ReView Curated by QSS Artist Meadhbh McIlgorm for Glass Society of Ireland

ReView was a unique, environmentally conscious exhibition and gathering which took place in Hunting Brook Gardens, Blessington on September 10th and 11th 2022.

It was a Glass Society of Ireland (GSoI) project, curated by QSS artist and curator Meadhbh McIlgorm, featuring the work of 14 female artists. The exhibition used minimal resources and the inspirational environment to give new context to older or unresolved work by literally bringing them into fresh air and fresh light. The final output will be a short film currently in production with Jenny Keogh of Stand Out Films.

Meadhbh explains,

‘The GSoI had taken the theme of Climate Change for the International Year of Glass 2022. In an early ‘think tank’ session with members to co-design the programming, something that kept coming up was a sort of ‘maker eco-guilt’, an awareness that, particularly working in glass, we use a lot of energy and resources and that there is a pressure to keep producing new work to be eligible for most open calls and opportunities in the sector. We all end up with a significant ‘personal collection’ sitting around in boxes.

We wondered how we could address this – putting on a high quality exhibition that showcased older work while setting things up to be as ‘environmentally light’ as possible. I suggested a type of pop-up, outdoor show and it all grew from there…. reduce, reuse, ReView.

It was a really special project and it’s not over yet – phase 2, with the online presentation and film are still to come and will reach many more people, so watch this space! To be honest I think I’m still processing the full impact of what we did and what we’ve learned – some really interesting things are coming up in the feedback from artists and visitors particularly around the value of being present with your work and your peers.’

More info:https://www.glasssocietyofireland.ie/review/

Images of ReView by Meadhbh McIlgorm