A New Chapter for the Hunt Museum - Open Submission Exhibition Marks Bold Commitment to Contemporary Art

 

A New Chapter for the Hunt Museum

Open Submission Exhibition Marks Bold Commitment to Contemporary Art

By Kieran Beville

Robert Balagh – ‘Self-Portrait after Heart Failure’ (Oil on Canvas, €10,000)

On a winter evening in early December Christmas lights glittered on the quays, a quiet but significant shift took place inside the limestone walls of one of Limerick’s most beloved cultural institutions. The Hunt Museum opened the doors to its first Hunt Open Submission Exhibition, a bold new initiative designed to bridge the museum’s historic collection with the creative energies of the present. Running from 5 December to 28 February, the exhibition has already been hailed as a major cultural moment for the region, signalling a renewed commitment to living artists and a more dynamic relationship between the museum and contemporary practice.

For decades, the Hunt Museum has been synonymous with its eclectic permanent collection: medieval artefacts, Renaissance devotional objects, Napoleon’s hat, and a catalogue of curiosities amassed by John and Gertrude Hunt.

A Global Call — An Unexpected Response

When the museum announced its inaugural open submission, staff anticipated a keen Irish response. What followed exceeded expectations: artworks arrived not only from across Ireland but from Europe, North America, and further afield. The extraordinary volume and calibre of submissions underscored the hunger artists have for platforms that take risks and invite fresh talent into museum spaces. After a rigorous peer-jury process, 210 artworks were selected, representing painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, digital installations, textile works and experimental media.

The resulting exhibition feels almost like a living atlas of contemporary concerns. Colour explodes from one canvas while the next presents monochrome restraint. The show’s diversity is not disjointed but energising—a reminder that contemporary art is a broad and evolving language, spoken differently by every artist who practices it. By keeping the exhibition free of charge, the museum reinforces its belief that culture should be accessible, democratic, and rooted in the community it serves.

Four Eponymous Awards

Integral to the exhibition’s vision are four new awards honouring late individuals whose commitment helped shape the Hunt Museum: George Stacpoole, David McBurnie, Eileen O’Connell, and Tom Kelly. These awards are more than ceremonial acknowledgements—they illuminate the values that sustain cultural institutions: generosity, curiosity, creativity, and service.

George Stacpoole: The Cultural Ambassador 

Stacpoole devoted years to promoting and shaping the museum, both as a Board member and chair of the Friends of the Hunt Museum. He helped foster connections between the museum and the public, hosting events, community programmes and beloved Antiques Roadshow gatherings that drew crowds from every corner of the region. His award celebrates artistic excellence intertwined with an ethos of cultural engagement.

David McBurnie: The Curiosity-Driven Educator 

McBurnie’s legacy lives on in the many visitors he guided through the museum. He led school workshops, delivered public lectures, and founded the museum’s poetry group. His passion for learning was matched only by his passion for encouraging others to think, question, and imagine. His award recognises artistic originality—an attribute he championed in every classroom and tour.

Eileen O’Connell: The Quiet Guide 

O’Connell, one of the museum’s earliest docents, shaped its culture through her gentle demeanour and love of modern art. A former librarian, she had a gift for helping visitors see artworks with fresh eyes. She believed art should invite inquiry rather than intimidate. Her award honours contributions to contemporary Irish art and the spirit of thoughtful interpretation.

Tom Kelly: Designer of a New Museum Identity 

Kelly’s influence is everywhere—on signage, branding, publications, and the overall clarity of the museum’s visual identity. He brought vibrancy and accessibility to the institution through design. His award celebrates artistic achievement executed with vision, clarity, and generosity.

A Dense, Dazzling Exhibition: From the Classical to the Cutting-Edge

Walking through the exhibition, one encounters works that celebrate nature, explore identity or simply revel in aesthetic experimentation. The coexistence of historical and contemporary works creates a dialogue across time. The exhibition spotlights some notable artists.

John Shinnors

Shinnors remains one of Ireland’s most acclaimed painters, known for exploring light and shadow through enigmatic motifs—lighthouses, clowns… His work in this exhibition continues that tradition, using absence and contrast to suggest narrative without prescribing it. His stunning painting ‘North Sea Lighthouse’ immediately received a red dot at €22,000 – sold!

Gillian Kenny Shinnors

Gillian Kenny Shinnors brings a distinctive sensibility grounded in memory, people and places. Her canvases, reminiscent of Art Deco in terms of subject and style. Her layered surfaces invite close looking, offering depth beyond initial impression. Her ‘Boy in Vancouver’ (oil on Canvas) is a steal at €2,000. 

Samuel Walsh: Geometry, Rhythm and Structure 

Walsh’s geometric abstractions embody discipline and intuition in equal measure. His precisely balanced compositions feel architectural yet musical, creating visual rhythm on the canvas. I used to buy my art materials from his shop, upstairs on O’Connell Street – only people of a certain vintage will remember that space.

Robert Ballagh: Chronicler of Irish Identity 

Ballagh’s work frequently engages with socio-political themes, making him one of Ireland’s most influential cultural voices. His precision and clarity lend a sharpness to every subject he approaches.

Daren Ryan: Photographer of the Modern Pulse 

Photographer Daren Ryan brings a distinctly contemporary perspective, capturing the fleeting intersections between people, place, and moment. His images often feel suspended between stillness and motion, revealing the subtle choreography of urban life. Ryan’s work transforms the everyday into the extraordinary, demonstrating how photography can reveal truths that exist only in passing. His offering, a snip at €500, ‘Photographic Image’ (giclee print on archival paper).

Extending the Conversation 

The Hunt Open Submission arrives at a time when museums everywhere are reassessing their roles. They are asked to be custodians of heritage, yet also champions of new voices. They must safeguard the past while responding dynamically to the present. This exhibition marks the Hunt Museum’s declaration that it can—and must—do both.

Looking Toward February — And Beyond 

As the exhibition continues, public talks, workshops and guided tours are expected to draw thousands. There is growing anticipation about future editions. The broader implications of the Hunt Open Submission Exhibition stretch beyond its physical footprint. The initiative speaks to a cultural shift occurring across Ireland, where regional museums and galleries are increasingly stepping forward as vital engines of artistic development. No longer is the arts landscape concentrated solely in Dublin or Cork; instead, cities like Limerick are cultivating their own ecosystems of creativity, nourished by institutions willing to take bold steps.

The Open Submission model fosters transparency and opportunity. For emerging artists, especially those outside established networks, the chance to exhibit in a national museum can alter the trajectory of a career. Visibility leads to dialogue, dialogue leads to opportunity, and opportunity leads to growth—both personal and professional. For mid-career and established artists, the exhibition provides a reinvigorated connection to new audiences, as well as to fellow practitioners whose perspectives differ sharply from their own.

This mixing of generations and styles may be one of the exhibition’s most powerful contributions. In the galleries, one finds the quiet confidence of seasoned painters hanging beside the experimental vibrancy of younger voices. The result is not competition but conversation, a reminder that artistic tradition is not linear but ever-branching. The presence of internationally recognised artists alongside early-career photographers, sculptors, and digital creators reinforces the idea that art evolves through coexistence rather than hierarchy.

The exhibition also encourages visitors to question how museums shape cultural narratives. By opening themselves to public submission, the Hunt Museum relinquishes a degree of curatorial control—an intentional act that reflects trust in the artistic community. Rather than dictating a theme or aesthetic, the museum has allowed the exhibition to be shaped organically by the submissions themselves. This makes the show feel authentic, unpredictable, and alive.

Most significantly, the Hunt Open Submission Exhibition reaffirms the role of museums as places of encounter. In an age saturated with digital distraction, there is something profoundly meaningful about standing before a physical artwork, feeling its texture, its presence, its insistence. The exhibition asks us to slow down, to look, to absorb. It suggests that art is not merely something we observe but something we meet—an exchange between maker and viewer, world and witness.

As the exhibition moves toward its closing date in February, its legacy is already taking shape. It will be remembered not just for the works displayed but for the doorway it opened—for artists, for visitors, and for the museum itself. The Hunt Museum has signalled that it is not content to be a guardian of yesterday’s treasures alone. It intends to be an active participant in shaping tomorrow’s cultural landscape, one open submission at a time.