More than 60 students of the Limerick School of Art & Design (LSAD) are competing for a chance to have their designs exhibited for a week at the Church Gallery in Limerick City.
In late 2015, Limerick Museum & Archives in conjunction with LSAD invited student artists to participate in the lace design competition, which is part of an ongoing promotion of the Limerick's longstanding lace heritage.
The 'Florence Vere O'Brien' award will be presented to an overall winner as well as six Runners Up at the Church Gallery on Monday next (26 January) at 6pm. All seven winning artworks will be exhibited at the Clare Street based gallery all of next week.
Jacqui Hayes, Archivist, Limerick Museum & Archives said, "Limerick lace was one of the greatest craft industries in Irish history and one of the most famous and beautiful laces in the world. During the past year, we have engaged with the wider community to promote what is a very important part of Limerick's heritage by helping members of the public to identify and restore their Limerick Lace items as well as holding the ongoing Limerick lace exhibition at the Limerick City and County Council headquarters at Merchants Quay."
"The project we are co-hosting with LSAD is aimed at celebrating this heritage and preserving Limerick's association with lace for future generations. We also hope it will breathe new life into lace, imagining a contemporary design and future for lace."
"The competition award is named after Florence Vere O'Brien in recognition of the contribution she made to the revival of the lace industry in Limerick in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Ms. Vere O'Brien's granddaughter Veronica Rowe, herself a textile designer and author of Limerick Lace: a Social History, will be on hand to present awards on the night," added Ms. Hayes.