The ‘People’s Art’ exhibition on St Stephen’s Green is celebrating its 40th birthday this weekend.
Four decades since the concept was launched in 1984, it still costs just €30 to display works at the unique open air gallery along the railings of the park in the heart of Dublin city centre.
The group is voluntary, part time and non-profit making and started when the then Dublin Corporation wanted to promote visual arts to the public.
At the time the artist Robert Ballagh said it had proved popular from the start and he was hopeful it could become an annual event.
“Already we can see it’s generating a tremendous amount of interest,” he told RTÉ at the time. “The artists have responded tremendously.”
Now the three-day exhibition runs each month from May until September.
After expenses are paid each year, donations are made to various charities.
The artists can only hang their works on the historic railings of the park with string, and they are not allowed to visibly display prices, which they can make available in a catalogue.
“It’s to encourage people to showcase their art, people of all levels, both amateur and professional,” explains organiser and artist Willie Redmond.
He says it allows artists to meet the public and expose their art to a wide group of people. “Through the years people have used this as a stepping stone for their careers.”
He says footfall on St Stephen’s Green has increased over the years, although it is a lot harder for artists to find parking spaces nearby so they can bring their art into the city centre.
Instead some are using lighter canvasses and bringing in smaller paintings. There is also more international interest too, with a steady stream of tourists from the nearby Shelbourne Hotel, or those who take a look as they are getting on and off the various bus tours that depart from the area.
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Painting a picture of the Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre whilst it’s still standing, as well as the nearby Luas tracks is Laura Trueman. Originally from Co Antrim, she says the exhibition has a great vibe and she enjoys meeting customers and other artists, while she paints.
“The first month that I did it, a girl came up behind me and she said ‘you’re very good at drawing’ and she asked to buy my painting. I sold it to her but it wasn’t finished. She took it away home and she was very happy.”
The treasurer for the exhibition Peter Sheridan is there in his van today to make sure that everyone is complying with the rules and not causing any obstructions around the Green. Each artist must exhibit a minimum of four paintings in their space.
“It’s €30 for the entire weekend. I mean a coffee and a sandwich is about €12 or €13 now, so you get to come here and exhibit your art.
“Some people have never hung before and they get advice on how to hang their paintings and they get contacts about where to get their frames and so on. It’s a great community.”
He says the summer has been challenging for some of the artists, when it comes to the weather. The exhibition in June was curtailed by the rain.
“June was a washout. I felt sorry for the people. It’s ok with oil and acrylics but if anything gets on water colours, bang, you’re in trouble.”
Even on brighter days, displaying artists are advised to have rolls of plastic on standby.
But Zanya Dahl says she has been embracing the Irish weather recently with a series of paintings capturing the joy of people dancing and tasting the rain.
“The fact that we live in Ireland, we have so much rain and lets celebrate it and enjoy life in the rain,” she says.
“I just love that we have this diversity of subject matter, talent and styles and so to just have this visual wall of beauty, it’s such a gorgeous thing to have in the city centre.”
Brendan Higgins says he has been displaying on St Stephen’s Green for 20 years and he takes two spaces to display his work at a cost of €60, but he says the artists can easily make this back through the sale of just one painting.
He specialises in painting mainly Irish musicians as well as tiny canvasses on easels which are easy for tourists to pack in their suitcases when they head home.
“The likes of Rory Gallagher, Luke Kelly, Phil Lynott, they’ll just sell. U2, not a lot of interest, I don’t know whether it’s the Irish begrudgers, but people turn their face up when they see Bono for some reason,” he says.
Independent art curator Tony Strickland, was there today in one of his array of hats. “I’m working my way around… I’d always be on the look out for artists and in fact I’ve represented some of these artists in group shows and such.”
He says the small outlay for artists is great and people get to see the work. “People who might be intimidated going into a gallery, possibly and they come out and they make and effort or they’re just walking around St Stephen’s Green on a beautiful sunny day.”
A number of tourists were out looking at the works on display including Aidan Raso and Pete McEvoy from New York who said they might consider bringing something home with them.
Rita Tvedt said she hadn’t bought art before, but she crossed the street for the first time today to take a closer look. “I just started appreciating art recently so for today, I’m just looking, not buying yet.”
Small canvases from up and coming artists can sell for less than €50.
But larger pieces from more established artists have sold in the past for tens or even hundreds of thousands of euro.
