A young Tory island artist is helping keep the tradition of painting alive on the island.
Noreen Meenan has reopened the Dixons Art Gallery after it closed down five years ago.
Noreen has had an interest in art since she was 7 years old and was influenced by her uncles Anton Meenan and Michael Finbar Rodgers who were both Tory Island artists.
Noreen wasn’t very good at other subjects at school but says art was a way for her to be herself and to further education in what she enjoyed doing.
Noreen held her first painting exhibition with Tory Island painters in Letterkenny 2007. She has done seven years altogether in college; a PLC course in Art, Craft and design in Letterkenny 2005-2006.
She also received a diploma in Fine Art in Derry 2006-2008, a degree in Fine Art in Galway 2016 – 2018 and a Masters in Education in Art, Design with Digital Media 2018-2020.
Noreen decided to reopen the Dixons Art Gallery on Tory Island which has been closed for the past five years.
The Gallery has different sections in it that include crafts, boat building and items from various shipwrecks.
There are a lot of artists on the island in the form of painters and crafters (boat craft, knitted work) that have already donated to the Gallery.
The official opening of the gallery will take place on Saturday 8th June at 1pm in the Gallery for the Errigal Arts Festival.
