Under stARTers orders, a unique public arts project has enlisted no less than 21 of Ireland’s finest artists to paint their own take on life-size fibre reisen horse sculptures. Each creation is for sale with all proceeds going to Kildare based charities Irish Injured Jockeys and Sensational Kids. The works will be on public display at various locations around Kildare and Meath over the coming weeks. Exhibition spaces include; The Punchestown Festival, Kildare Village, Whitewater Shopping Centre, The Irish National Stud, Horse Racing Ireland in County Kildare as well as Solstice Arts Centre in County Meath.
Following the recent unveiling of all 21 creations at Naas Racecourse, the horses have been dispersed to numerous viewing locations where the public are invited to get up-close and personal with these amazing pieces before they are claimed by their new owners.
The Punchestown Festival took place from Tuesday 30th to Saturday 4th of May and Punchestown Racecourse kindly exhibited eight horses for racegoers to enjoy, these included; ‘Whispered Courage’ by Sarah Lennon, ‘Bloodlines’ by Martin Gale, ‘Brexit – Hello or Goodbye?’ by Micasso, ‘Horsepower’ by Paul Woods, ‘The Spirit of Life’ by Lynn Kirkham, ‘Cure’ by Rosie McGurran, ‘The Banker’ by Marina Hamilton and ‘Duality’ by Tony O’Connor.
Meanwhile Kildare Village, Whitewater Shopping Centre, The Irish National Stud, Horse Racing Ireland and Solstice Arts Centre in Navan, Co. Meath will exhibit from now until June.
Kildare Village has a beautiful display area designed for ‘Spiorad na Machairí’ by Grainne Dowling, ‘Mother’ by Michelle Mc Bride, ‘Sheba’ by The Edge in collaboration with Duda, ‘Geronimo’ by Eamon Colman, ‘Sally – Fire in her Belly’ by Liam O’Neill and ‘Trojan Horse – Call me Hope’ by Katy Palmieri-Seddiq.
‘Skyhorse’ by Amelia Peart, ‘Winifred’ by Elizabeth Cope and ‘Curragh of Kildare’ by Gay Brabazon are on public display at Whitewater Shopping Centre, The Irish National Stud is treating visitors to ‘Minoru’ by Liza Kavanagh and ‘Misneach’ by Sara Hodson while Horse Racing Ireland at Ballymany is exhibiting ‘Flying Colours’ by Lia Laimbock.
The concept for the entire project was inspired by the New Curragh Development which will be opening shortly. Organisers wanted to mark this significant transformation at the heart of the thoroughbred county in a creative way. Under stARTers orders have brought incredible works of art to the attention of the public by cleverly displaying the project at key locations. Furthermore, organisers have turned the project into a superb fundraising initiative in aid of two most deserving local charities, Irish Injured Jockeys and Sensational Kids.
Speaking of his Curragh Racecourse inspired work titled ‘Dream it. Do it.’ Equine Artist, John Fitzgerald said “The Curragh is an amazing place and the piece shows on one side, a horse going down to the start with the old stand in the background and on the other side, it has an image of the new stand full of people with a horse coming towards the viewer. In a sense, it’s a transition from the old to the new, keeping the horse as the most important feature, it’s also a testament to the team at The Curragh who have made this project happen. I hope this piece will inspire many others who like me have had many dreams come true. Dream it. Do it, is a tag line I have used in the past few years, it’s a simple positive message for anyone.” ‘Dream it. Do it.’ Will be on display at Solstice Arts Centre in Navan, Co. Meath until June 6th.
A guide price of €10,000 has been placed on each horse. 15 of the horses will be pre-sold over the coming weeks through expressions of interest and an online auction, interested parties can find more information at www.startersorders.ie. 6 other horses will be sold at a live auction at The Curragh Racecourse on Friday, 28th of June as part of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival.