Leitrim should no longer be seen as a dull, lifeless county but as a vibrant place attracting artists and tourists, according to one of the organisers of an exhibition currently showing at the RHA Gallagher Gallery in Dublin.
The Visual Leitrim exhibition, which will run until the end of the month, includes the work of 21 artists. At least half of them are foreigners, from France, England or Switzerland, who have settled in the peaceful Leitrim countryside. Ms Dympna Murphy, business development manager with Visual Leitrim, says that as well as providing jobs the project can change the image of the county.
"In the past, when people thought of Leitrim they thought of it as dull, a county in the midlands rather than in the west. This initiative gives it more of a lively character.
"We are saying that Leitrim is alive and well, with a big artist population. It is a place where artists are welcomed and supported," she says.
Visual Leitrim is a company of some 25 artists and craftworkers set up last year primarily as a marketing initiative to promote their work.
It is funded by the Leitrim County Enterprise Board and the EU's peace and reconciliation programme.
The exhibition will return to Leitrim on December 3rd for three days at the Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Artists Jackie McKenna, Seamus Dunbar and Niall Walsh are among those featured.