#DrawMeDocklands Art Hoarding Public Commission

Portrait painting has thrived through the emergence of new technologies, and far from the fear in the late 19th century that photography would kill this genre – it is alive and well today.

In 2016, as part of a collaboration between Dublin City Council (arts and docklands teams) and Business to Arts, the former Lord Mayor of Dublin, Brendan Carr unveiled #DrawMeDocklands, an iconic large work by artist, illustrator and writer Chris Judge.

#DrawMeDocklands is a Docklands Arts Fund initiative, which is a partnership between Business to Arts and Dublin City Council aimed at supporting business to resource the arts.

Chris Judge was among a small number of artists invited to propose how Custom House Quay, and a hoarding, could engage with Dubliners through art.

Chris’s idea was brilliant, and ambitious. He would not select the sitters for the portrait, they would select themselves via their phones and cameras, using #DrawMeDocklands. How Dublin is that?

Late in 2016 Dublin City Council ran the campaign, and people sent pictures of themselves up mountains, on the water, running, walking, shopping, working and even at meetings! This was the ultimate democratisation of the portrait.  The energy brought people together – in the street – photographing friends, and Chris sketching away like mad.  I even spotted myself emerge in there!  I never imagined being the subject of a portrait, let alone my trusty bicycle getting star treatment too!

Hats off to Dublin City Council for leading the way by showing that construction hoardings can be used to energise the city and provide an income for our country’s artists.

So what’s the collective name for 60 digital selfie sitters?  A hoard – of course.  Now, wouldn’t it be magic if other hoardings became used for an Open Call for artists to propose how that site would engage with the people around it? Now that’s when our environment could become a veritable art hoard!

See more of artist, illustrator Chris Judge’s work on www.chrisjudge.com

If you are in Dublin docklands, and looking for more art, check it out on www.docklands.ie