The winner of the inaugural AICA Ireland Annual Honorary Prize has been selected and we are delighted to announce that it is Aisling O’Beirn for her exhibition ‘We Lose Sight of the Night’, curated by Hugh Mulholland at The MAC, Belfast (17 April 2025 - 22 June 2025).
Aisling O’Beirn’s exhibition ‘We Lose Sight of the Night’ was the first in a series of exhibitions which address climate and environmental change. O’Beirn (born in Galway) is a Belfast based artist, her practice explores the relationship between art and science and manifests variously as sculpture, installation, animation and site-specific projects.
"I cannot think of a more worthy recipient of this award than Aisling O’Beirn. ‘We Lose Sight of the Night’ was the culmination of many years of enquiry and collaborative partnerships Aisling has developed throughout her career. The MAC was extremely proud to have been able to present this significant body of work across our three galleries recognising not only the importance of this work but Aisling O’Beirn’s immense contribution to the arts on this Island".
Hugh Mulholland, Creative Director Visual Art, Metropolitan Arts Centre Belfast
“Thank you very much to both AICA Ireland and the MAC. I am really delighted to receive this award, it is a great surprise. I'd like to thank Hugh for his longstanding faith in, and support for my practice over many years. I'd also like to thank him and the MAC team for the fantastic opportunity that the show afforded me to show an extensive body of work. Their support was superb”.
Aisling O’Beirn
AICA Ireland is proud to announce the inaugural edition of the Annual Honorary Prize. Inspired by an initiative of the Belgian section of AICA, the scheme was established by a committee of eight members to award an artist and/or curator a symbolic prize for an outstanding exhibition each year. This prize was established by AICA Ireland and involves active contributions from several members, distributed across all four provinces of Ireland.
For more information on the process and the shortlist, please see our earlier announcement here.