Person Presence Perception

Since the late 1990s, the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Department of Finance, Northern Ireland (DoF) have worked in partnership organising an annual touring art exhibition. The purpose of this cross-border initiative is to create public awareness and access to artworks in both public-owned collections. The exhibitions have toured numerous venues across the island bringing both collections to new audiences. The exhibitions are based on different themes every year.

The focus of this year’s exhibition is people – the many ways they are represented in artworks and the responses elicited by the viewer. The forty-one artworks by forty artists reflect humanity and how people are portrayed throughout the collections, using a variety of media including paintings, photographs, prints and sculpture. Each artwork spotlights the vision of the artist whilst celebrating the people that make up everyday life now and in times past.