REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF A SECOND GALLERY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF A SECOND GALLERY AT THE DOUGLAS HYDE GALLERY TRINITY COLLEGE
A chairde uilig,
Is onóir dom bheith anseo libh inniu ag ócáid speisialta seo i saol na nDánlann seo.
It is always a special pleasure to return to Trinity College for any reason but this event is particularly significant. I remember being here when the Gallery first opened over twenty years ago and it is a great privilege to be able to celebrate the official opening of a second exhibition space within the Gallery which bears the name of my distinguished predecessor and first President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde.
As a man who dedicated his life to building bridges of not just of amiable respect but of real intellectual curiosity between different strands of Irish culture, I have no doubt that Douglas Hyde would be very proud of this Gallery’s many achievements since those days, two decades ago, when its arrival on the Dublin arts scene gave us a glimpse of the culturally vibrant, self-assured Ireland which was on the way. It was smart, modern, accessible, challenging, provocative and now it can be twice as smart, accessible, challenging and provocative.
I have just returned from a State Visit to Finland, and I believe it was the 19th century Finnish statesman and philosopher, J.V. Snellman, who wrote that a small nation’s power is in its culture. Never was that more true than in the case of present-day Ireland, where the creative energy infusing all forms of our cultural expression – from poetry to dance, music to theatre and the visual arts - has gone hand in hand with, indeed has helped to fuel, our economic success. There is a palpable air of confidence among Irish artists in every medium – and that is particularly important for the visual arts sector in Ireland. For while we have always been renowned as wordsmiths, there has been a sense all too often that visual art has been the poor relation. That was a great pity, for in many ways, visual art is the most accessible of art forms. The educationalist John Berger, has said that ‘seeing comes before words’ – visual art is an international medium through which everyone, regardless of culture, language or education, can bring their own experience and draw their own personal meaning. That capacity is of particular relevance here in Ireland, where we know only too well how words can sometimes divide rather than unite, create mutual mistrust rather than understanding. The visual arts, on the other hand, provide an important channel for transcending traditional boundaries and categories.
We owe a great deal to Galleries such as this for fostering that creative potential in Ireland over these past, at times difficult, decades. Credit is due, in particular, to Professor George Dawson, whose vision was so instrumental in helping to get the Gallery off the ground in the first place. But I would also like to pay tribute to its present day team, especially the Chairman, Professor David Spearman and Director, John Hutchinson, for their outstanding work. Together with the Board, staff, and Patrons of the Gallery, they have constantly renewed that vision, ensuring it has remained fresh and relevant by responding to the changing needs around it. The Hyde Gallery has given us retrospectives by established Irish and international artists, it has introduced us to emerging, contemporary young artists and indeed, exhibitions such as the Kalachakra Sand Mandala, created by Tibetan Monks, which attracted 26,000 visitors in three weeks, are proof positive that contemporary art can and does appeal to a wide and varied audience.
This new addition to the Gallery will greatly enhance its capacity to build on the creative collaboration you have built up with artists from Ireland and abroad and the huge credibility you have created with Irish audiences and the many visitors who also cross this threshold and who take back to countries all over the world an image of Ireland which is one to take pride in. I warmly commend all those who have worked so hard to sustain and develop the Hyde Gallery and I wish the current and future artists who will exhibit in the new space, every success in their work and much enjoyment to all future audiences.
Is iontach an obair áta ar súil agaibh. Gura fada buan sibh.