Press Release
4th October 2021
41artists have reunited and produced prints responding to the theme of ‘Home’ in support of the Simon Communities of Ireland. The Art of Home Exhibition is a collaboration between the Simon Communities of Ireland and Graphic Studio Dublin supported by HLB Sheehan Quinn and takes place from the 4th to the 9th of Octoberat CHQ Dublin.
The artists, members of Graphic Studio Dublin, will exhibit 41 original fine-art prints, all editioned by hand. All proceeds from the exhibition will be split 50:50 between the artists and Simon Communities of Ireland to support their work to promote the solutions to end homelessness. Work for sale will include etchings, linocuts, Japanese woodblocks, screenprints and photointaglio prints at a price of €140 per unframed print.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, will launch the exhibition at CHQ Dublin on Thursday before it moves online until the end of October.
Wayne Stanley, Head of Policy and Communications at the Simon Communities of Ireland, said:
“We’re delighted to team up with Graphic Studio Dublin, on the Art of Home Exhibition. The quality of the work speaks to the critical importance of home. We know homelessness is the sharp end of the housing crisis but the crisis impacts us all. The pandemic has highlighted again the importance of a home and it has had a profound impact on the artistic communities.
I think the close collaboration with GSD has seen this reflected in the amazing art that has been produced. In particular, we are delighted that our collaboration is highlighting in such creative ways the message of the importance of a home. Everybody has the right to a home.
Thanks to HLB Sheehan Quinn for their support of the event and also to CHQ Dublin for providing this space for us for the week.
For anyone who can’t make it to CHQ Dublin this week, the exhibition is moving online where prints can be purchased.”
Artist Ria Czerniak Lebov is a printmaker from Dublin. After graduating from NCAD, she received Graphic Studio Dublin’s Graduate Award in 2016. Her work is an exploration of spatial memory and the urban landscape and has been widely exhibited in Trinity College Dublin and the National Botanic Gardens.
She said:
“Our current housing crisis has caused me levels of anxiety I can barely verbalise. I have my own crippling rent and the realisation that I may never own the roof over my head in this city which I call home.”
Chris Curran, Chair of Graphic Studio Dublin, said:
“The pandemic has highlighted the importance of a safe and comfortable living space for everyone in our society and will hopefully provide the impetus for us to work towards achieving this. Artists of Graphic Studio Dublin have been invited to tease out the theme of home and what it means to them. A home can be a physical structure, the buildings in which we live, where we find shelter and refuge from the outside world; but beyond this, home can be found in the things that go on in our worlds- the bonds we make with friends, family and peers, the things we create and do that give us a sense of peace, fulfilment or reward; the comfort we find in our everyday lives.”
Work will also be available to purchase online until the end of October from www.simon.ie
ENDS
For further information contact Aileen Gaskin 087 7724 717 / communications@simoncommunity.com
Editor’s Notes:
About Simon Communities
The Simon Communities support over 18,000 men, women, and children. We have 50 years of experience providing homeless, housing and treatment services to people facing the trauma and stress of homelessness. We are a network of independent Communities based in Cork, Dublin, Dundalk, Galway, the Midlands, the Mid West, the Northwest and the Southeast, responding to local needs and supported by a National Office in the areas of policy, research, communications and best practice. We share common values and ethos in tackling homelessness and, informed by our grassroots services, we campaign for more effective policies and legislation regionally, nationally and at European level.
Whatever the issue, Simon’s door is always open for as long as we are needed. For more information, please visit www.simon.ie.
Services include:
- Homelessness prevention, tenancy sustainment and resettlement
- Street outreach, emergency accommodation and harm reduction
- Housing with support and Housing First services
- Homeless specific health and wellbeing services (counselling; addiction treatment and recovery; and mental health supports)
- Personal development, education, training, and employment services
- Food banks, drop-in centres and soup runs
About Graphic Studio Dublin
Graphic Studio Dublin is an artist-led visual arts organisation that enables artists to work in the medium of fine print. Their Printmaking Studio, established in 1960, supports the practices of 75 studio artists, a Visiting Artist programme and printmaking courses. Its dedicated gallery space exhibits and sells contemporary fine-art prints.
