|
| |
University Hosts Irish Artists' Murals
October 5th, 2000
By Beth Sweeney
Memories of Bloody Sunday and the conflict in Northern Ireland came alive at Villanova
University on Sept. 27 Falvey Library opened its exhibition of seven explosive murals of
the Bogside artists, a group of three mural painters from Derry City, Northern Ireland.
Their collection, called "From Conflict to Peace," is currently on display on
the second floor of the library and will move to the Villanova Room of the Connelly Center
for a reception for Bogside artist Tom Kelly on Oct. 9.
"This is history," Kelly said of his murals. "We must move on or learn
from it and we must have the courage, when the time is right, to face it."
Kelly has been facing his history as a citizen of Derry for his entire life. For the
past 30 years, Kelly has expressed a call for peace and the celebration of religious
differences in his paintings. A painter of Irish political struggles since the late 1960s,
he seeks to promote unity in the Christian faith through his artwork. He also hopes to
encourage young people to celebrate their differences.
The Oct. 9 showing will reunite all 16 of the 7'x 8' canvas panels on the Bogside
artists' world tour. Their exhibition in the Villanova Room will the only time all of the
canvases will be displayed together in the Philadelphia area.
Although this is its first trip to the University, the artists' work has been
exhibited all over the country. It also appeared at the Irish Cultural Center in Manhattan
and at the Massachusetts State House in Boston.
In addition to speaking at the reception, Kelly has given several explanations of his
artwork in the library and spoke to classes, including the Villanova Experience. Kelly
hopes his visit to the University will expose the message of his work to an entirely new
audience, and increase awareness of the reality of life in Northern Ireland.
"We want to tell our own story," said Kelly. "For too long the media
and everyone else has been telling it for us."
The Bogside artists, named for the Catholic ghetto in Derry, are well known for their
grand-scale accounts of violence and rioting, which decorate the buildings of their
hometown. After years of spreading their message through art, the trio's murals are now a
permanent part of the Derry cityscape and building officials now prepare building walls
for their murals.
Commerce and Finance professor Jim Klingler was instrumental in bringing the Bogside
murals to the University. After leading a Habitat for Humanity trip to Northern Ireland
and witnessing the building murals in the city firsthand, Klingler committed himself to
hosting Kelly's murals and message of peace at the University.
"What we saw in Derry was far deeper than we had imagined," said Klingler at
a presentation to the Villanova Experience. "We knew these ideas had to get to
Villanova."
Kelly's message resonates within the murals themselves. After years of political
manipulation and injustice, he found his voice of peaceful resistance in art.
"I stand here as a survivor, not a victim," said Kelly. "Art creates,
it doesn't destroy."
  
| |
|
