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Tuesday February 7, 2007

Irish American Arts Awards To Grant $30,000 To Visual Artists Of Irish Ancestry

Maeve Walls, director of the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington with Ambassador Tim O'Connor, Consul General of Ireland and Simon Pereira Shorey, chairman the awards (James Higgins)

By John Mooney

Established to recognize, encourage and celebrate contemporary visual art by those of Irish ancestry across the world, The Irish American Arts Awards, announced prize totals of $30,000 for the winners of the 2007 competition.

Launching the second annual Irish American Arts Awards at the Time Warner Center's Samsung Experience, chairman Simon Pereira Shorey said: "We are riding on a groundswell of support from across the world and have immense potential to stir interest in contemporary visual art by those of Irish ancestry."

"Our goal is to positively impact the careers of artists across the globe as people come to recognize the scintillating work that they create," he continued. "I am especially pleased at how the panel of judges continues to attract the very highest talent there is, and at how many countries are joining in with enthusiasm."

Submissions For The Irish American Arts Awards Competition

The Irish American Arts Awards are open to artists from anywhere in the world, as long as they can show that they have at least one great, great grand-parent born on the island of Ireland. Submissions come from the field of the contemporary visual arts, which includes paintings, drawings, prints, lens-based media, installations and sculptures. There are two categories: one for artists up to age 35, and one for those over 35. Entries for 2007 will be submitted using an online form on www.irishamericanartsawards.org Images of the works can be uploaded. Entries, including .jpg images, may be submitted from March 17 until May 18, 2007. The short list will be announced June 5, and the recipients of this year's Irish American Arts Awards will be announced in September at a reception in Manhattan. The awards are sponsored by Samsung, Hennessy Cognac and cultúr éireann. For more information, see irishamericanartsawards.org

Among the attendees from the artistic community at the launch were veteran Irish actors Milo O'Shea and Malachy McCourt, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt, and Ciarán O'Reilly, co-founder of the Irish Repertory Theatre. Also on hand were Ambassador Tim O'Connor, Consul General of Ireland; Ambassador John Olsen, Consul General for Australia; and Maeve Walls, Deputy Director of the Northern Ireland Bureau based in Washington, DC. Cultural representatives from Canada and Monaco also attended, as did NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and Sir Hugh Orde, Chief Constable of Northern Ireland.

The world of art was represented by gallery owner Emily Jane Kirwan, associate director at the Marian Goodman Gallery, and artist Cheryl Donegan (both members of the 2006 panel of judges), Ronald Sosinski, director of The Proposition Gallery in Chelsea, and William Zimmer, long time lead art critic of The New York Times (members of the 2007 panel). Enrique Juncosa, director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, is the chairman of the panel.

"This is a great idea, which underlines the huge cultural and historical ties between Ireland, the USA, and the rest of the Diaspora at a time in which Irish Art is particularly visible and strong," said Enrique Juncosa.

Ambassador Tim O'Connor added: "I am delighted to offer our best wishes to the Irish American Arts Awards as it begins its second year of life. The first year was a terrific success and a complete vindication of the notion that the Awards was an idea whose time had come."

Last year's winners were Paul Rowley of Brooklyn (under 35 category) and Mary Kelly of Greystones, Co. Wicklow (over 35 category), who showcased the talented visual artists of global Irish community. The Dublin-born Rowley, who works primarily in film and video, was chosen as the overall winner.

"We strive to bond the Irish Diaspora together through our shared love and enthusiasm for art," Simon Pereira Shorey said.

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