Brian Teeling and Emma Roche remove artwork from National Gallery of Ireland
National Gallery of Ireland via Brian Teeling Instagram
Brian Teeling and Emma Roche remove artwork from National Gallery of Ireland
Words: Dylan Murphy
The move comes as the Gallery awarded a café contract to Aramark, a firm profiting from Direct Provision centres across Ireland.
Over the weekend, photographer and artist Brian Teeling removed his work from the National Gallery of Ireland, shortly after Emma Roche followed suit. It comes as the gallery awarded a contract for catering to Aramark, an American company that has contracts with three Direct Provision centres in Ireland providing food. The firm has consistently come under fire for the standard of food it provides and the profits they reap at the expense of people struggling in the inhumane system.
It comes after staff in the gallery expressed “deep distress” over the decision to award the contract to Aramark. At the beginning of February, staff asked board members to reconsider their decision in a letter signed by 34 of 170 staff members, noting Aramark’s values were “at odds” with those of the gallery.
Elsewhere, students at Trinity College, UCD and University of Limerick have boycotted the US firm.
Acts like Lankum also voiced their support for the move from Brian and Emma over the weekend.
Elsewhere on District: 22 Questions for 2022: Art & Culture.
