President Higgins open exhibition
PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins was the guest of honour at the Shekina Sculpture Garden in Kirikee in Glenmalure Valley on Friday as a new exhibition was unveiled, celebrating 20 years of State ownership of the garden.
Creator of the garden Catherine McCann gifted the garden to the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht two decades ago, and on that occasion President Higgins, in his capacity of Minister for Arts, Culture and Gaeltacht, attended to accept it.
The garden, which spans a full acre, is now in the care of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). It contains a collection of 18 sculptures by modern Irish artists working in varying mediums.
Wesley Atkinson, Regional Manager with the NPWS, said that the garden ‘is an art form in itself ’ and that the NPWS is delighted that Catherine has acted as curator of this new exhibition.
‘Shekina Garden and its setting is a place of great beauty; it is a reflective and a celebratory space,’ he said.
‘Over time the sculptures created by Irish artists have grown into the garden, just as the garden has embraced each sculpture. A recent addition is a sculpture by the late Fred Conlon, which is placed on the roadside nearby. The NPWS hopes that by placing this sculpture out of Shekina into the local area it will benefit not just the local community, but also the many drivers, cyclists, runners and walkers that use this route,’ he said.
In his address, President Higgins described the garden as ‘a form of artistic creation which draws both its inspiration and its texture from that magnificent, nurturing and immensely generous nature in which we dwell.’
‘These works of art we are celebrating today do not merely belong to the realm of representation and artifice. All of them also evoke and embody a harmonious relationship between the artist’s creative endeavour and nature’s beauty. That deep sense of harmony stems, from the shape and texture of the sculptures in the Shekina collection, but also from their position in the garden,’ he said.
Ms McCann said that she was delighted to welcome President Higgins to the garden for the opening of the exhibition.
‘The President was just wonderful. It was 20 years ago that he came to Shekina Garden as Minister. People are awestruck by the stillness and the silence of this reflective space,’ she said.
Shekina Garden is open to the public every day, except Mondays, until the end of August.