Model Arts and Niland Gallery

The Model, home of the Niland Collection, formerly called Model Arts and Niland Gallery, is a contemporary arts centre and gallery space in Sligo, Ireland. The gallery houses several exhibition spaces focusing on contemporary art and education activities, a collection of 20th-century Irish art called the Niland Collection, a cinema/venue for concerts, and an artist-in-residence programme. The Niland part of the name refers to the former Sligo County librarian Nora Niland.

Building

Located on the Mall in Sligo town, north of the Garavogue river, The Model was designed by architect James Owen for the then Board of Works. It is a detached multiple-bay, two-storey rubble and ashlar stone building in the Italianate Palazzo style. A photo of the Model school as it looked circa 1944 is held at the Lawrence collection of the National Library of Ireland.[1]

The original building was a purpose built school, constructed in 1862, by local contractors Messrs Patrick Keighron & Son at a cost of £8000.[2] These schools were known as "model" schools as they were to function as the template for primary schools throughout the country. Originally intended to be multi-denominational, the school became predominantly Protestant with the religious control of schools being the norm under the new Free State. The school provided primary education up to the age of 12. In the 1970s the building was abandoned with the building of a new primary school across the road.

In the early 1990s it was acquired by Sligo County Council with the intention of providing a museum.[3]

Niland Collection

The Niland Collection is named after former Sligo County librarian Nora Niland who began the collection in the 1950s. It contains over 300 works, including pieces by Paul Henry, Louis le Brocquy, Estella Solomons, George Russell and Jack Butler Yeats.

The Niland Collections contains one of the most significant collections of Yeats work in Ireland, many of which record experiences and memories of his time living in Sligo and its environs.[4][5] The collection was begun by Nora Niland borrowing five works by Yeats to exhibit for the duration of the first Yeats Summer School in 1959. These works consisted of three large oil paintings, Communicating with Prisoners, The Funeral of Harry Boland and The Island Funeral, along with two smaller watercolours, Market Day and The Star Gazer.

Developments

First refurbishment and extension

The building was refurbished and extended in 2001. The project was designed by McCullough Mulvin Architects. This extension was shortlisted for several architectural awards.[6]

Second extension

The Model was redeveloped for a second time (2008–2010) as part of Sligo County Council's vision to create a Cultural Quarter for Sligo Town. The intention was to extend The Model facilities with a purpose built theatre space and a suite of artists' studios, coupled with two completely new builds on an adjacent site, to house both a new Sligo County Museum and Sligo Library. Neither of the other projects went ahead due to the unfolding economic crash. This extension to The Model increased the building by a third in size. The extension provided artist studios, a purpose-built performance space and a new entrance from the north. The extension also created a complete gallery circuit for the visitor, a new reception area, bookstore and cafe. Works commenced in January 2008 and the Model reopened on 1 May 2010,

Funding for the dedevelopment included a grant of €2.4 million which was provided by the BMW Regional Assembly under an ERDF grant scheme for designated Gateways and Hub Towns. The Model:Niland project was the largest beneficiary in the BMW Region under the grant scheme.[7] A further grant of 1.75 million euro was received from Access 2 funding under the Arts Council.[8] Sligo Borough Council provided 600,000 euro in 2009.[9] The €2.9 million grant, minus 600,000 already spent on groundworks for Sligo museum was switched to the Model Arts project in late 2008. A further 118,554 was granted in 2010 under the cultural development fund of the Arts Council.[10] Sligo County Council spent 2.15 million on the Model Arts Centre project up to 2010.[11] In all, €6.4 million was borrowed by Sligo County Council in relation to a new Cultural Quarter for Sligo Town up to December 2010.

Artistic programme

The Model is primarily a centre for contemporary visual art, and has presented exhibitions with many of the world's leading artists. The Model also has a vibrant music programme which includes an eclectic mix of contemporary and classical music. The Model develops music projects that respond to the exhibition programme, while also producing The Sligo New Music Festival and supporting The Sligo Festival of Baroque Music.[12]

The Model's international film programme is presented in partnership with Sligo Film Society

The Model offers opportunities for all communities to encounter the arts, and since 2016 has run the groundbreaking programme for Sligo's new communities Sligo Global Kitchen.[13]

Former artists in residence include Nasan Tur, Yorgos Sapountzis, Elizabeth Price, Barbara Breitenfellner, and Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh. The Model also has eight artist studios rented by locally based artists.

Previous notable exhibitions at The Model have included solo shows by Martin Creed, Phil Collins, Elizabeth Price, Sean McSweeney, Patti Smith, Gerard Byrne and Andy Warhol; as well as group exhibitions Turbulence, Ghosts of Other Stories, Medium Religion and The Keeper; To Have and to Hold.

Staff

The Model is run by its director, Emer McGarry.[14] McGarry has been director since September 2015, and was interim director between May 2013 and September 2014. Una McCarthy, current director Limericky Gallery of Art. 2004 Sarah Glennie, current director of the National College of Art and Design,[15] was the Artistic Director of The Model between 2005 and 2008. Séamus Kealy, currently Director of Salzburger Kunstverein, was the Director and Curator of The Model from 2008 to 2013. Megan Johnston was director from September 2014 to June 2015.

Notable events

On 20 May 2015 the English royal, Prince Charles made a speech at the Model Arts centre during a visit to promote reconciliation to the scene of Lord Mountbattens death by an IRA bomb in 1979 at Mullaghmore, Co.Sligo.[16]

Controversies

In 2009 a row erupted over the renaming of the centre. It was announced in June by director Seamus Kealy that the Model Arts and Niland Gallery was to be renamed as "The Model, home of The Niland Collection". Former President of the Yeats Summer School, Michael Keohane called the renaming a "public disgrace".[17] The renaming was also called "absurd" by Bruce Arnold in an article in the Irish Independent in August 2009.[18]

In 2010, under director Seamus Kealy, controversial chef Conrad Gallagher opened Conrads Kitchen, a fine dining restaurant in the Model Arts centre.[19] Former chair of the Model's board, Bernadette O'Shea invited Conrad Gallagher to fill the role.[20] By June 2011 the restaurant had moved to Sligo town centre, citing "zero footfall". In July 2011 Irish Revenue commissioners ordered Gallagher to wind up his operations in Dublin and Sligo, neither had submitted accounts since incorporation the previous year and Gallagher was not listed as a director in either business.[21]

References
  1. http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/L_CAB_02944%5B%5D
  2. http://sligolibrary.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/9-PUBLICBUILDINGS-8.pdf
  3. "Dáil Éireann (26th Dáil) – Wednesday, 6 Feb 1991 – Houses of the Oireachtas". 6 February 1991.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "The Niland Collection". National Gallery of Ireland. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  6. "Model Arts & Niland Gallery | Irish Architecture Awards 2001 | Irish Architecture Gallery".
  7. http://nwra.ie/bmw-regional-assembly-aids-redevelopment-of-the-model-sligo/%5B%5D
  8. "List of Successful ACCESS projects". Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  9. "The Model, Sligo. | Punc 1x1 at Scoil Mhuire gan Smal". 15 February 2018.
  10. http://www.ahg.gov.ie/app/uploads/2015/07/Expenditure-2010.pdf
  11. http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/LocalGovernment/AuditService/2010AuditorsReports/FileDownLoad,29301,en.pdf
  12. "The Model, Sligo. | Music & Events". Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  13. http://themodel.ie/education
  14. https://www.themodel.ie/about-the-model/list-of-our-current-staff/
  15. "Sarah Glennie to Step Down as Director of Irish Museum of Modern Art". Art Forum. Art Forum.
  16. "Prince Charles' speech at the Model Arts Centre, Sligo". www.rte.ie. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  17. http://www.sligotoday.ie/details.php?id=5241
  18. "Re-naming of sligo gallery is absurd".
  19. "Conrad Gallagher to open new restaurant in Sligo".
  20. http://www.sligotoday.ie/details.php?id=14827
  21. "Revenue seeking court order to wind up Conrad Gallagher restaurants".

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