The class of 2019 redefines what characterises visual culture today through their individual practices, writes Paul Caffrey
This year’s art college degree shows have provided graduates with a platform to engage with the impact of a great variety of important social and political problems. They have the opportunity to examine their individual responsibility as practitioners and demonstrate how they can contribute to the wider public debate. In the shows, a new generation of makers, artists, designers and architects are proposing innovative ways of looking at issues from a visual perspective. They have come up with new thinking and different approaches that are creative and inclusive. A recurring theme that runs through many of the exhibitions this year is that of sustainability, which should be a prerequisite for all practices – especially architecture and design. Our relationship with the environment and our use of precious natural resources, such as water and land, are a dominant concern throughout the exhibitions.
Using satellite imaging, photographer David Thomas Smith echoes the Arecibo radio message transmitted into deep space forty-five years ago, writes Stephanie McBride
‘I knew from the age of three what I wanted to do,‚’ sculptor Carolyn Mulholland tells Brian McAvera
The historically important Doneraile Court in north Cork has opened its doors to the public following an extensive conservation and renovation project, writes Peter Pearson
