​Group 8 Exhibition For Culture Night

Group 8 - Ballinasloe

For its twelfth outing, Ballinasloe-based artist collective - Group 8 will hold the opening of its annual exhibition, ‘EIGHT’, for Culture Night this year.
 
The exhibition gets underway on Friday September 23, at 7pm, in Artisan Alley at the Town Hall Theatre. The exhibition will run all day Friday 23 and Saturday 24, and will feature writing, paintings, wood turning, textiles, photography, ceramics, mixed media, and sculpture.  
 
Group 8 is a non-profit, professional arts group whose aim is to foster awareness, imagination and co-operative learning between the artist and the community. The group was founded in 2009 when a number of artists saw a gap for a group of professional artists in the town, their view was to come together and create a cultural offering for the town. Every year they hold an annual exhibition where they showcase their work and gives people an opportunity to talk to the artists and writers regarding their practice.
 
The group has since expanded from its original cohort of eight members, and they are now comprised of nine visual artists and two writers. The group consists of Joyce Little – visual and multimedia artist; Tommy Campbell – sculptor and woodturner; Lily Kelly – visual artist; Grellan Ganly – visual artist; Úna Spain – visual artist; Nuala O’Connor – writer; Zara Little-Campbell – writer; John Soden – painter; Walter Coughlan – ceramicist; Fiona Ormsby – textile designer; and Fiona Moore – painter.
 
Members of the group have been busy of late designing awards for the winners at the recent Cathaoirleach Community Awards. Finalist winners on the night received a specially commissioned award designed and hand-crafted by Zara Little Campbell and Tommy Campbell, the wonderfully crafted awards were made using local bog oak, resin and Ballinasloe Limestone.
 
This year’s exhibition ‘EIGHT’ is the result of collaborative work the members undertook, taking inspiration from the figure 8 itself; from the idea of the number eight as representing infinity; and/or from working within the parameters of producing eight pieces of work. As always, each artist or writer was free to interpret the theme whatever way they chose. with a view to add to the cultural interest of the town.
 
All are welcome to attend over the exhibition over the two days, admission is free and there will be refreshments served. The group hosts other exhibitions, literary events, artist talks, readings, workshops, and book launches, you can keep up to date with all their latest events by checking their blog thegroup8.blogspot.com and their Facebook page @group8ballinasloe where they post regularly.