As The Model offices wrap up for 2009, we would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas. As already blogged, we’ve had a very busy year with The Model Offsite and we hope you can join us in Sligo in 2010 for the most anticipated event of the year, the re-opening of The Model, Home of The Niland Collection.
As a little present from us to you, we would like to share with you some of our programme that we have confirmed so far for the year ahead. We’ve been dying to share all this for some time as it has been tremendously exciting working on it over the past few months and even years!
Closed for a major redevelopment since early 2008 the centre has been much missed, but the works will be worth the wait. With over 70 people currently employed on site, The Model is being transformed into a world-class visitor attraction with museum standard galleries, a purpose build performance space, a new destination restaurant, and nine stunning artist studios with panoramic views of Sligo below.
The redevelopment has been funded by The Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism (under the Access scheme) and the EU (under the BMW Infrastructural fund), with significant additional funding from the Local Authorities, Model fundraising, and Sligo patronage. Designed by Sheridan Woods architects, the redevelopment of The Model will deliver a space that focuses on the needs of the visitor and the artist in equal measure. As an unparalleled cultural resource for the region, and the place to be, The Model will have a vibrant programme and act as a vital hub for locals and visitors alike.
The first major project will be DORM. Artist collectives from around the world will inhabit The Model, transforming the building in an unprecedented, all-encompassing art project. The building will be filled by national and international artist collectives with art exhibitions, concerts, screenings and discussions forming part of the multi-disciplinary project. An innovative partnership with IT Sligo is also set to be unveiled as part of DORM in the new year.
After re-opening, The Model will also commence an international cinema programme in collaboration with the Irish Film Institute. This programme will bring first run, award-winning films from around the world to Sligo.
One of the first events to be held in The Model is the Sligo New Music Festival, curated by Ian Wilson and celebrating the early, ground-breaking music of Gavin Bryars, including two classic works. The festival will also include new work by leading Northern Irish composer Frank Lyons.
The Model is home to Sligo’s prestigious Niland Collection, which houses the second largest Jack B.Yeats collection in Ireland, second only to The National Gallery. The Niland Collection has been greatly missed since closure. The Model is delighted, therefore, to announce a majorly significant Yeats’ exhibition for summer 2010. Co-curated by internationally renowned artist and curator Brian O’Doherty, the exhibition, entitled Jack B. Yeats;The Outsider, will bring together Yeats’ greatest works. Opening in July, this is a hugely significant show for Ireland, taking place in Sligo. The exhibition was recently chosen as the Irish Times Critics Choice for 2010, more details here.
Also in 2010, a Model co-commission of a Duncan Campbell film entitled Make it New John which tells the story of the DeLorean car, its creator John DeLorean and the workers of the Belfast-based car plant who built it, will also be screened alongside the Yeats exhibition.
The final exhibition of the year features new work from one of the world’s greatest living artists: Ilya Kabakov. Working with his partner Emila, the Kabakovs will present Fallen Angel; a full installation throughout the gallery devoted to a monument of an angel that fell to earth. The exhibition involves paintings, sculptures and entire rooms constructed around this fantasy — both child-like and richly romantic. The Kabakovs will literally be coming from their retrospective exhibition at The Louvre in Paris to mount their exhibition in Sligo, which is a major testament to the international level of Model programming.
The entire Model team are eagerly anticipating a return to The Mall and looking forward to welcoming visitors back info this wonderful building. A major reopening celebration is being planned for the Spring, with details under wraps until the new year. A sneak peek at the building works is available through a series of short video tours on The Model’s blog