Galway International Arts Festival kicked off this week, featuring an international program of theatre, circus, music and visual art on the theme of borders.
Some 600 artists from Ireland and around the world will converge in Galway over the next two weeks to be part of the annual celebration of the arts.
This year also sees the introduction of the new Festival Gallery in the center of Galway city.
The major exhibition in the new gallery centers around the human figure and has been created by renowned Australian artist Sam Jinks.
The In The Flesh sculpture exhibition, including new and existing work, explores the themes of intimacy, empathy, alienation, mortality and acceptance.
Jinks’s work draws on the human figure through hyper-realistic representations of the body constructed from clay casts, poured silicone, fiberglass, resin and human hair.
The figures are frozen in states of vulnerability, infancy, old age or quiet contemplation, in which viewers are expected to see their own vulnerabilities.
The Festival Gallery is located on William Street and tickets are free.
The festival will run over 14 days from July 15–28.