We’re making up for lost time, says Emer as Model reopens its doors today
ONE of Sligo’s cultural hotspots will re-open to the public again today, Thursday.
The Model will welcome visitors again in a limited capacity. Visitors to the Model will be welcomed by a selection of works by an artist who considered Sligo his spiritual home.
The Model, a large premises on The Mall which can normally accomodate up to 1,000 people, will be able to permit 50 visitors at any one time. Speaking about opening again, artistic director Emer McGarry said re-opening this week begins with making up for lost time as they celebrate the life of Jack Butler Yeats. “I am just glad we are into the summer now. 2021 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jack Butler Yeats and we will have a lot about him. Some of the events will be curtailed but we are keen to get back to normal. We should have the café open again by July and we are still awaiting an announcement for the theatre.” When The Model was forced to close along with most buildings last winter, the outlook was very bleak. Six months on, however, the picture is looking a lot brighter and more colourful but she admits re-opening is a carefully considered process and that re-opening after half a year is not as easy as it sounds.
“Things are definitely looking a lot brighter than we closed during the winter. We will continue to keep an eye on health advice. Everyone has been hit hard and art especially was hit hard. It won’t be as easy as just opening the doors again. It will take time but we fortunate to have quite a vast and well-ventilated building.” Rescheduling exhibitions and events is the biggest challenge which has faced the team at The Model – with some being impossible to rearrange. Emer said: “When we host big exhibitions, they are often booked two years in advance. We also had a nine-month programme as of March 2020 which was pretty much put on ice. Some of our programme usually involves touring exhibits who are working off their own schedule so you have to factor that into replanning as well. There is some that we unfortunately won’t be able to reschedule.” However, there is also plenty to be optimistic about, which includes the return of participation from visitors in workshops from 2022.
“This time next year we are very hopeful of having the public in to make prints. Some projects on our 2023-24 programme could also taking place in 2022.”
In addition to large displays of work by legendary artists and touring exhibits, The Model also has a strong selection of local exhibits and events, many of which normally run annually, if not more frequently.
Emer said that they took the opportunity during lockdown to reach out to the local residents for ideas on how they can enhance the visitor experience.
“It is great to have local events. We have also planned our re-opening with an emphasis on local audiences. We welcomed them to participate in a survey where they got to have their say on what they think of The Model and what we can do to make it more attractive to a wider audience. It is very much a new world for everyone and hopefully we can adapt based on feedback.”
She also explained that visitors will not have to book in advance and can turn up on the day to view an exhibition.
“We are allowed to have 50 inside and that should be manageable with 4,500m of space but really we are hoping that number will grow over the summer. Normally our capacity is 1,000 people so we are working with a very big difference.
“We also won’t be asking anyone to purchase tickets to attend, all visitors can walk-in on the day and will only have to register details at the front for contact tracing purposes.”
The artistic director discussed what visitors can expect to see in the coming weeks, with an emphasis on Jack B Yeats.
She said: “This week we open our Jack Butler Yeats exhibitions. This will be very exciting as we were gifted a lot of work in 2018 which previously has never been seen before. We also received a large trunk covered in work belonging to Jack Butler Yeats which had deteriorated over time, but it has since been restored. It will be on display along with a collection of model boats. This is a going to be a must-see exhibition as there is a beautiful story behind it and the exhibitions will include tours throughout the week.” “Another exhibition focuses predominantly on his later career where the themes of his work are very expressive and often political. “People travel from all over the world to see Jack Butler Yeats’ work and we are very lucky that Sligo inspired a lot of his work and he considered it his home.”
The programme for the immediate future also includes a milestone for a local artist.
“In July we will have an exhibition by Alison Pilkington. Her work is quite quirky and vibrant and is also inspired heavily from growing up and living in Sligo.
“This is also the first time she will have her own exhibition in her hometown.”
The Model is open today from 12 noon until 4pm. From next week it will be open from 11am until 5pm. Visitors are asked to enter through the front door (on The Mall side) and follow the one-way system in place.