PAINTING EXHIBITION BY
‘A TRULY INSPIRING IRISHWOMAN’
TO BE HELD AT CENTRE OF MONACO’S ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATIONS
The Princess Grace Irish Library (under the aegis of the Fondation Princesse Grace) in Monaco is to host an exhibition of watercolours by Irish painter Mary Collins, starting on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th and continuing for one month. It is the latest in a series of events and exhibitions organised by the Library to celebrate and promote exceptional accomplishments by Irish-linked artists in literature and the visual arts.
Mary Collins has been painting since 1990 and has had 11 exhibitions. Despite the considerable handicaps of cerebral palsy and chronic pain, Mary has become a painter of note, she is a poet, and has an MA from Trinity College Dublin. She took up painting “as a way of accessing parts of the world that aren’t so accessible to me or anyone in a wheel-chair”. She lives in Dun Laoghaire and established the online BlueWave Art Gallery. Her achievements to date will be an inspiration to other people with disabilities.
It was because of the paintings exhibited on the BlueWave website, allied to her growing reputation, that that the Princess Grace Irish Library awarded Mary this exhibition. It is her first exhibition outside Ireland.
“It is a wonderful and unexpected opportunity. Princess Grace holds a special place in my heart and I am overjoyed that my watercolours will be seen in such a prestigious setting”, Mary said.
Anne Anderson, Irish Ambassador to Monaco and France, describes Mary as ‘a truly inspiring Irishwoman who has never let her disability hinder her creativity and talent’, adding, ’ I am delighted that her work has been chosen to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day 2009’.
The Princess Grace Irish Library was opened in 1984 by His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince Rainier III of Monaco, as his tribute to the attachment Princess Grace felt for her Irish origins. It houses a collection of almost 10,000 volumes of Irish works of all periods, including many first and signed editions. It is a very active centre for all things Irish and plays a significant role expanding interest in Irish culture and Irish art.
About Mary:
Mary Collins was diagnosed with cerebral palsy before her first birthday and has been confined to a wheel chair for most of her life. Instead of letting her illness define her life, she adopted as her motto the advice of a friend: ’Turn your disability into an ability’.
After attending the Central Remedial Clinic School in Clontarf, Ballinteer Community School and the National Training College in Sandymount, she went to Trinity College Dublin where she has recently completed her M.Lit Research Masters degree on Irish Cultural Institutions and their impact on Contemporary Ireland.
A true altruist, Mary is involved in many community groups. She was part of the EU EQUAL project, Equality through Ework, sits on the Board of Southside Partnership, is Vice Chair of Accessible Community Transport Southside (ACTS), the Disability Interest Group (DIG) and represents the Community and Voluntary Forum in the Disability Consultative Group (formerly known as the Barcelona Team).
The Blue Wave Arts Gallery is at: http://www.bluewavearts.ie
For full details of the Princess Grace Irish Library and its work for Ireland, see http://www3.monaco.mc/pglib
Contact at library: Judith Gantley, Tel 00 377 9350 1225 / pglib@monaco.mc
Showing posts with label Princess Grace Irish Library. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Princess Grace Irish Library. Show all posts
Friday, February 6, 2009
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
MARY COLLINS GOES TO MONACO
To celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, the Princess Grace Irish Library in the Principality of Monaco will exhibit watercolours by painter and poet Mary Collins from Dún Laoghaire.
The private viewing (invitation only) will take place on Tuesday 17 March 2009. The exhibition will be open to the public from Wednesday 18 March to Friday 17 April 2009, from 11:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday.
Mary has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. She follows the advice given her some years ago by a friend: “Turn your disability into an ability”… and that has been her mantra ever since.
Mary tells us: “I started painting in 1990. The Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) began offering a variety of classes, one of which was Art. I didn’t actually think it would be suitable because I can’t draw. However, my mum is an artist so I thought it might be in my genes and decided to try it. I fell in love with the medium of watercolour, but initially I used it only because it was the medium most suited to my disability. Acrylics and oils require you to keep applying paint to the canvas, whereas watercolour was much easier for me to control. Painting landscapes over other themes happened in a similar way. At first, I painted landscapes because of the ease with which I could acquire subject matter. Since I was unable to access many outside locations for painting, a postcard or photograph would suffice as a model from which to work. However, over time I have become very attached to landscapes and see it as a way to access parts of the world that aren’t so accessible! I’ve exhibited eleven times in total so far and am always looking for opportunities to display my work. Friends and family commission paintings from me on a wide variety of subject matter, and I enjoy the process of understanding someone’s vision for a painting and combining it with my own.”
Mary is delighted about the Monaco exhibition: “This is a wonderful and unexpected opportunity for me. As I am an Irish-American, Princess Grace holds a special place in my heart. For this first exhibition outside Ireland, I am overjoyed to show my watercolours in such a prestigious setting. My sincere thanks to the Trustees of the Princess Grace Irish Library.”
Mary is a fighter who is absolutely determined that her disability will not get in her way! She was even awarded two gold medals for shot-put and precision throw at the New York State Games for the Physically Challenged in 1988.
To celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, the Princess Grace Irish Library in the Principality of Monaco will exhibit watercolours by painter and poet Mary Collins from Dún Laoghaire.
The private viewing (invitation only) will take place on Tuesday 17 March 2009. The exhibition will be open to the public from Wednesday 18 March to Friday 17 April 2009, from 11:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday.
Mary has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. She follows the advice given her some years ago by a friend: “Turn your disability into an ability”… and that has been her mantra ever since.
Mary tells us: “I started painting in 1990. The Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) began offering a variety of classes, one of which was Art. I didn’t actually think it would be suitable because I can’t draw. However, my mum is an artist so I thought it might be in my genes and decided to try it. I fell in love with the medium of watercolour, but initially I used it only because it was the medium most suited to my disability. Acrylics and oils require you to keep applying paint to the canvas, whereas watercolour was much easier for me to control. Painting landscapes over other themes happened in a similar way. At first, I painted landscapes because of the ease with which I could acquire subject matter. Since I was unable to access many outside locations for painting, a postcard or photograph would suffice as a model from which to work. However, over time I have become very attached to landscapes and see it as a way to access parts of the world that aren’t so accessible! I’ve exhibited eleven times in total so far and am always looking for opportunities to display my work. Friends and family commission paintings from me on a wide variety of subject matter, and I enjoy the process of understanding someone’s vision for a painting and combining it with my own.”
Mary is delighted about the Monaco exhibition: “This is a wonderful and unexpected opportunity for me. As I am an Irish-American, Princess Grace holds a special place in my heart. For this first exhibition outside Ireland, I am overjoyed to show my watercolours in such a prestigious setting. My sincere thanks to the Trustees of the Princess Grace Irish Library.”
Mary is a fighter who is absolutely determined that her disability will not get in her way! She was even awarded two gold medals for shot-put and precision throw at the New York State Games for the Physically Challenged in 1988.
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