Wexford Artist Book Exhibition

Annual open exhibition touring
3 National and one International venue per show in addition formulation of Wexford Artists Book Collection 1991-2002

Description of Organisational History

I approached Denis Collins then Chief of Wexford Arts Centre in 1991 approx with an Idea about Artists books. I wonder if he would be interested in helping to organise a show. He was very supportive and got actively involved almost immediately ,so we became 2partners in crime" and we had a good many meetings and lots of wrangling till wed crafted a very unique and rather splendid innings in terms of what was achieved in the ten years of our project.
We held the show each autumn on an open submission basis first show yielded
around 40 Artists book makers who sent about 150 books the numbers of artists rapidly increased and we had to start applying limits to book size and weight –folk were sending us huge books made from lead and bricks etc with massive post bills at the end of each show. It was great fun unwrapping all the latest offerings from the artists though and we quickly began to recognise book styles by certain makers. There was plenty of flotsam with the jetsam being an open show, we allowed the discerning public to make the final judgement on what was and wasn't hot, also we managed to sell a good number of works each show, by pulling aside 1000 euro or so from our budget to purchase a number of works. This helped offset some of the depreciation that would occur. We had regular buyers from NCAD and Crawford came to the show to buy as well as county councils. The touring arms of the shows visited amongst other venues The National library Dublin, Dantrees papers Dublin, Globe gallery North Shield, West Cork Arts Centre Tipperary Arts Centre as well as France, New Orleans and
Warsaw in Poland for the James Joyce Blooms day Celebration, which both myself and Denis attended. It was unfortunately the one time the old polish pope decided to pop home so all the beer shops were closed most of my stay.. another story. I also went to Uist with the show in Scotland, where the entire collection was lost by baggage handlers. I made my way to the gallery book less but the books went a separate was and landed by plane on a beach an hour after my arrival in Lochmaddy Arts Centre. The book show was a long saga and the numbers who were submitting by the final show were in excess of 300. Those were from around 30 different nationalities. The last three shows we had been alternating between an international and indigenous national show.


BY: Andi McGarry