until 23 February 2013

Each year the Crawford Art Gallery presents the exhibition Our Choice, where staff choose individual works of art from the collection. Our Choice includes both well-known works of art and some that might otherwise be overlooked. The theme this year is The Gathering, where staff have chosen paintings, prints and sculptures that tie in with the notion of homecoming, domestic life and social gatherings.

The selection is balanced between scenes that are cheerful and uplifting, and those that depict the harsher side of life.

Some of the images provide reassurance and comfort, others are a reminder of the economic factors that led to mass emigration from Ireland, to Britain, Australia and the United States. As a result of such emigration over the past two hundred years, most families in Ireland now have overseas relatives, and many aspects of Irish culture flourish today in cities as diverse as Sydney and San Francisco.