The Arts Council Ireland and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland last week launched a significant new initiative that aims to promote the visibility of artists from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, encourage greater cross-border mobility and provide an opportunity to work closely with an invited curator. The Curated Visual Arts Award is valued at €56k and designed to enable the selected artists to produce pivotal work that will advance their own practice. Artist Mike Nelson has been invited by the two Arts Councils to work with the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin and Void in Derry, to shortlist artists and select two who will show their new work at the two galleries. The Void Gallery was established in 2004 as an artist-run space that includes two exhibition spaces as well as studios. The Douglas Hyde Gallery was established in 1978 at Trinity College’s campus in Dublin. Both galleries try and stimulate debate about what art is and run education and contemporary art programmes. Artists are advised to “consider the qualities of each of the galleries and respond accordingly considering everything from the obvious to the obscure”. Mike Nelson is known internationally known for his installations, which are made up of sequences of meticulously crafted, interconnecting rooms, drawing on cinema and literature. The artists will also receive support from Mike Nelson, who believes the award will enable the winning artists to produce work and enhance their own practice, as well as making a public contribution to contemporary art practise. For more information, CLICK HERE