Featuring thousands of paintings, sculptures, photographs and other original works of arts, this is the first of four Art Ireland events in 2005. This year Art Ireland will also include shows in Cork in August and Galway in September before returning to the RDS for the main autumn fair in November.

Since its launch in 2000, Art Ireland has successfully established an open and accessible European style art fair, with close to 10,000 visitors spending over three million euro on works of art at the most recent Art Ireland fair in November.

Participating artists include established and emerging names from both the Republic and Northern Ireland, along with leading galleries from the UK, Spain and the Czech Republic. Among the eighty exhibiting artists and galleries will be Kevin Sharkey, taking part in the Art Ireland Summer Collection for its second year.

An added feature of this year's festival will be the presence of a stand in aid of UNICEF Ireland, where visitors can buy paintings and other works of art donated by artists at the fair. On sale throughout the weekend, all proceeds will go towards assisting UNICEF Ireland's work on behalf of the world's poorest children.

A recreational and educational way to check out the world of contemporary art, the Art Ireland Summer Collection 2005 runs from the 15th to the 17th of May.

Art Ireland

Time: Friday, 12 - 9pm, Sat & Sun, 11am - 7pm

Tickets: €10 / €5 concession / Children free

RDS Industries Hall

RDS

Dublin 4.

Tel: + 353 (0) 1 4992244