The 39th EVA International Phase 3 Exhibition Programme Opens until 14 November

Barış Doğrusöz Sand Storm and the Oblivion 2017 Courtesy of the Artist and EVA International

placeholder image — Barış Doğrusöz Sand Storm and the Oblivion 2017 Courtesy of the Artist and EVA International

EVA International - Ireland's Biennial of Contemporary Art

EVA International is Ireland’s Biennial of Contemporary Art, it leads in the commissioning and curating of contemporary art by Irish and international artists, culminating in a programme of artistic encounters, exhibitions, and education projects, across Limerick over a two-year cycle. Originally founded by artists in 1977, today it remains one of the largest and longest-running visual arts events in Ireland, and it continues to work with some of the world’s most influential curators and artists.

The 39th EVA International Phase 3 exhibition programme is now open, with free admission across Limerick venues Park Point, Sailor’s Home, Limerick City Gallery of Art and spacecraft; continuing until 14 November 2021. It features over 19 presentations by Irish and international artists, across four venues and online. Taking its reference from the “Golden Vein,” a 19th-century descriptor for the agricultural bounty of the Limerick region, it seeks to address ideas of land and its contested values in the context of Ireland today. It includes new artist projects which have been commissioned by EVA, three of which have been acquired by national collections at the Arts Council of Ireland and the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Some highlights include the Little did they know exhibition curated by Merve Elveren, which features artist and research presentations by Benji Boyadgian, Oisín Byrne with Adam Gibbons, Jasmina Cibic, Barış Doğrusöz, Minna Henriksson, Melanie Jackson and Esther Leslie, Zeyno Pekünlü, Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings, Krista Belle Stewart, Rayna Teneva & Mustafa Emin Büyükcoşkun, Driant Zeneli, We realised the power of it - led by Sara Greavu and Ciara Phillips, and Sexuality of a Nation: Lionel Soukaz and Liberation Politics led by Paul Clinton.

This edition includes new partnerships with international artists and organisations, such as the Irish Museum of Modern Art through the presentation of Em'kal Eyongakpa’s immersive sculptural and polyrhythmic audio installation, which draws on the artist’s interests in the relationship between oral culture and the natural environment; and Orla Barry who has an installation Spin Spin Scheherazade which reflects upon the culture of disconnection from the natural environment, drawing on the artist’s own rural background and current occupation running a successful pedigree Lleyn flock alongside her art practice.

One of two projects that have been developed in collaboration with the Magic Carpets Creative Europe network is Inês Neto dos Santos’ Fermen Tour - Limerick, unfolding as a series of performative workshops and an edible installation. The other is Anca Benera & Arnold Estefan's video installation Blue Ground (2021) which draws together a number of references and geographies that share a common mineral: the diamond. EVA have also commissioned new works by artists Áine McBride and Emily McFarland which are presented at Park Point and Sailor’s Home venues, developed as part of the Platform Commissions initiative.