Council Chair commissions art piece for Civic Collection

The Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Errol Thompson, recently commissioned a piece of artwork by Fermanagh photographer, Ronan McGrade, to add to the Council’s Civic Art collection.

The piece consists of aerial photographs of the two County Towns, Omagh and Enniskillen and it is the first of its kind in the Civic collection.

The Civic Art collection, which largely comprises works by local artists, was initiated by the first Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Thomas O’Reilly and has been added to by each Council Chair in succeeding years.

Speaking about the commission, Councillor Thompson said;

“One of the privileges of being Chair of the Council is that I am afforded the opportunity to support the arts and, where possible, local artists by purchasing a piece of art for the Civic Art collection.

I wanted this commission to reflect both areas of the district and capture a moment in time, showing the size of our County Towns and the iconic buildings we are fortunate to have in both.

I believe it is important to support our towns and villages to ensure that our economy is thriving, expanding and outward looking and this art piece showcases what our towns have to offer.  It was for this reason that I also asked Ronan McGrade to create the piece as I am an advocate of supporting our local businesses.

I am confident that this piece will be a wonderful addition to the Civic Art collection.”

Ronan McGrade is an award-winning local photographer. He has photographed everyone from Presidents and the Pope to newborn babies. As a member of the Press Photographers Association of Ireland (PPAI) and the Northern Ireland Press Photographers Association (NIPPA), Ronan’s work has featured in regional and national newspapers and in magazines.