National Irish Visual Arts Library

NIVAL (National Irish Visual Arts Library) is a public research resource dedicated to the documentation of twentieth and twenty-first century Irish visual art and design. It collects, stores and makes accessible for research an unparalleled collection of documentation about Irish art and design in all media. NIVAL’s collection policy covers Irish art and design from the whole island of Ireland as well as Irish art and design abroad, and non-Irish artists and designers working in Ireland. NIVAL is sustained through material contributions from practicing artists, arts organisations and other arts workers. Information is also acquired on an ongoing basis from galleries, cultural institutions, critics, the art and design industries and national and local authorities with responsibility for the visual arts. NIVAL is housed within the campus of the National College of Art and Design, Thomas Street, Dublin.

The National Irish Visual Arts Library (NIVAL) was formally established in 1997 by Edward Murphy (March 27, 1948—May 17, 2014). Murphy was a Librarian for the National College of Art and Design, Dublin for thirty-five years. The aim of the library is to document all aspects of twentieth and twenty-first century Irish art and design. Much of the material, amassed over the last thirty years, is unavailable elsewhere; the collection includes files on all leading artists and designers of the period – including contemporary artists and designers – as well as monographs, exhibition catalogues, price lists, brochures, press releases and newspaper reviews. Since its establishment as a public resource, NIVAL has received annual revenue subsidies through application from the Arts Council (Ireland) and project development funding from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Heritage Council (Ireland) and the Design History Society, United Kingdom.

The main components of the collection are:

The NIVAL Collection of Books, Journals & Catalogues is the most comprehensive library collection of published titles pertaining to Irish art and design. There are more than 3000 books and exhibition catalogues and approximately 60 journals. These can be searched for on the online library catalogue of the National College of Art and Design.

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