NIALL ELECTED AS NEW AOSDÁNA MEMBER
APRIL 2019
Niall has been elected as one of six new members of Aosdána.
Founded in 1981, Aosdána was established by the Arts Council to honour artists for their contributions to Irish society and to support them in their artistic endeavours. Membership is capped at 250 living artists from a range of creative disciplines. All members are elected by their peers.
Visual artist Aideen Barry; film and video artist Clare Langan; Man Booker prize winner Anna Burns; writer Doireann Ní Gríofa; and painter and printmaker Margaret Irwin West were also elected.
AYR MASTERPLAN
FEBRUARY 2017
In collaboration with acclaimed international land artist Charles Jencks the masterplan for Ayr has been given planning consent. The project has been conceived as an urban square next to the River Ayr that will be used for festivals and events.
The scheme, focuses around a new glazed structure, that will open up a number of views blocked by post-war development and includes commercial, cultural, leisure, community, hotel and residential buildings. South Ayrshire Council has already committed to building a new council office for 350 of its staff as part of the scheme.
Ayr Renaissance began purchasing the mainly 20th century buildings on the site almost four years ago with funding from the council and the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund.
Demolition will begin immediately on the buildings within the plot, which falls inside the Ayr Central Conservation, following the approval for the masterplan by South Ayrshire Council last week.
Archaeologists will work alongside the demolition contractors in preparation for a six-month dig.
James Knox, chairman of Ayr Renaissance, said: ‘This decision marks a turning point in the fortunes of Ayr. Decades of blight will be swept away, opening up the river to the town’s people for the first time in generations. ‘Our masterplan offers a humane and beautiful solution to the transformation of this key site, which will act as a magnet for visitors, office workers and inhabitants alike. It marks a sea change in the economy of the town.’