THE Arts Week has always been strong on the visual side, as you might expect from the presence of the Butler Gallery - one of the most consistent in the country - and the fact that a number of well known artists live locally. The Butler Gallery again has a three point programme this year: the central event is the sculpture exhibition by John Gibbons, who is Irish born but has been mainly active in Britain and the 145. He works almost entirely in steel. Upstairs in the Long Gallery are the photographs of the remarkable American Stephen Johnson, who specialises in landscape. Gallery II is given over to the paintings of Rosaleen Davey.
Rather surprisingly, the self styled Kilkenny Colourists do not feature in the official programme and are part of the "Fringe Festival." Apart from the usual complement of Jane and Tony O'Malley, Francis Tansey, Ramie Leahy, Elizabeth Cope and Paula Minchin, this group show will also feature the paintings of the American abstractionist Roberta Sandberg and the English born, Danish based artist Christopher Galvin Harrison (Market Cross).
In Butler House, another group exhibition draws together Maud Cotter, James Hayes, David Kinnane, Marian O'Donnell and Derek Whitticase - all sculptors, in this case. The School of Music nearby mounts three interesting solo shows: by Sue Melling (prints), Richard Varner (watercolours) and Vincent Hoban (photographs). Plenty of other events, too, and virtually everything will be open by today.