coherent display of the institutional history of the University. Individually and collectively this is an assemblage of significant Irish artists, including John B. Yeats RHA, James Sleator PRHA, Edward McGuire RHA, Derek Hill HRHA, Basil Blackshaw HRHA, Colin Davidson RUA and Vera Klute ARHA amongst others. The portraits feature as a backdrop to conferring ceremonies and graduate memories in social media photos. The works are painted in a classical portrait style, with the sitters represented in academic attire (with some exceptions) and in some instances in a University setting. Treatments include both head and shoulders and half-body representations. The sizes of the portraits are varied as are the style of the frames. Individually, each portrait conveys a strong sense of the character of the sitter as well as mirroring contemporary art practices and methods, spanning the nineteenth century through to the early twenty-first century.  The paintings and some of the frames contained in this Collection are historic objects and of unique value to the University. In this context they must be treated as museum objects and all handling and display methods should conform to professional museum standards. The Collection was rehung in 2017.

Photo showing the Presidential Portraits Collection in the Aula Maxima at UCC. Credit: Tomás Tyner.

Artist Submissions

Business to Arts in partnership with Accenture’s Women on Walls at University College Cork announces an Open Call to Artists for a series of important portrait commissions of trailblazing women to be completed in 2025. Accenture’s Women on Walls at UCC is a campaign that seeks to make women leaders visible through a series of commissioned portraits that will create a lasting cultural legacy for Ireland and the next generations. The open call for artists is open from now until January 16, 2025.

Accenture’s Women on Walls will commission up to four artists to create three individual portraits and one group portrait of trailblazing women connected to the Munster region as selected in conjunction with the public via an Open Call for Subject Nominations ran by UCC earlier this year. The artworks will become part of the important Art Collection held by UCC and will be hung in the Aula Maxima, located in the historical Main Quadrangle, the heart of UCC.