EVA, Ireland’s contemporary art biennial which takes place in Limerick, has announced the appointment of Matt Packer as its new director. Packer moves to EVA from CCA Centre For Contemporary Art, Derry~Londonderry, where he has been director since 2014. Packer has plenty of experience in putting on temporary exhibitions – in 2015 he co-curated the biennial Lofoten International Art Festival in Norway, and will curate the 15th edition of TULCA Festival of Visual Arts in Galway, Ireland, this November. Packer was also on the selection committee for the British pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2017.
EVA International was founded by Limerick-based artists and academics in 1977 as an annual exhibition. In 1979 Sandy Nairne was appointed as the first international guest curator, a model which has continued since. Artists’ projects are selected through an international open and invited call for proposals and exhibitions take place in both gallery and non-gallery spaces over 12 weeks. The 2018 edition will be curated by Inti Guerrero, and will take place from 14 April to 8 July.
“I am delighted to be announced as Director of EVA International, an organisation that I have seen transform since I first arrived in Ireland almost ten years ago,” Packer says. “Now approaching its 40th anniversary, it’s remarkable how EVA has continued to set the horizon for changing ideas of artistic and curatorial practice, while also being respondent to broader cultural and political changes that have impacted Ireland and its relations to the wider world. Given its enormous legacy, I am very proud to be entrusted with the job of developing EVA over the coming years, strengthening its voice and deepening its impact at local, national and international levels.”
28 March 2017
