With works by more than 90 Irish and international artists coming from the five continents, Dublin Contemporary 2011 will present new commissions and mini-solo shows held throughout Dublin. The city’s landscape will give geographical shape to the exhibition, especially as one of the main purposes of Dublin Contemporary 2011 is to interrogate the nexus of culture and society that makes cities like Dublin the centre of dynamic growth as well as systemic breakdown.

The title and theme of Dublin Contemporary 2011 is Terrible Beauty—Art, Crisis, Change. Taken from William Butler Yeat’s famous poem Easter, 1916, the exhibition’s title borrows from the Irish writer’s seminal response to turn-of-the century political events in Ireland to site art’s underused potential for commenting symbolically on the world’s societal, cultural and economic triumphs and ills.

The Dublin Contemporary main exhibition hub at Earlsfort Terrace, former home of University College Dublin, will provide a range of unusual spaces for mini solo exhibitions that range from large-scale installations to smaller intimate hangings. Representing a whole spectrum of artistic practices and approaches, the exhibition will showcase a multitude of new commissions alongside seminal existing works from recent years.

Emerging artists will be shown alongside established figures, creating a dialogue between the past and present of contemporary art, which will be fleshed out further in the architectural treatment of the show spaces. Much of the original character of these spaces, as well as the traces of their past use, will be retained, enmeshing both the history of the building and its current use, while providing a platform for artists and audience to engage with this ambitious exhibition.

Dublin Contemporary 2011 is delighted to offer Friends of the RHA 15% discount on a full adult or a 3-day ticket. Please contact Michelle Considine, Friends Co-ordinator on tel: 01 661 2558 or email friends@rhagallery.ie for further information.