News & Events

Mason Hayes & Curran & Business to Arts join forces for Culture Night

On Friday September 19th as part of this year’s Culture Night, Business to Arts, the organisation that promotes creative partnership between business and the arts, joined forces with Mason Hayes & Curran, to facilitate the viewing of the firm’s collection of art, and present a talk on collecting and commissioning to demystify the process for the public.

Mason Hayes & Curran’s contemporary art collection was commissioned to coincide with its move to the firm’s new headquarters, South Bank House, in the docklands. It includes a Stephen McKenna painting of an Italian scene Terrace at Ronzano, a Corban Walker sculpture and Ground Zero by Michelle Rogers which captures images of workers in the ruins of the Twin Towers.  The collection also includes works from Aidan McDermott, Simon English, Margaret Morrison, Felicity Clear, Gillian Lawler, Clea Van Der Grijn, Niall Wright, Christopher Banahan, Ronnie Hughes and Laura Buckley.

Guest speaker at the event was Jenny Haughton, Independent Curator and Public Art Advisor to the Arts Council, who will give a talk on corporate collecting in Ireland and commissioning artists in the context of the Per Cent for Art Scheme.

While showing a selection of work from the collection, Declan Moylan, Chairman of Mason Hayes & Curran talked about the commissioning of an ‘untitled’ piece by Corban Walker, which forms the centre piece of the firm’s reception area in South Bank House.

Culture Night is an initiative led by Temple Bar Cultural Trust to provide an imaginative route for people of all ages to connect with the arts in the city. Over 2 years Culture Night has grown to include over 100 of the city’s arts and cultural organisations, and this year is the first to include access to a corporate collection.

Speaking in advance of the event, Declan Moylan, Chairman of MH & C said “Mason Hayes & Curran is a committed supporter of the visual arts through sponsoring exhibitions, purchasing works and supporting emerging artists. The firm’s collection is reflective of its contemporary office space and much of it has been commissioned to reflect the approach and values of the firm. To achieve this, we have taken a very direct role in the commissioning of pieces working in partnership with the relevant artist to design works of art that bring to life the essence of the firm and which resonate with staff and visitors to our offices. Through this approach, we have plans to commission further pieces to add to the collection which is now a distinctive part of how the firm expresses itself from a cultural and business perspective”.

Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Business to Arts said “Following the runaway success of Business to Arts’ recent collaboration with IMMA, during which 130,000 people visited the exhibition ’10,000 to 50’ which celebrated the contribution that corporate collecting has made to the visual arts in Ireland, we are delighted to join up with Mason Hayes & Curran on Culture Night to provide further unique access to their fantastic collection.”

The enjoyable evening was welcomed by over 140 guests to Mason Hayes & Curran’s offices. This event marked the firm’s long held, continued involvement and appreciation of the arts.

Pictured above from left to right is Stuart McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, Eithne Harley, Marketing and Business Development Director and Declan Moylan, Chairman of Mason Hayes & Curran.