Stormont with art

An exhibition of work by Belfast artist Rita Duffy, currently on view in Dublin, will be hung in Stormont Buildings this December…

An exhibition of work by Belfast artist Rita Duffy, currently on view in Dublin, will be hung in Stormont Buildings this December. House to House is at the Lead White Gallery, Ballsbridge, until the end of November.

Monica McWilliams of the Women's Coalition in Northern Ireland drove from Belfast to speak at the opening.

To get a flavour of Duffy's work, take a look at her portraits which decorate the hoardings along the centre of O'Connell Street as part of the city's Public Art Project.

Megan Arney, the Lead White Gallery's curator, who formerly worked in New York's Metropolitan Museum, came to work in Dublin, she explains, partly because Irish art is the fastest growing sector in the international art world.

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Duffy's work in the gallery includes a series of eight large female portraits, based on women she met at Quaker Cottage in Belfast, a cross-community refuge for families who have suffered domestic violence and trauma. "These women are survivors," she said.

McWilliams said "the story of the Troubles is the story of women's lives. It's very important for women to tell their own stories . . . they are very powerful".

Denise Charlton, director of Womens' Aid in Dublin, was impressed with the work.

Next stop for Duffy is a trip to Newfoundland to study icebergs. "I want to bring an iceberg to Belfast," she said.

The Lead White Gallery, which opened its doors earlier this year, is at the corner of Clyde Lane and Pembroke Place.