Douglas Hyde Gallery welcomes Rachel Botha as the inaugural Provost’s Curatorial Fellow

Posted on: 04 December 2020

The Douglas Hyde Gallery is delighted to welcome Rachel Botha to the team as the inaugural Provost’s Curatorial Fellow.

Established in 2020, the Provost’s Fellowship in Curating offers recent graduates of Trinity College Dublin the opportunity to work within The Douglas Hyde Gallery over a period of twelve months. Through hands-on work and mentorship, the Fellow will be given insight into the daily workings of the institution and its programme, while contributing to discourses within the Gallery, Trinity College and further afield. The Fellowship, which is generously supported by the Office of the Provost, will foster new generations of arts professionals by giving practical experience of working within one of Ireland’s leading contemporary art spaces.

As Provost Patrick Prendergast announces, “I am very pleased to welcome Rachel Botha back to Trinity as the inaugural Provost’s Curatorial Fellow and I look forward to seeing her contribution to the Douglas Hyde Gallery over the coming year.This new Fellowship is an important opportunity for recent graduates entering the field of contemporary art and I am delighted to support this initiative.”

Rachel Botha is an emerging curator, researcher and writer. Her curatorial practice responds to the local context and investigates how people perceive their social framework. Her outcomes are project dependent, including exhibitions, engagement and outreach programming, archival research and publishing.

On her appointment, Rachel Botha writes, “I am thrilled to begin the Provost’s Fellowship in Curating at The Douglas Hyde Gallery. This opportunity has come at a pivotal moment in my career, giving me the time, support and experience to develop my curatorial practice. As a graduate of History of Art & Architecture from Trinity College Dublin, the DHG was a valuable resource at the doorstep of my studies. It is such an important contemporary art space for both Irish and international artists, and I am looking forward to being a part of its dedicated team, especially during these challenging times.”

As DHG Director Georgina Jackson states ,“These opportunities are rare but so crucial to foster future generations of curators. Rachel comes to the Gallery with an entrenched commitment to artists, and their thinking, alongside a deep attentiveness to engagement. We are delighted to welcome her to the team and look forward to working with her to realise a project at the DHG in 2021.” She continues, “It shows remarkable vision to support this kind of Fellowship, and I’d like to thank the Provost for his passion and commitment to the visual arts and to the DHG.”