CIAS presenting NCI with Ros Kavanagh print entitled The School of Hibernia by Na Cailleacha.
On June 24th, the Contemporary Irish Art Society (CIAS) presented National College of Ireland with a print by Ros Kavanagh entitled The School of Hibernia by Na Cailleacha.
About the Contemporary Irish Art Society (CIAS)
Founded in 1962 by progressive figures such as Gordon Lambert, Cecil King, Stanley Mosse, James White, and Michael Scott, with Sir Basil Goulding as Chairman, the Contemporary Irish Art Society aimed to encourage a greater level of patronage of living Irish artists. The society’s goals were mainly achieved by raising funds to purchase artworks by living artists, which were then donated to public collections. The vision of these founding members, and the passion of the society has led to the development of many important art collections in Ireland.
About Na Cailleacha
Na Cailleacha is a collective of creatives; six visual artists, one jazz musician, and a curator/writer who have come together to explore what it means to be women who are getting older and hopefully wiser. The Irish word “cailleach” means one is a witch or a divine hag. Na Cailleacha, bringing together years of voices and experiences, wish to explore what it means to be women who are getting older and arguably becoming invisible. Looking at what strategies can be devised to overcome the challenges of ageing.
Na Cailleacha investigates ideas and issues that are currently relevant, and as they arise, with all concerns embracing the processes of aging, loss, and stereotypes of the witch or hag in society. Na Cailleacha hopes to work across generations, gender, race and class identities to make socially committed art with and for the community.
The School of Hibernia by Na Cailleacha
Presented to NCI by Dr Catherine Marshall, Art Historian, Writer, and member of Na Cailleacha, Ros Kavanagh’s print entitled The School of Hibernia by Na Cailleacha is a highly significant piece as it encompasses Na Cailleacha’s desire to make art that allows the group to explore the collective experience of womanhood, their attitudes to ageing, their bodies, and their place in the artworld.
Dr Catherine Marshall, Art Historian, Writer, and member of Na Cailleacha said, "The School of Hibernia was always about Feminism but also very particularly about Education. In Ancient Greece and Rome and later in Raphaels School of Athens fresco from Renaissance Italy, education for women was almost non-existent. Consequently, attitudes to learning were very narrow. Na Cailleacha wanted to challenge that by making our own version with high achieving Irish Women."
Mary Pavlides, CIAS Chairperson, said, “CIAS was established in 1962 to promote Irish Artists by purchasing their work and then giving the Art on permanent loan to universities, galleries and institutions that would display the work for the public to enjoy. CIAS were delighted to present a print of the School of Hibernia to NCI. CIAS were delighted to support Na Cailleacha by purchasing the print and we hope the staff and students at NCI will be inspired by, and celebrate, these wonderful women.”
This print features forty-one women from all walks of life, including art, music, medicine, art history, poetry, science, theatre, sport, politics, dance, film, and activism. Staging the scene in the Museum Building at Trinity College, the ideas and aims behind the piece were to increase the visibility of women artists and to challenge the patriarchy by creating an all-female version of Raphael’s School of Athens. The original fresco is a key piece of European Renaissance art history, as the mural depicted influential figureheads in academia, and one must note that there were no women in the original fresco. Raphael’s influence, and the influence of his peers such as those depicted in his fresco such as Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes went on to influence education and the representation of evolving knowledge until the end of the last century.
Na Cailleacha’s adaptation depicts women representing a wide range of educational disciplines in the modern world, challenging traditional gender roles in education and art, and visually states that women’s perspectives and contributions in these spaces, and in all spaces, are just as important as men’s.
Widening perspectives and access at NCI
National College of Ireland’s 75th anniversary allows the opportunity to look back and reflect upon how the College has evolved since its foundation in 1951. NCI has always played a role in widening access to education for all, and today there many opportunities that have been created to empower women to pursue all areas of education, particularly areas that have been traditionally male-dominated such as STEM. Examples include the Aurora Leadership Development Programme, the 30% Club, the TY Coding Club for Girls, and the Senior Coding Club.
The College understands that gender equality goes both ways and so access efforts also encourage men to pursue all areas of education too, especially Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), recognising that gender equality goes both ways and that caring professions should not be deemed as being “for women.”
National College of Ireland places a strong emphasis on creating a warm, welcoming environment for all students and staff, challenging gendered assumptions and opening conversations about who can pursue which paths, which is why having Ros Kavanagh’s print The School of Hibernia by Na Cailleacha on campus feels particularly fitting as the print and all of the inspiration behind it encapsulates NCI’s approach to access for all.