Christmas gallery shows and making it onto the John Richardson French Residency finalist shortlist; December brought many joys.
I’ve been very lucky this year to have work in three Christmas gallery shows this December. The Solart Gallery Christmas show in Dublin went very well, I’m delighted my work went to wonderfully discerning collectors so big thank you to Martin and Jay for all their hard work throughout the year.
Hark! Hambly & Hambly’s Christmas show opened in two separate locations in Enniskillen; the original gallery in Dunbar House and the new town centre gallery (6 East Bridge Street). It looks like exciting times for Ciara and the team for 2024 as the new pop-up gallery looks to stay, offering in-house framing too.
ArtisAnn Gallery in Belfast also had a lovely Christmas show and already have new exhibitions coming up in January worth checking out. Another big thank you to Ann & Ken.
John Richardson French Residency Finalist 2024
I was delighted to receive the news I’d made the shortlist of finalists for the John Richardson French Residency Award 2024. It’s my first time applying so I’m over the moon I’ve made the shortlist. Judging takes place in the spring, so best of luck to all the finalists.
My cultural highlights for 2023 in this week’s art section of the Anglo Celt
Best County Cavan arts event: Border Biennale Exhibition at Cavan Townhall, curated by Rita Duffy and Joe Keenan. The design of the exhibition by Mark St. John Ellis was just superb with all the large artworks given the reverence they deserved as the entire theatre space was transformed into a beautifully lit exhibition hall. A fantastic concept; more please.
One to watch: Cavan band, Marcus Magee and the Hollaw Men. Catch them live if you can; their shows sell out fast. We Are Young and Mac Dee are beautiful original songs filled with special meaning, but the whole set is rocking. Their first album is in the pipeline, so keep an eye out for that!
Best film: The Killer. Director David Fincher waited patiently for a gap in Michael Fassbender’s busy car racing schedule for him to play the lead role in this stylish thriller. The soundtrack featuring The Smiths and original music by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails elevate this film to an instant cult classic. Highly recommend.
Best book: Negative Space by Cristín Leach. Part memoir, part love letter to the art world, Cristín’s debut book is built on over two decades as an art critic and four decades as a human being. It is incredibly deep, personal and uplifting, a real gem of a book.
Best TV: Fargo Season 5. It’s 2019, it’s Minnesota and the identities have been changed once again as this true tale sees a new reincarnation. Jon Hamm plays a conservative cowboy sheriff tracking down his wife with the customary dire consequences. The cinematography is also quite brilliant in this black comedy thriller.
Best music: CMAT. I discovered larger than life Irish band CMAT this year as she was playing support at Florence and the Machine at Malahide Castle. Wow! Seeing Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson perform live is like watching a country music panto, especially when she sings instant classics like I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby! Hugely entertaining and a truly gifted songwriter, definitely one that’s headed for the big time.
Best podcast: I'll never tire of The Blindboy Podcast. It’s so varied and unsurprisingly award winning. Topics can include anything from Irish mythology to mental health, the arts and/or international politics and all delivered in a calm, gentle format.
Mailing List Winner!
Big congratulations to Ollie Gargan who won one of my new, hand-made prints in my annual mailing list subscriber competition.
Every year, on the first of December, I pick a number at random using the google random number generator. Then use that number to pick one name from all the names on my mailing list (each subscriber’s number is automatically generated by the website software when they sign up). If you’re on my mailing list you’re automatically entered into the draw every year!! It’s my thank you for your continued support.
Next year I’ll be working more at the Creative Spark Print Studio and I look forward to sharing more of my work/creative explorations with you on social media and through these newsletters.
Social Media
I put all my important news in this monthly newsletter so you don’t feel like your missing out if you’re not on social media. I use Facebook very little, Instagram a lot more and I’ve enjoyed Threads recently as I deleted my Twitter account last year.
