The following is being distributed at the request of The Rooms Corporation:

The Limestone Barrens Project exhibition open to public September 17 with free admission

Dr. Priscillia Renouf, chair of the Board of Directors, and Dean Brinton, CEO for The Rooms Corporation, today announced that The Limestone Barrens Project Exhibition will officially open to the public on Saturday, September 17, at The Rooms� Provincial Art Gallery.

�We are delighted that our new state-of-the-art facility offers us the opportunity to present a major international exhibition such as The Limestone Barrens Project,� said Dr. Renouf. �And, we have the honour of hosting Premier Danny Williams and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, along with members of the Irish Newfoundland Community, for an advance preview of the exhibit and to celebrate the unique historical and cultural links between Newfoundland and Labrador and Ireland.�

The Limestone Barrens Project is an exhibit of visual art, music and writing based on the haunting and unique limestone barrens landscapes of Newfoundland and Labrador�s Great Northern Peninsula, the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario and The Burren in Co. Clare, Ireland. It is the culmination of a three-year project which seeks to investigate links between the limestone barrens in these three regions through science, visual art, music and writing.

Between July and November 2003, seven visual artists, two writers and a musician completed walks in at least one of the three regions. The fragile ecology in these areas harbours rare and endangered plants and animals which are in the process of becoming protected worldwide. As such, the limestone barrens raise issues of survival and adaptation; emigration and immigration; interdependence; conservation and tourism development. The exhibition of lens-based art emanates from these walks and includes black and white and colour photography, photographic installation, video installation and stereoscopy.

Artists contributing to The Limestone Barrens Project are: Marlene Creates, David Morrish (Newfoundland and Labrador); Har-Prakash Khalsa, Kris Rosar and Greg Staats (Ontario); Orla Kenny and Liam O'Callaghan (Ireland). The exhibit also includes the poetry of John Steffler (Newfoundland and Labrador) and original music composed by Irish composer, Rob Canning. Poet Liz Zetlin contributes a stunning DVD of her poems from The Limestone Ghazals.

�The exhibition will be open to the public on Saturday, September 17, and will continue until Sunday, January 8, 2006, �said Mr. Brinton. �The Rooms will offer free admission from 1:00 p.m. � 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon to encourage everyone to come view this exhibit, take part in the exhibit tour by co-curator Charlotte Jones or take in readings by poets Liz Zetlin and John Steffler.�

The Limestone Barrens Project has been supported by:

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Canada Council for the Arts
The Canadian Geological Foundation
City of Owen Sound
Department of Canadian Heritage � Cultural Capitals of Canada
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Natural Resources Canada � Canadian Forest Service
Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council
The Ontario Arts Council
Sir Wilfred Grenfell College/ Sir Wilfred Grenfell College Art Gallery, Corner Brook
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound
Canadian Studies Development Program, Canadian High Commission, London
The Centre for Canadian Studies, Queen�s University, Belfast
Cultural Relations Committee, Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism
The Foundation for Canadian Studies in the United Kingdom
Ireland Newfoundland Partnership
Model Arts and Niland Gallery, Sligo

Media contact:
  Deanne Hayward, The Rooms Corporation, (709) 757-8070
  Melony O�Neill, TCR, (709) 729-0557

2005 09 16                    1:10 p.m.