Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust exhibitions for Galway Arts Festival

Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust presents two exhibitions this year for Galway Arts Festival.  ‘On Paper’ an exhibition by Kathleen Furey and ‘The Night Scene Series’ by Levi Hanes open at University Hospital Galway on Thursday, 18 July at 5.00pm.  The exhibitions are part of the Galway Arts Festival programme and will take place in the Foyer, Arts Corridor and First Floor of UHG.
 
GUH Arts Director Margaret Flannery says; “We are delighted to again work with Galway Arts Festival in programming visual arts for UHG.  There are patients here in our hospital unable to attend the various, exciting events taking place throughout the city but a little bit of the festival comes to them each year; and for that we are very grateful.”
 
Kathleen Furey is from Galway and is a founder member of Artspace Studios.   Her work responds to her experiences and surroundings.  It explores narrative and image relationships and deals with loss, memory and moments of realisation.  Kathleen’s work has been exhibited both at home and abroad and is included in public and private collections.  She says; “I like to explore how text and image combine to produce a narrative. I use words and images derived from historical documents, text-books, children’s drawings, school copies, fragments of conversations.  These are combined with printmaking and watercolour processes to produce mixed-media works on paper.”  Kathleen’s exhibition will be launched by Caitriona Clear, Senior Lecturer, Department of History, NUI, Galway.
 
Levi Hanes was born in the United States, and currently lives and works between Galway and Glasgow.  The Night Scene Series is part of an ongoing project exploring light and abstraction through digital photography and painting.  The exhibited paintings are from images taken during walks, drives and flights to and from Ireland.  The subject is partly the night landscapes defined by artificial light and quiet contemplation as well as the flattening of the images through digital photography and the implication of depth through oil painting.    Levi’s exhibition will be launched by Fionnuala Gallagher, Arts Officer, NUI, Galway.
 
Galway University Hospitals Arts Trusts supports the healing process and enhances the well-being of patients, staff and visitors in University Hospital Galway and Merlin Park University Hospital through the integration of the arts into these health care environments. The work of the trust is founded on the belief that access to the arts promotes positive health. One of the objectives is to increase levels of access and participation in the arts, thus enriching the hospital community and making art more accessible to a wide variety of people.  Involvement with the arts can have a lasting and transforming effect on many aspects of people’s lives. The arts can act as a tool by which we engage with the world, view ourselves and provoke thought. 
 
For further information regarding the hospital arts programme and the work of Galway University Hospitals Arts Trust, contact Margaret Flannery, Arts Director at 091 544979.