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    • Home
    • About Us
    • Exhibitions
      • Brigid 1500
      • Life Goes On
      • Summer Show 2023
    • Events
    • Media
    • The Artists
      • Margaret Becker
      • Pamela de Bri
      • Sylvia Hemmingway
      • Karen Hickey
      • Liza Kavanagh
      • Lia Laimbock
      • Mary McGrath
      • Ann McKenna
      • Brian O’Loughlin
      • Eleanor Swan
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Exhibitions
    • Brigid 1500
    • Life Goes On
    • Summer Show 2023
  • Events
  • Media
  • The Artists
    • Margaret Becker
    • Pamela de Bri
    • Sylvia Hemmingway
    • Karen Hickey
    • Liza Kavanagh
    • Lia Laimbock
    • Mary McGrath
    • Ann McKenna
    • Brian O’Loughlin
    • Eleanor Swan

SULT

SULTSULTSULT

An artist led collective

An artist led collectiveAn artist led collective

Brigid 1500

brigid 1500, 2024

Open Call for National and International Artists

2024 marks the 1500th anniversary of the death of St. Brigid.  SULT Artist-led Collective is organising a large-scale National and International Open Call  Exhibition to reflect the traditions, customs and symbols associated with the many versions,  Irish and International, Celtic, and spiritual, of Brigid, her legacy, her influences, her life. 


Following the wide range and high standard of events and public interest generated both nationally and internationally at the launch of the Brigid 1500 festival in 2023, this Open Call will be an extraordinary opportunity for artists to display their work in what promises to be a memorable occasion in February 2024.


The exhibition will take the form of an Art Trail in the centre of Kildare Town during the  month of February 2024. The exhibition will be accompanied by a high-quality, limited  edition catalogue of the selected artwork. 


This project is supported by Brigid 1500 and Kildare Co. Council Arts Service. 

Informaton for Artists

Brigid of Kildare by Liza Kavanagh

Call Out Specifications

This callout specifies:


  • Visual response to Brigid in any medium.
  • Minimum size 30cm in any direction and maximum 150cm in any direction. 
  • Materials should be as sustainable as possible. 
  • The work must have been created from 2020 onwards and must be accompanied by 50 - 100 word account of the story or tradition influencing the work. 
  • The exhibition will be accompanied by a high-quality, limited edition catalogue of the selected artwork and a short account of the story or tradition accompanying the work.  

Resources

A comprehensive list of research materials and resources is available to print or save .

Find out more

Terms and Conditions

Please review the full guidelines and terms and conditions. 

Find out more

Submissions

Submissions must be made through the dedicated submission platform which is online only and which will be live from 1st May  -  15th September 2023.  

Apply Now

Key Dates

  • Open For Entry: 1st May 2023 
  • Entry Deadline: 15th September 2023, 11:59pm 
  • Selection Notification: 30th September 2023
  • Artwork Delivery: 19th- 21st October 2023 
  • Exhibition Open To Public: 1st – 29th February 2024 
  • Collection of unsold work: By Saturday 9th March 2024

watch: Brigid 1500, 2024 Information session - 22ND mAY 2023

Mario Corrigan: St. Brigid of Kildare

 Mario Corrigan, Historian and Senior Librarian, Kildare Co. Council, speaks about aspects of Brigid for Brigid 1500, 2024 celebrations.  

Sr Rita Minahan: The Spirit of St Brigid in our Contemporary World

 Sr. Rita Minahan, a Brigidine sister based in Solas Bhríde, Kildare Town, speaks about the living spirit of Brigid today. 

Dr Shauna Gilligan: Envisioning Brigid

 Author Dr Shauna Gilligan  looks at Brigid through the lens of artistic creativity, specifically literature. The series of  talks were  organised to inform artists when researching Brigid for the Open Call Art Trail, February 2024 in Kildare Town, organised by Sult Artists.  For more information see www.sultartists.com 

Mary McGrath: Brigid, Forest and Farm

 Mary McGrath, artist and conservationist, speaks about animal and wild life species in Ireland during the era of St. Brigid.  

Karina Tynan: Stories of Brigid, Goddess and Saint

Author Karina Tynan reads from her beautiful writing about Brigid, Saint and Goddess. 

Brigid Unfolding, 2023

An Exhibition of Paintings, Glass, Prints and Sculpture, Brigid Unfolding was the inaugural exhibition by SULT and invited artists as part of the Brigid 1500 Programme of Events 2023 -2024. It was held in No.8  Gallery, Academy St., Kildare and was a thought- provoking exhibition celebrating the life and lore of Brigid of Kildare.  


Artists approached the theme of Brigid Unfolding from various different viewpoints: Brigid as patroness of Ireland, of poetry, learning, fertility, healing, blacksmithing, livestock, among others. She shares her name and feast-date with Brigid, the Celtic goddess associated with the pre-Christian festival Imbolc. Her fame and influence are worldwide. Since there are few historical facts, debate continues as to her existence as Christian or pagan. 


Whatever her origins, folklore states that she founded a monastery in Kildare and is widely associated with a variety of customs and traditions. Take, for instance, the practice of manifesting wishes or prayers using trees. This practice emerged in ancient times and continues to this day in many cultures all over the world. In Ireland it is common to find a tree growing near a holy well which has an assortment of rags or ribbons hanging from its branches. People tie these rags, known as clooties, to 'The Rag Tree' as symbols of their prayers and wishes.


Along with SULT Artists, the invited artists were Vera McEvoy, Hilary Kinahan, Mir Fitzgerald, Bríd Óg Norrby, Bríd Ní Rinn, Karen Hickey, Greg Hallahan and Angelina Foster.

Gallery: Brigid Unfolding, Feb 2023


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    • Margaret Becker
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    • Lia Laimbock
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    • Brian O’Loughlin
    • Eleanor Swan

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