Art experts join in BCA 20th anniversary events

CONNOLLY, Ireland - June 27, 2014 - PRLog -- The Dean of Colombia University's School of Art, a twice nominated Turner Prize painter, a former Danish Minister for Culture and a leading art theorist from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago are among the confirmed participants in a programme of events marking the 20th anniversary of Burren College of Art in County Clare.

From July 17-20th next, Ireland’s only independent fine art third level college will exhibit works by some of its most successful and high profile alumni and will host a symposium exploring alternative models of education, featuring contributions from groundbreaking Irish and overseas art education innovators.

Irish-born American painter and printmaker and twice Turner Prize nominee, Sean Scully will also receive an honorary Doctorate.

Located at Newtown Castle in Ballyvaughan, the Burren College of Art specialises in delivering a range of contemporary fine art programmes including photography, sculpture, painting and digital media, and in hosting leadership retreats and “audacious conversations” using creative methodologies. Postgraduate programmes at the College have been accredited by National University of Ireland, Galway since 2002.

Mary Hawkes Greene, President and Founder of the Burren College of Art (BCA) said the upcoming 20th anniversary celebrations are aimed at showcasing the success of BCA's alternative approach to education by providing students the time and space to develop their individual talents amidst the inspirational landscape of the world famous Burren.

She continued: "By facilitating discussion amongst leading art education innovators from around the world and by showcasing the works of our graduates, we are seeking to highlight BCA's contribution to the arts sector and to serve  as a creative springboard for re-imagining  what an art school can be at this moment of profound societal change.

Ms. Hawkes Greene added: “Creativity and Innovation are critical to our economic and social survival; nurturing creativity is what an art school needs to do. We believe everyone has the ability to be creative in whatever they do, and expanding this potential is our goal for the next 20 years."

"Establishing the College was in itself the creative act of a local, motivated by a passionate love of place and a vision to develop it appropriately. For the past two decades BCA has been the all-year round economic and social mainstay of Ballyvaughan and the wider Burren Region, our students breathing life into a community whose own youth have emigrated. The College has operated sustainably on a non-profit basis without any operational funding from the State. We are very proud of this achievement and of providing an alternative educational model that is intentionally small and focuses on individual development," she concluded.

The BCA 20th anniversary celebration gets underway on Thursday 17th July when stories of historical and contemporary alternative approaches from the US and Europe will form the basis for the two-day 'Ex-centric Alternatives' symposium.

Contributors include Uffe Elbaek, former Danish Minister for Culture, founder of Kaos Pilots design school and of” The Alternativet” political party; Professor Brian Butler, Director Black Mountain College Museum; Dr. Carol Becker, Dean of the School of Arts, Columbia University; Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, former rector of the Royal College of Art, London; Tracy Meisterheim, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden; and James Elkins, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The alumni exhibition, entitled “the Middle of Everywhere", opens on July 18th and will feature the work of 40 BCA past students from the US, Mexico, Canada, UK and Ireland.

The Sean Scully honorary conferring takes place on Saturday July 19th and will be followed by The Best of the Burren - a banquet of Burren food and a recital by Ballyvaughan-born Naomi O'Connell who has become an international opera star, accompanied by Archie Simpson, founder of the Lismorahaun singers.

“Burren College of Art has grown organically from the Burren. Our 20th anniversary is a celebration of the creativity of this place and its people. “

For more on the Burren College of Art, Newtown Castle, Co. Clare, and it 20th anniversary celebrations on July 17th-20th, visit www.burrencollege.ie.