Past exhibitions

Visual arts at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre

From it's inception, the mission of Birr Theatre & Arts Centre has been to bring the arts to the heart of Birr community without limitations. Our foyer is a magnificent space full of light and ideal for locals to discover visual artists, engage with their works and discuss their ideas.

Over the years, Birr Theatre & Arts centre has hosted numerous exhibitions in this space, and we would like to offer a glimpse of the visual art history of our theatre.

Click on to explore the art!

Vincent Devine : Pause...

Nearly all of the "Ambigutrees" painting exhibited in this series contain hidden shapes in the tree or branches. Some are symbolic and some literal.

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The hidden shapes in the trees also ask the viewer to search and spend time on the paintings for longer. This is a commentary on how sometimes artwork can be skimmed over and judged on just a purely visual spectrum.

The reward for standing and allowing the painting to occupy your mental and physical space then gives the visual reward that there are more to these “trees” than meets the eye with the shapes becoming apparent after a time.

Common Ground 2021

For the 14th Annual Common Ground – an exhibition of work by artists living in the Midlands - we settled on the theme of "On The Farm"...

A theme that has inspired artists since the Mesolithic era when nomadic tribes stopped moving and began to plant crops and raise domesticated animals. Crops grown in rows impacted the design patterns seen in paintings, weavings, ceramics, and jewellery.

​St Brendan's Community School
Art Department Showcase

For the past 22 years Birr Theatre & Arts Centre has fostered interest in the arts and encouraged visual artists of the future. That is why we are so passionate about our annual showcase with St Brendan's Community School.
 
Since 2010, working with the school's Art Department, we host an annual Student Art Exhibition showcasing a selection of student’s work giving young artists a place to showcase their budding talents.

Here we look back at a selection of these projects, examine the work process and hopefully we reveal a glimpse of how we can encourage students to be creative, explore self-expression and develop an appreciation for artistic work (their own or that of others).