ARTLINK is excited to announce Fort Dunree will host an exhibition of The Europeans by American photographer and multi-media artist Damaso Reyes from May 2, 2015 through June 1, 2015.
Mr. Reyes is an award winning photojournalist and former Fulbright scholar whose current project, The Europeans , documents how Europe and its people are changing as the European Union expands and which the New York Times describes as an “ambitious project” that “goes beyond the headlines.”
The show at Saldahna Gallery, Fort Dunree Military Museum will feature prints as well as multimedia audio-visual pieces produced by Mr. Reyes from material he has gathered over the last ten years from European countries including Germany, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Ukraine. Mr. Reyes’ intimate explorations of life in contemporary Europe, photographed in black and white on Kodak Professional Tri-X film, seeks to unveil the often untold ways in which politics, culture and identity intersect in the lives and communities across the continent.
Opening days and hours for the exhibition are Monday to Friday 10.30 am to 4.30pm; Sat and Sun 1pm to 6pm.
“I hope that my work will add to the discourse around how Europe is evolving,” says Mr. Reyes. “We always see leaders in the newspapers, but we also need to hear the voices and see the faces of those affected by the laws they make. As a journalist, I’m very interested in what the teacher, the farmer and the waitress are experiencing. The function of documentary work is not to simply record what is happening in the moment but to consider the context as well.”
This will be the first major exhibition of Mr. Reyes’ work in Ireland and we will use this as an opportunity to engage the public in a meaningful discussion on the current state of Europe.
“The Future of Europe and Ireland’s Place In It” is a panel discussion which will be held on May 9th at Saldahna Gallery, Fort Dunree Military Museum at 6pm. The panel will include Mr. Reyes, Marian Harkin, Independent MEP representing the 15 counties of the Midlands-North-West constituency in the European Parliament and will be moderated by Damian Dowds, editor of the Inishowen Independent.
In addition to the exhibition and panel discussion Mr. Reyes will lead guided tours and discussions about The Europeans with local students, encouraging a deeper discourse of the issues of culture, identity, immigration and the role of photojournalists to tell the stories of our day. He will also hold a Master Class on the afternoon of May 9th in street photography in conjunction with the Buncrana Camera Club (MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from “mailstat.us” claiming to be www.buncranacameraclub.com). Participants will receive free film donated by Kodak. The show will also be part of the Remote Photo Festival (May 8th to 11th) supported by the Regional Cultural Center in Letterkenny and The Gallery of Photography in Dublin.
Mr. Reyes is a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute and has received a Knight Luce Fellowship as well as grants from The Ford Foundation and The French-American Foundation. He has had solo exhibitions in the United States, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Switzerland and Germany and his credits include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Der Spiegel and The Miami Herald among others. Mr. Reyes has published long form articles in conjunction with his work on the The Europeans in World Policy Journal and on Forbes.com.
Travel support generously provided by The Arts Council of Ireland
About Artlink
Artlink was formed in 1992 and is the longest established professional art organization in Inishowen, Co. Donegal. Artlink’s remit is for the North West, including Northern Ireland. Artlink’s office, studio and workshop spaces are based at the historical and picturesque Fort Dunree Military Museum in Buncrana. Among our goals are to support the ambitions and profile of national and international artists by providing a platform for innovative artistic delivery and realization.
In addition we seek to increase public knowledge, understanding and appreciation of national and international contemporary art and present an innovative range of changing exhibitions, events, residencies, public art and education programmes.
Zara McDaid can be contacted on Facebook, search ‘Zara Mc Daid Art’, www.zaramcdaid-art.blogspot.ie, e-mail is zaramcdaid@hotmail.com, Twitter @zaramcdaidart and Instragram ZARA MC DAID
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)