A Photo Album of Ireland Art Exhibition

OSILAS GALLERY TO REOPEN SEPTEMBER 17 WITH A PHOTO ALBUM OF IRELAND

OSilas Gallery at Concordia College is pleased to announce the reopening of the Gallery on September 17. Since closing its doors in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Gallery been working towards reopening safely this fall in accordance with New York State and CDC guidelines.  Visitors will note new health and safety protocols in place on campus and in the Gallery.  The opening show will be A Photo Album of Ireland, which will be on view through November 7, 2020.  Members of OSilas Gallery will be given special early access to the show on September 15.

A Photo Album of Ireland is a touring exhibition and emerges from an ongoing democratic archive that is a celebration of ordinary and extraordinary histories, viewed from the perspective of private individuals and families. From the earliest photographs taken in the 1850s to the advent of the digital era in the early 1990s, these images reveal details about how people lived, worked, and gathered that official historical records may have overlooked.

Taken as a whole, this collection of more than 120 photographs creates a rich tapestry of images that tells of the triumphs and times of turmoil in the life of a nation. From quotidian scenes of pastoral picnics, holiday celebrations, and parlor portraits to snapshots documenting the impact of The Troubles in the North; from joyful wedding parties to solemn funerary processions; from the documentation of Irish historical sites by the world-renowned Shackleton family to the unheralded efforts of an anonymous family photographer; A Photo Album of Ireland presents the people’s account of history that is at once personal and powerful.

The exhibition will present an extensive range of digitized images from early Ambrotype portraits and informal Box Brownie images through to 35mm documentary photographs and Polaroid images. The overall exhibition design concept will emulate that of a family photo album, with images of various sizes installed salon style.

This exhibition was organized with support from Culture Ireland’s International Culture Programme to celebrate Ireland 2016. It was curated by the Gallery of Photography, Dublin, and organized by ExhibitsUSA in partnership with Culture Ireland.

A Photo Album of Ireland will be on view in OSilas Gallery through November 7, 2020. Gallery hours for the general public are Thursdays 12 pm – 5 pm and Saturdays 2 pm – 5 pm. Special Gallery hours for Members only are Tuesdays 12 pm -5 pm.  Visitors may also make an appointment to view the show outside of regular Gallery hours by contacting Executive Director Elizabeth Vranka at Elizabeth.vranka@concordia-ny.edu. To join the membership of OSilas Gallery and have access to the Gallery during special hours, please visit https://osilasgallery.org/membership/.

OSilas Gallery is located on the campus of Concordia College, 171 White Plains Road, Bronxville, in the Donald A. Krenz Academic Center on the second level of Scheele Memorial Library. Free parking is available on campus and is accessible via entry on Concordia Place off of White Plains Road. For more information on exhibitions and a full listing of gallery events, please see osilasgallery.org.  All visitors to the Gallery must comply with the Gallery’s safety protocols, which can be found here:  https://osilasgallery.org/2012/07/06/visit-osilas-gallery/.

About ExhibitsUSA

This exhibition is toured by ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA sends more than twenty-five exhibitions on tour to over 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year. These exhibitions create access to an array of arts and humanities experiences, nurture the understanding of diverse cultures and art forms, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities. For more about ExhibitsUSA, email MoreArt@maaa.org or visit www.eusa.org.

About Mid-America Arts Alliance

Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) strengthens and supports artists, cultural organizations, and communities throughout our region and beyond. We achieve this primarily through our national traveling exhibition programs, innovative leadership development, and strategic grant making. We are especially committed to enriching the cultural life of historically underserved communities by providing high quality, meaningful, and accessible arts and culture programs and services. We believe in more art for more people. Additional information about M-AAA is available at www.maaa.org.

About OSilas Gallery at Concordia College New York

OSilas Gallery integrates the visual arts into the cultural and educational life of the Concordia College campus and surrounding community by providing quality exhibitions and programs that are diverse in style, content and media; memorable, thought-provoking and spiritually enriching; and of artistic originality, integrity and excellence. Exhibitions at OSilas Gallery are free and open to the public (hour are stated above), and all visitors are required to comply with the Gallery’s safety protocols, which can be found here: https://osilasgallery.org/2012/07/06/visit-osilas-gallery/.