Tyrone-born Mairéad McClean is the winner of the inaugural MAC International art prize, worth £20,000. The daughter of civil rights activist Paddy-Joe McClean, Mairéad McClean's winning work, No More, contrasts the closing of minds in 1970s Northern Ireland with more optimistic openness elsewhere. She was chosen from an exceptionally long shortlist of 24 separate projects. They can all be seen at The MAC's several gallery spaces until January 18th next year.
The shortlisted 24 were whittled down from an overall entry of over 1000, “from more than 30 countries.” And while the list doesn’t have quite the global feel those numbers suggest, it features many good artists, from Finnish film-maker Salla Tykkä to Donegal-born sculptor Maria McKinney. Lens-based media dominate, then sculptural installation plus painting, with Dubliner Cian Donnelly flying the flag for performance art.
MAC Curator Hugh Mulholland, Italian curator and writer Francesco Bonami and Tate Partnerships head Judith Nesbit made up the jury. At £20,000 the prize is only £5,000 short of what the winner of the Turner Prize receives, and it’s the largest art prize in Ireland. The hope is that MAC International will put The MAC on the international cultural map.
