Exhibition Announcement | MACRO Senior Citizens Painting Group

Location: The Gallery, 21 Arran Street East

Launches: 2 April, 12–2 PM

Runs: 2-6 April

Open: Mon–Fri 10 AM–5 PM | Sat 12–5 PM

Sibyl Montague and Mark O’Gorman will curate an exhibition of new work by the MACRO Senior Citizens Painting Group in The Gallery at The Complex this April, marking its second show at the venue. Meeting weekly, the group has developed a close-knit community, with many members painting together for nearly a decade. Most grew up in inner-city Dublin and took up painting during retirement, some practicing for up to 20 years. Visual artist Sibyl Montague facilitated the group's painting class on Tuesday for over six years, building a strong relationship with the members. The Complex is proud to work with Sibyl to present works by Mary Doyle, Michael Dignam, Olive Hartnett, Michael Maher, Valerie Moore, Ann Murray, and Jacinta Harris.

The exhibition opens April 2nd, with a welcoming morning of tea, coffee, and biscuits from 12–2 PM, where visitors are welcome to engage in casual conversations with the artists about their work and practice. All of the paintings featured in the exhibition are for sale.

The Markets Area Community Resource Centre (MACRO) operate from the heart of North Dublin’s inner city and provides a range of services and supports to help the community thrive. We provide serviced office space for local organisations and room rental for use by organisations and groups operating in the community and wider Dublin city area.

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Tuesday Mornings  

There's a kind of solace in the rhythm and repetition of a ritual. Tuesday mornings at MACRO have a similar pulse, coming around each week with the regularity of a clock. The Senior Citizens Painting class begins with Michael. Arriving before everyone else, he thoughtfully fills the paint pots with water from the adjacent kitchen, placing them on each desk.

The brief is simple; paint for two hours, whatever appeals to you. Break at 11:30 am for tea and biscuits. If it is someone's birthday, Olive might bake an apple tart the night before, and I'll dash out and buy some cream to go with it. The only condition is no black paint. 

Black doesn't exist – it's only ever the absence of light.

This group of artists is distinct. They arrived at painting later in life, after full lives lived, families reared, with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Each found their way to art in retirement, heeding the gentle tug of the soul seeking new ways to express itself.

Tuesday mornings are for painting and most importantly, painting together. Our commitment to this practice, nudged forward  over six and a half years, dabbed into paintings. As their teacher, I had the privilege to understand that age softens, creating a unique frequency in people. A frequency advanced and wise to the contortions of the modern world.  For two hours every Tuesday, time and space on Green Street bends. Shared stories stretch across  lifetimes,  planted into pictures. It’s a shared harmony.

– Text by Sibyl Montague

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“I am 82 years old, born in 1941 in Ranelagh, Dublin. I started painting maybe ten years ago when I had more time on my hands. It’s a relaxing hobby, and I enjoy painting in groups. I began working at the age of 16 at O'Keefe's on Mill Street. They would bring the horses there, and the owners would want the horseshoes back. The meat would be sent to the greyhounds. The smell was so overpowering that people used to say you’d never catch the flu around there. The greyhound owners would show up with large wads of money in their pockets and buy big pieces of meat.” – Michael Dignam 

“I was born in 1932, at number two Linenhall Parade, Dublin 7, where I have lived all my life. Growing up, we played out on the street. We used to play beds (hopscotch) and always had a skipping rope. My mam ran a clothing shop on Church Street.  My dad had a horse and cart, which was later replaced with a lorry. He made deliveries and worked very hard. I started painting once my children had grown up. Sister Carmel, who came from the Loretto nuns and moved to the parish, asked us what we would like to do, and she started the classes. I never find it easy; you have to study it. I love mixing the colors and painting landscapes. It gets you out of the house and gives you the chance to be with company.” – Olive Hartnett

“I was born in 1930 in the Liberties, Blackpitts. I was a joiner. I started painting in 2010. It was a bad winter. I was too old to be going out galavanting. I paint most days. It doesn't matter. As it takes me. I could paint for four hours.” – Michael Maher

“I was born in 1951 in Rotunda, Cabra West; that was my hometown. I used to draw, it was kind of in me. Years ago, we used to collect postcards and a tin of glue, cutting them up to make stories. I loved it. We'd swap them under the lamp posts. We were never bored in those days. After Christmas, I'd collect the Christmas cards and make a scrapbook. My mother used to say, ‘See those houses? Call in to them. They have a bell, and they're the ones with money’. I paint in the house. It really grips you. It keeps you going, keeps you alive. The house might be upside down, but you just close the door. It takes you in like that. I've been here about six years now. I don’t know what made me start painting. I just like the colors. When you're sitting at home, it might cross your mind, ‘I'd like to paint that’. I've painted a lot. I started working at 13 and a half. My first job was at the Batchelor’s factory. In those days, you had to be 14 to start working, but my mother said, ‘Go down, buy a (hair) net, and go up to Batchelor's’. I worked on the strawberry line, taking the green bits off the strawberries on the belt. The money was great.” – Valerie Moore

“I was born in 1955, in the Corporation Building, Dublin 1, in the Monto. I came to the class about nine years ago. Before that, I had never picked up a crayon. I really enjoy painting now.” – Ann Murray

“I was born in 1954 at the Rotunda, Dublin. I grew up in Cabra West, one of thirteen children. We had a happy family and home life. I started painting last year after seeing how much my sister Valerie enjoyed art. I was retired at the time and thought, ‘I'll give that a try’. I didn’t know how much I would enjoy it. Now, it’s a part of my life.” – Jacinta Harris

“I was born in Cork and grew up there. My first memory was waking up to draw on the walls with marker when I was two years old. I eventually went to art school at Limerick School of Art and Design.  Now I make sculptures, videos, drawings and textiles. I also work in community education, working for many years in probation programmes with prison leavers, as well with the elderly and autistic students.” – Sibyl Montague

Poster Designed by Sibyl Montague

Image courtesy Valerie Moore. Photo: Paul McGrane

Proudly supported by Dublin City Council, MACRO Community Resource Centre, and Heritage Credit Union (Capel Street).