Robert Ballagh at Heywood Community School, Co Laois 5th-9th March

laois | arts and media | event notice Monday March 05, 2007 11:00 by pat c

An exhibition of work by the distinguished Irish artist Robert Ballagh opens to the public at the Heywood Community School, Ballinakill, Co Laois, on Monday 5 March 2007. Comprising seven works the exhibition focuses on works produced by Ballagh during the 1970s. This exhibition is the fourth collaboration between IMMA’s National Programme and the Heywood Community School and coincides with the school’s ninth Annual Arts Week.

Robert Ballagh was born in Dublin in 1943, he originally studied architecture and worked as an engineering draughtsman, a musician and a postman before dedicating himself to painting in 1967. Alongside his paintings he has also worked on a large variety of other projects including designing of over 70 stamps for An Post, the final series of Irish banknotes before the introduction of the euro, set design for the Riverdance Company and the Gate Theatre and the staging of the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics in Croke Park in 2003. Ballagh is represented in the IMMA Collection by 19 works and his work is held in many other collections including the National Gallery of Ireland and the Ulster Museum. A recent retrospective of his work took place at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 2006.

The Heywood Community School is committed to exposing their students and the broader community to the arts at a national and international level. Previous exhibitions programmed at the school’s Annual Arts Week have included works by Pauline Bewick, Brain Bourke, Paddy Graham, Michael Kane, Louis le Brocquy, Fergus Lyons, Brian Maguire, Michael Mulcahy and Tony O’Malley. These exhibitions have been carried out in partnerships with the Arts Council of Ireland, the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

The exhibition continues until 9 March 2007.

Opening Hours:

Monday – Friday 10am – 3pm

Groups visiting the exhibition should book in advance.

Contact: Tel: 057 87 33333.