EVA International and Eimear Walshe partner on the re-edition of TRADE SCHOOL (2021)

EVA International is delighted to announce an artistic partnership with Eimear Walshe, through the re-edition of TRADE SCHOOL (2021) on the occasion of their representation of Ireland at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 60th Venice Biennale, 2024.

TRADE SCHOOL (2021) is a video work depicting a fractious journey through County Wicklow, Ireland, tracing a vein of sexual
conservatism in 19th and 20th century histories. Originally commissioned for the 39th EVA International- Ireland’s Biennial of Contemporary Art (2020/2021). The video will be disseminated on USBs with artist merchandise in an edition of 250* by the in-character video cast – including artists Eimear Walshe, Dylan Kerr, Cameron Lynch and Colm Keady-Tabbal. The artists will journey in character by boat through the Venice canal network (stopping at shores along the Arsenale, Giardini, and Rialto Bridge) distributing copies of the work, culminating at Rifondazione Comunista.

Artist Eimear Walshe says ‘EVA’s commissioning of this work was a catalyst for myself and my colleagues developing a dedicated collaborative video practice. We aim to make a work in each county of Ireland, which will likely take the full duration of our lives to complete. It is fantastic to be bringing an edition of the work to Venice, the TRADE SCHOOL method was adopted in the making of ROMANTIC IRELAND, my contribution to the Biennale this year.’

This project is funded by the Arts Council, Culture Ireland and EVA International. EVA International is core funded by the Arts Council and Limerick City and County Council.

Event Details 
17 April 2024, 12:30 noon
Address: Rifondazione Comunista, C Nuova, 2061/A, 30122, Venice, IT
Admission is free, RSVP to info@eva.ie
* Copies are for private use only. Not for resale or for purposes of public presentation. Distribution is on a first come first serve basis.

Biographies
Eimear Walshe (b. 1992, they/them) is an artist from Longford, currently working in Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Dublin. Their work in video, sculpture, publishing and performance traces the legacies of late 19th century land contestation in Ireland and its relation to private property, sexual conservatism, and the built environment. They have recently exhibited with Van Abbemuseum, EVA International, the National Sculpture Factory, and Temple Bar Gallery and Studios. Their work is in the collections of the Arts Council and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. They travel widely across the island screening, reading, producing, and performing their work. Eimear is the appointed artist representing Ireland at the upcoming 60th Venice Art Biennale in 2024.

TRADE SCHOOL is a video series, a collective storytelling project, a working methodology, and a group of friends who collaborate together. TRADE SCHOOL’s method prioritises immediacy, fluency, pace and adaptability, the participating artists’ roles are assigned and then reversed several times in the production. The project began with a video based largely in County Wicklow, commissioned by EVA International, which is followed by a second video, filmed in County Laois, funded by Arts Council Ireland. Using DIY approaches to tell stories of queer life in Ireland, the team aims to make 32 video works set in all 32 counties of Ireland, creating deep engagements with the landscape through psychogeography, popular history, and auto-fiction.