Classical art forms reimagined across Ireland

Portraiture is one of the most recognisable forms of painting we see adorn the walls of art galleries around the world. The Zurich Portrait Prize and Zurich Young Portrait Prize have renewed public interest in contemporary portraiture and have developed a national reach for the competition by partnering with both the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin and Crawford Art Gallery in Cork. When the partnership began in 2018 it was clear that the Portrait Prize was already a landmark competition in the cultural calendar, both for artists and art-lovers alike.

“The incredibly high quality of the shortlist each year is a testament to the richness of the Irish art scene, and we’re so proud to be associated with it. Artists portray a wide range of subjects: themselves, their families, friends, colleagues, and public and political figures. Society in all its forms is reflected and gives us a unique opportunity to explore different perspectives. Each year the shortlist surprises and delights us, and it’s a particular pleasure to meet the artists and learn about their methods and motivations, " says Neil Freshwater, CEO, Zurich Insurance plc.

Applicants have pushed the boundaries of portraiture with their submissions, with the 2021 shortlist featuring a sculptural work made from the artist’s hair, dust, and detritus, and a photograph of a park bench in memory of the subject referred to in the title of the work. This is reinforced by the judging process, with competition judges interested in ‘challenges’ to the understanding of a ‘portrait’.

By touring the exhibitions, the National Gallery and Zurich have developed a wider platform for portrait artists and a greater opportunity for art audiences outside Dublin to enjoy the exhibitions. This was a particular benefit during the pandemic when inter-county travel restrictions were in place.

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“Our ambition is to see the exhibition reach a wider audience in the coming years through partnering with additional galleries across the island of Ireland,” says Freshwater.

Encouraging the next generation

Together, the National Gallery and Zurich developed the concept of the Zurich Young Portrait Prize as an accessible and all-inclusive competition for children and young people of all abilities. This competition launched in 2019.

Since it was established, the Prize has grown in credibility and visibility, with shortlisted works now hanging side-by-side with the Zurich Portrait Prize in the National Gallery of Ireland’s Portrait Gallery and featuring in the catalogue. In 2021, applications were received from 30 counties in Ireland - demonstrating the broad reach across the country. These developments are important in fostering the next generation of portrait artists and highlight how accomplished many of Ireland’s young artists are at an early stage in their practice.

“With the addition of the Zurich Young Portrait Prize in 2019, we have been delighted to see younger artists grow and develop, and it gives us great certainty that there is a strong talent pool that will sustain the competition in years to come, " says Freshwater.

For Laura Slattery, journalist with The Irish Times and a member of the Judging Panel, it is this dedication to discovering and promoting new portrait artists that made this partnership stand out:

‘Together, they have spurred creativity, rewarded excellence in the visual arts, and been adept and innovative in how they promoted new talent to a wider audience,’ she says.

Sharing values through collaboration

Wexford Festival Opera, winner of the Judges’ Special Recognition Award supported by Accenture, has always worked very collaboratively with each of its sponsors. Maintaining a broad range of partners allows the festival to work and learn from very experienced sponsorship and marketing professionals, which ultimately adds to its offering for audiences and artists. The impact of the pandemic still remains and Wexford Festival Opera’s partners—both long-standing and new—play a vital role in supporting the organisation to achieve the success it strives for as a Festival.

“Looking for the positives that came from the last two years, the sudden crisis we were all plunged into actually brought us closer to our partners and in many cases forced us to refresh and rethink elements of our partnerships. After pivoting to an online Festival in 2020, it gave us some extra time to review each partnership and build on elements of each,” says Adeline Minchin, sponsorship manager at Wexford Festival Opera.

Wexford Festival Opera works closely with each of its partners to ensure that the partnership is fulfilling their company sponsorship objectives. Its broad artistic programme and activities throughout the year allow it to match sponsors with events and projects which best speak to the values of their company. This includes the Danone Young Outstanding Female Artist Award launched last year, Datapac’s support of a new community outreach programme Synapses, and Arachas’ support of a new Pop-Up Trail which helps the Festival programme over 30 free events across Wexford Town throughout the 17-day Festival. Another partner, Ecclesiastical, supports a 400-strong volunteer programme, and PwC’s partners on the newly launched Wexford Factory, an academy for young Irish and Irish-based artists helping them launch their careers in opera. With each partner, the Festival tries to find that special connection that enables them to promote the sponsorship through shared values.

2020 also saw the arrival of Artistic Director, Rosetta Cucchi, who brought with her new ideas and additions to the programme. This gave the Festival a new perspective on what it could achieve through each sponsorship and has resulted in successful and fulfilling partnerships which they are proud of.

Etain Seymour, marketing and communications director at Accenture in Ireland says, “We were delighted to award the Judges’ Special Recognition Award to Wexford Festival Opera for its deep creative partnerships with the corporate sector to reach its audience in new ways through the pandemic. Wexford Festival Opera demonstrated the positive impact of a diverse set of partnerships, as well as agility in its approach, evolving it to one of the world’s leading opera festivals that treasures forgotten masterpieces and brings a global audience of opera-lovers to Wexford.”