CULTURE IN KATHMANDU
EU AMBASSADOR to Nepal Veronica Cody launched an art exhibition of Wexford based artists at the Siddhartha Art Gallery in Kathmandu.
The exhibition was supported by Wexford Arts Centre and Culture Ireland in association with Art Spies and Trish Robinson of Pigyard Gallery who helped to curate the collection.
The exhibition showcased mixed media works by Bernadette Doolan, Olivia O’ Dwyer, Declan Cody, Michael Duggan, Paddy Lennon and Kate Murphy. and was on display at the Babar Mahal Revisited where the Siddharta Art gallery is located in Kathmandu.
Dublin-born Ambassador Cody who is a sister of the Wexford-based artist Declan Cody, extended a warm welcome to the Irish artists and thanked Culture Ireland and the Wexford Arts Centre for supporting their travel to Nepal.
She underlined the importance of cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts of this kind in fostering mutual understanding and cultural appreciation among nations.
The Ambassador added that the exhibition was being organised at an appropriate time when the European Union is marking 2018 as the ‘European Year of Cultural Heritage, celebrating the cultural diversity and unity of EU Member States.
Ambassador Cody praised the role of the Siddhartha Art Gallery in promoting art and culture and expressed the hope that a reciprocal visit of Nepali artists to Ireland could be explored in the future.
Several dignatories attended the official opening including the Israeli and Brazilian ambassadors to Nepal and the honorary consuls of Spain and Poland.
The exhibition was very well received and a few sales were made, much to the delight of the artists.
The local Nepali Times included an article that described the first ever exhibition of Irish art in Nepal as ‘a landmark in Kathmandu’s cultural firmament’ and added: ‘It is a small brief window that gives people here in Kathmandu a glimpse of the sensibilities of this gentle land on the edge of the North Atlantic’.
Ambassador Cody said Nepal and Ireland have completely different landscapes, one has mountains and the other has oceans and islands,
‘Our landscapes affect how we see the world and exchange of art is an opportunity to transcend that worldview and get a glimpse of another’, she said.
Wexford Arts Centre executive director Elizabeth Whyte, who travelled to Kathmandu, said:‘It was a great opportunity to promote Wexford and Irish arts and culture and it was great recognition for the artists and Wexford Arts Centre with support from Culture Ireland,’