Unknown Limerick

Places & Faces: An exhibition of work by Visual Communications Year 2

“Places matter. Their rules, their scale, their design include or exclude civil society. They map our lives.” – Rebecca Solnit

Limerick City is going through a period of great change and regeneration. It is a candidate City for European Capital of Culture 2020 and through the ambitious 2030 strategic plan is preparing for the future. Limerick City is looking to transform, to rebuild its economy, to alter perceptions, to promote itself as an ideal location for investment and as a vibrant, culturally engaged place to live. Limerick is connecting with its people and its rich culture to imagine its future.

As Visual Communications students in Limerick the year 2 group had developed their own paths through the City. There are places and faces that they recognised and streets that they traveled. However, had the students truly discovered the city, explored its construct and examined its architecture? Had they observed the emotion and diversity that is present in the faces of its inhabitants? For this exhibition the students went outside the known, the spaces that they were familiar with. They explored the hidden city, the streets, the areas and places that they have walked by but have not seen! Through this the students began to understand the connection between people and place and the stories in-between.

The Unknown Limerick Places project took inspiration from the results of Fab Lab Limerick’s ‘Limerick City Model Project’ and was underpinned by the architectural photography produced for the City model project.