REMEMBERING LATE NOEL CLEARY
BRAY EXHIBITION WILL RECALL THE MUCH MISSED ARTIST,
AN EXHIBITION of work by the late Noel Cleary is under way at Signal Arts Centre in Bray.
The exhbition will be on until Sunday, July 16, with an opening reception this Friday, July 7, from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.
It has been over to years since Noel died. He was an important part of the arts community in Bray, pivotal in the creation of Culture Night, and central to maintaining relations between Signal Arts Centre and the community.
He was a much loved teacher of painting, as well as a father, a husband and friend. This show is to remind those who knew Noel of the art and the artist that they lost, and to provide access to a little bit of the many works that he created.
As well as prints of his work, this exhibition will include video work, some of which will be shown for the first time.
In 2014, Noel was named Wicklow’s Arts Person of the Year. He was a director of Signal Arts Centre, which was established in 1990 to address the lack of a focal point for the visual arts in Bray and the north Wicklow area generally.
The centre allows artists to develop their own works while making the arts readily accessible to the local community.
He was tireless in his dedication to the organisation of community projects for groups who would otherwise not have an arts experience. Through Noel’s management work, 2,000 people participated in the Hand’s Across Bray Live Hand Casting Sculpture Project in 2012. In 2014, as part of the Open Door Project, Noel organised the street closure of Albert Walk as some 3,000 people turned up and got involved in the project. He also co-ordinated artists to work in community settings such as Bray School Project, Festine Lente, Atlanta House Nursing Home, Bray Travellers Group, Kylemore House Nursing home, Youth Reach and schools throughout Bray.
His time was voluntary and, in 2014, his team worked with various groups in preparation for St Patrick’s Day, again winning the Parade Best Team Award.