page_title: EVA International
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: EVA International / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Luc Deleu, 'Construction X'. On display in Arthur's Quay Park, Limerick, Republic of Ireland for international exhibition EV+A 1994. Large-scale outdoor installation made from shipping containers in the shape of the letter X.
context_page_description: EVA International is a large-scale contemporary art exhibition that takes place every two years in the city of Limerick, Republic of Ireland. It is known as Ireland's biennial, and is held in even-numbered years.
context_section_description: The first incarnation of EVA International was The 77 Exhibition of Visual Art, created by the original committee with the mission statement of providing the public ‘with an opportunity to visit and experience an exhibition not normally available in the region and, at the same time, to stimulate an awareness of the visual arts here’. Between then and 2017, there have been 37 editions of the citywide exhibition.
  Each edition is now curated by a different international curator of note, a practice that began with Sandy Nairne in 1979, the only  exception to the international rule being Paul O’Reilly, Irish curator of the 1998 edition. The exhibit now has an international focus to its programming, aiming to bring international art to Limerick whilst increasing Ireland's standing in the international art world through invited curators. EVA exhibits have taken place in a number of venues across the city, notably at the Limerick City Gallery of Art, The Hunt Museum, and King John's Castle. For each edition, artists are selected through an open call for submissions, beginning with the first exhibition in 1977. Between 1994 and 2010, the exhibit also included an ‘invited’ selection of artists in addition to those who responded to the open call for artists’ proposals.
  Curator Matt Packer was named Director of EVA in March 2017.  Packer was previously the Director of CCA Centre For Contemporary Art Derry ~ Londonderry.
caption: Luc Deleu, 'Construction X' on display in Arthur's Quay Park, Limerick for EV+A 1994. Large-scale outdoor installation made from shipping containers.
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