Dublin arts festival selects curators

Two overseas art curators have been appointed to ensure that the Dublin Contemporary festival goes ahead.

Chilean art critic and curator Christian Viveros-Fauné and Brussels-based artist Jota Castro take over from Rachael Thomas whose tenure as artistic director of Dublin Contemporary was terminated last month.

Dublin Contemporary is the biggest contemporary art exhibition ever to take place in Ireland. It is scheduled to take place from September 6th to October 31st and will utilise most of the major public galleries and spaces in the city.

It is being modelled on many well-known biennales such as Venice and Documenta in Germany. The Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport has provided €2 million in funding in a hope that it will boost visitor numbers.

Preparation for the event was marred until recently by concerns about the lack of information and the belief that the event was running so far behind schedule that it would not go ahead as planned.

Project director Lesley Tully said they too had feared for the future of Dublin Contemporary, but the appointment of two co-curators from overseas will now ensure its future.

The pair were headhunted by the board of Dublin Contemporary and both are familiar with the Irish art scene. The appointed of joint co-curators is a measure of the work involved for both men and the tight timeframe involved.

"We were worried, but we are less worried now. We are in a much more confident place because of these appointments," she said.

The programme for the festival is to be announced next month.