Catherine Martin hopeful outdoor performance spaces will open 'before long'

Culture Minister speaking at online event marking IMMA and Crawford Art Gallery purchases of 422 artworks by 70 artists

Catherine Martin: 'We are all aware of how difficult a time this has been for everybody in the artistic community.' File picture: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland

 Culture Minister Catherine Martin says she hopes to see limited outdoor performance spaces open "before long".

Ms Martin said that she hopes to see galleries and museums, the status of which is to be reviewed next week, open in the coming weeks, with a return for small outdoor events during the summer.

Ms Martin was speaking at an online event celebrating a major purchase of artworks by the State. 

A total of 422 artworks by 70 artists will be added to the national collection thanks to the €1m fund provided to the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and Cork's Crawford Art Gallery last October.

Spanning from 1972 to 2021, the works consist of paintings, photographic work, drawings, sculpture, installations, moving image, sound work, film, digital work, embroidery, and performance.

Ms Martin said this year had been challenging for cultural institutions but this purchase would be put to good use as they reopen.

“We are all aware of how difficult a time this has been for everybody in the artistic community. I am delighted to provide funding to IMMA and the Crawford Art Gallery so that they can support living artists by the purchase of their work.

“This has also been a challenging year for all our institutions, but it has also offered an opportunity to think about museums and what they mean to people and how we share those precious artworks that form part of our national collections. 

"I look forward to see how IMMA and the Crawford Art Gallery will share these new additions nationally and internationally where they can be widely viewed by the public and act as a reservoir for future enjoyment, inspiration, and research.”