President Mary McAleese to reopen the Lewis Glucksman Gallery
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President Mary McAleese to reopen the Lewis Glucksman Gallery
18.01.2010

President Mary McAleese will officially reopen the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, UCC to the public on Friday, January 22nd with the exhibition Thingamajig and mark the official celebration of the gallery’s 5th birthday.
The Lewis Glucksman Gallery suffered extensive flood damage to its basement level on the evening of Thursday, November 19th and has since remained closed to the public. The gallery team have been working hard to restore functionality to the building and this Friday director, Fiona Kearney will welcome President Mary McAleese to officially reopen the gallery spaces and to mark the official celebration of the gallery’s 5th birthday.

Artwork & Conservation Update
The art store was completely flooded on the evening of November 19th 2009. At the time, there were almost 200 artworks in storage. All works received emergency conservation in the aftermath of the flooding and as a result of this immediate response and ongoing treatment; the majority of works will be saved.  

As part of the re-opening displays, the gallery will exhibit three artworks that were in storage at the time of the flooding. This display will also include information on the conservation process and how the works were saved. As well as the artworks by Alice Maher, Billy Foley and Brian Lawlor, there will be a photographic slide show of the flooding damage and recovery operation.

A small number of art works will need further treatment. These include artworks by Hughie O’Donoghue and Louis LeBrocquy. The Glucksman is very grateful for the support it has received from the National Gallery of Ireland, the Chester Beatty Library, the National Museum, the Crawford Art Gallery and Mucros Bindery in order to provide the highest quality treatment and storage facilities for these artworks.

Birthday Celebration
As well as reopening the gallery, President McAleese will also mark the gallery’s official 5th birthday. Since opening, the Glucksman Gallery has become a major cultural attraction in Ireland with annual visitor numbers exceeding 70,000. The Glucksman has received numerous art and architectural awards, including Best Public Building in Ireland, a UK Civic Trust award, and was recently named as one of the 1001 buildings to see before you die.

Highlights of the five years include:
Recovery Fund
The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism provided a €75K grant to the Glucksman to its recovery fund and this has enabled the gallery to provide the best response possible to the major challenge of reinstating the building for public use. The Glucksman team and UCC Buildings + Estates have put in a huge effort to ensure that the exhibition areas are open to the public from January 22nd. The gallery will not be fully operational until late spring as building works continue on the Café and Education spaces that were badly damaged in the flood.

The Glucksman will continue to fundraise in order to provide its world-class exhibition spaces free of charge to the public and all donations are gratefully received to its recovery fund. During 2010, a number of fundraising concerts will be held and a limited edition print by Cork photographer Clare Keogh will be offered for sale as a fundraising initiative. Director Fiona Kearney will present President Mary McAleese with one of these prints at the launch and they will be offered for sale at €50 each through the gallery shop and online at http://www.glucksman.org

Photograph: President Mary McAleese signing the Visitors' Book at the President's Office, UCC with Dr Martin McAleese, Dr Michael Murphy, President, UCC and Ms Siobán Murphy.

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