What’s On around Ireland

We warmly invite you to join us for this luxury six-day Art, Yoga, Meditation & Spa Retreat in the hidden heartlands of Ireland. During this practical immersive art retreat, our experienced team will invite you to reconnect, renew and rediscover your creative essence. All art supplies, spa, yoga, accommodation and meals are included.

Art Class Facilitator and Meditation Guide: David Rycroft https://www.davidrycroft.com/
Retreat Lead and Yoga Teacher: Mary McMullen
Ballmaloe-trained whole food chef: Tanya Ranalow https://retreatyourself.ie/about-us/

Contact Mary for brochure and early bird pricing.

Come to our vibrant open studio event on Sunday, May 10th at La Catedral Studios, in association with Culture Date with Dublin 8. (No booking needed!).

This hidden gem off Thomas Street is home to more than 40 creatives including painters, illustrators, photographers, musicians, textile artists and performers, many of whom will be present at this event to show their works. Wander through a maze of unique workspaces, and don’t miss the chance to spot Ophelia, our beloved art studio cat!

Accessibility note: the studios are accessible via stairs only, apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

David Whittredge creates three-dimensional works that combine painting and sculpture into stylized coral reef structures. Originally from the U.S. and now an Irish citizen, he has developed new work focused on climate awareness. What began as images of marine flora has morphed into imagined versions of alien marine life, abstracted biology, and the endless variations of coral reefs, both living and dying.

What Persists is a series of detailed ink paintings examining what remains after use, damage, abandonment, or death. Drawing on observation, folklore, and forensic modes of looking, the work considers persistence as residue rather than endurance, what is carried forward materially and symbolically. Animals, human-made objects, and organic matter appear as witnesses within quiet scenes of tension, decay, and continuity, where nature is approached not as refuge but as record.

Exhibition selected by the Art Riddler and curated by Louise Neiland. Artwork by members of ArtNetdlr.

‘Gathering Winds’ brings together the work of Eva Posas and David Habets (collaborating as Mbuchi); Tom Watt, Tanad Aaron, and Andreas Kindler von Knobloch (working collectively as Forerunner) and Sonya Schönberger.
In two installations and a photographic triptych, the artists take us on an exploration of the element of air, in its omnipresence, inherent restlessness and invisible force.

Cork City Council Arts Office will bring the Creative Communities Roadshow to Holyhill and Knocknaheeny on Thursday 14^th May at 10am – 1pm. 

We are delighted to be joined by Cork Community Art Link on this date. As part of the event, we will share news about Creative Places Knocknaheeny and facilitate a fun, hands on creative taster.

‘Nostalgism’ is Rebecca Moccia’s new multidisciplinary project exploring nostalgia as a characteristic of contemporary anxiety, and its instrumentalisation through neoliberal socio-economic systems. Setting aside sentimentality, Moccia exposes how nostalgia is exploited to govern and direct emotions by evoking an idealised past and driving nationalistic and ideological interests.

Thread Lightly is a group exhibition featuring the works of Alicia Donnan, Eva Vitkute, Fiona Somers and Sophie Scally. Guided by themes of memory, grief and loss, the 4 Ireland-based artists use photography, oil painting, textiles and illustration to reflect on how these experiences shape identity, sensation, and our relationship to the environment. Thread Lightly invites viewers to move carefully through these emotional landscapes, to sit with their reflections and consider the ways we navigate our inner worlds.

Please join us for the opening night of Thread Lightly, 6-9PM.

PhotoIreland presents the 5th edition of New Irish Works, a triennial programme of activities launched in 2013 to support Irish photographers, bringing new works by 10 selected artists to local and international audiences.

Artists presented:
Austin Hearne, Billy Kenrick, Ciara Richardson, Debbie Castro, Dorje De Burgh, Emily O’Connell, Garry Loughlin, Kate Nolan, Mandy O’Neill, and Miriam O’ Connor.

Find out more at image.museum

Free event; booking required.

From May 15–24, the International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD) transforms Merrion Square into a vibrant literary village and a dynamic hub of ideas, imagination and conversation. This 10-day celebration features over 215 events for all ages, including more than 50 dedicated to families and young readers.
Set in the heart of the city, Merrion Square becomes a welcoming, open-air cultural space where audiences can spend the day moving between talks, performances and experiences. Don’t miss out – book your tickets now!

Ade is an Aberdeen based artist whose artwork reflects a deep interest in ecology mixing motifs and symbols which reflect his Nigerian culture, love of landscape and science fiction.
Ade is best known for linocuts, often large scale and with a dreamlike quality which combine striking visual beauty with sharp political and environmental commentary.
Ade will be talking about his work & showing examples of some plates & working materials on the 15th May at 2pm.

A new and exciting Creative Art Collective exhibition will open on Friday, 15 May 2026, running through to Sunday, 14 June 2026, at the Mariner Hotel in Westport, Co. Mayo. This vibrant showcase features new work by four artists: Carole Shubotham, Richie Delaney, Katie Delaney, and Stephanie Glynn.
Bringing together four distinctive voices in contemporary art, the exhibition presents a diverse and engaging collection. Free to all.

Curated by Megs Morley, produced by Tracy Bass

‘UnWorlding’ explores wildness, the untamed, the feral and the unruly—not as chaos, but as a force that resists systems of control. Bringing together film, photography and sculptural installations incorporating readymade objects, the exhibition assembles figures, landscapes and sites where this wildness persists: in terrains marked by colonial violence, in the unruly geographies of queer desire, and in forms of life that exceed the boundaries imposed by the human.

Funded by an Arts Council Visual Arts Project Award

PhotoIreland presents the exhibition of the 5th edition of New Irish Works in 2026, a triennial programme of activities launched in 2013 to support Irish photographers, bringing new works by 10 selected artists to local and international audiences.

Featured artists:
Austin Hearne, Billy Kenrick, Ciara Richardson, Debbie Castro, Dorje De Burgh, Emily O’Connell, Garry Loughlin, Kate Nolan, Mandy O’Neill, and Miriam O’ Connor.

Launch: Thu 14 May at 6pm
Artist Tour: Sat 16 May at 12pm

All events are free; booking is required.

Find out more at image.museum

Join curator and Artistic Director of STAC, Helena Tobin, for a free, public walk-through of our latest exhibition, ‘STAC at 30’, featuring contemporary work from our national collections by some of the best-known artists including Alice Maher, Aideen Barry, John Burke, Patricia Hurl, Austin McQuinn, Ursula Burke, Sheenagh Geoghegan and Bridget O’Gorman.

This tour is completely free, with no booking required. 

The Irish Contemporaries will take place across two venues with three events in 2026:
18th Street Arts Center | Opening Friday 15th May @1pm
Runs: 15th May – June 6th
Angels Gate Cultural Center | Opening Saturday 16th May 1pm
Runs: 16th – June 6th
Featured Artists across both venues: Deirdre Mulrooney & Gearóid O’Dea

Developed in conjunction with Rebecca Moccia’s solo exhibition titled Nostalgism, the screening program brings together a selection of films by Italian artists Simona Andrioletti, Riccardo Giacconi, and Giulio Squillacciotti. Supported by Careof (Milan) and preserved in its archive, these works explore the relationship between governance and intimacy, between the individual and the social body, and the relationship between politics, communication, and human behaviour.

Booking required

with sets from Cáit and Lolz!
Club Áras na nGael – admission via Galway Arts Centre
RSVP via web link

As a previous resident of Radiant Love in Berlin & co-founder of Dip, a diy party, in her native Dublin, Cáit is a well established name amongst some of the most acclaimed parties across Ireland and Europe.

Described as a lynchpin of Irish electronic music, Lolz is established as one of the scene’s most in-demand DJs. Not one to be pinned down to a style or sound, her versatile sets have rocked underground dancefloors, radio stations and major outdoor events in Ireland and abroad.

Photo: Cáit

Taiwanese-American artist Ben Sloat’s exhibition, A New World is Possible, I Can Hear Her Breathing bridges the animist cultures of Taiwan and Ireland through use of materials which transform from raw to cultural states. Employing the respective craft traditions of these countries, Sloat proposes a new kind of syncretism of the handmade: one that blends histories, provides for coalition, and points to new possibilities for the future. Sloat will be working with two local Irish craftspeople, Brid Kivneen for traditional straw and Angela Nolan for willow, in the production of his installation in Gort.

‘Long Exposures’ is Kim Coleman’s new expanded photography installation for R-Space Gallery which was developed from interviews the artist conducted with women in their late seventies who had experienced a major European blackout in 2025. Opening reception: Saturday 16 May, 2–5pm. Artist Talk at 4pm. FREE. All welcome.
This exhibition is funded by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and The Richard and Siobhán Coward Foundation.

Featuring contemporary work from our national collections to draw inspiration from, this National Drawing Day step inside the exhibition at STAC like you haven’t before and get to know the process behind drawing portraits from life. Facilitated by artist Annie Hogg, STAC will be offering three, 45 minute portrait-drawing sessions suitable for adult attendance.

Sessions are free and will operate on a drop-in basis.

Session Times:
11am – 11:45 am
2 pm – 2:45 pm
3:30 pm – 4:15 pm

Annie Hogg is a visual artist based in Co. Tipperary with a studio-based and collaborative practice using sculpture, installation and mark making.

The Uisce / Flora series of river walks was developed by Anna Macleod with textile designer Katie May Anderson as a transferable model for performative community river walking to celebrate the transformative power of water. The event at The Dock will begin with a talk by Niall MacCoitir on ethnobotany, and the launch of a zine with an essay by Dr. Phillina Sun. Followed by a light lunch.

This event is part of a programme to accompany the exhibition Tír Breac / Speckled Land by Anna Macleod. You can read more about the exhibition via The Dock’s website.

Join the New Irish Works artists on a tour of the exhibition!

To mark the opening of the exhibition, join the New Irish Works artists: Austin Hearne, Billy Kenrick, Ciara Richardson, Debbie Castro, Dorje De Burgh, Emily O’Connell, Garry Loughlin, Kate Nolan, Mandy O’Neill, and Miriam O’Connor in a walkthrough tour of their work.

The tour will offer insights into the processes and projects behind the artists’ works, with the opportunity for the public to join the discussion.

Free event; booking required

Find out more about the exhibition at image.museum

Honouring Berba: A Celebration of Heritage & Ecology.
Marking the Start of National Biodiversity Week.

Blueway Art Studio and Doras na Feasa Collective are proud to present Future Ancestor Athy from 1-4pm on the 16th May 2026 in partnership with Athy Library. This immersive event weaves together eco-workshops, art installations, and live performances centred on Berba, the mythical Goddess of the River Barrow.

Thirty-Six Views of the Sugarloaf includes work by the late artist Cathy Henderson and her collaboration partner Nell Regan. For this talk special guests Catherine Marshall, Tracy Staunton and Patricia Burns reflect on and celebrate the work and legacy of Henderson, their friend and colleague. From her ambitious wood block printing to her ground breaking portraits of cleansing workers (exhibited at Mermaid in 2007), to her designs for the 1913 Lockout tapestry and her work in prisons, Henderson left her mark in many ways. The talk is preceded by a poetry reading by Nell Regan from her new book.

Join us for an evening of live storytelling, drinks, and connection as we celebrate the launch of Bia! Zine Issue 03 at the International Centre for the Image!

Bia! Zine Issue 03 brings together stories and art from nearly 60 contributors connected to Ireland from across Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and mixed-heritage communities to explore their diasporic identity through food.
This issue traces how identity is formed in the kitchen through memory, unravels in movement, and is repaired through care and resistance.

Free event; booking required

Exhibition continues from 14/03/2026 to 09/05/2026.

SHIFT
Reflections of unknowing.

The paintings are in the hidden language of change and their numerous manifestations, and are an assimilation of that process in all its mystery. Sometimes the sources are known, sometimes they are not, but either way they become part of the painting. They are a visual diary with markers or indicators that occur naturally working with a mix of intention and intuition. Colour is used to heighten sensation and with the aim of a raw dynamic, they come into being sequentially and organically. They are an interpretative filtering of the world and universe around us.

In April 2026, Askeaton Contemporary Arts continues a growing relationship with the city of Chicago, presenting a series of exhibitions bringing together artist-led activities of the Irish art scene and American Midwest. As part of this initiative Co-Prosperity host Tuneful Places, a group exhibition exploring artists that disrupt and challenge representations of geography, state and capital within an Irish idiom.
The participating artists are John Carson, Martin Folan, Max Guy, Léann Herlihy, Niamh Schmidtke, and Frank Wasser.
Curated by Michele Horrigan and Sean Lynch
Image: John Carson, American Medley, 1981-6

A major solo exhibition by internationally recognised photographer Jackie Nickerson, Stateside draws on a decade of travel across the United States. Through layered photographic compositions, the exhibition explores patterns of sameness across different American landscapes, offering a nuanced reflection on the systems that shape everyday life.

Exhibition continues from 11/04/2026 to 09/05/2026.

Wandering Star is a reference to the physics of light and celestial mechanics, and also a nod to an artistic journey over the decades through the indeterminacy of painting. Joyce uses an arc motif, an elemental unit of human invention and expression, with oblique reference to early human structures, manuscripts and notations, or, as the artist likes to say, ‘stuff holding stuff up’. From a rhythmic and mechanical foundation, a bending of the light, familiar, like the Rings of Saturn, or the passing lights on the nearby orbital motorway, errors accumulate, an entropic unspooling, fragmenting towards chaos and disorder.

Join artist Tinka Bechert in conversation with Patrick Murphy at The Model for a welcoming and insightful discussion of her solo exhibition. Admission is free, no booking required. Kindly supported by the Goethe-Institut Irland.

Get ready to cut, tear, glue, and celebrate! The Connacht Collage Collective is turning two, and we’re marking the occasion with a Big Paper Paste Party on World Collage Day. This extra special session is open to everyone — no matter your experience or skill level. Whether you’re a total beginner or a seasoned pro, we invite you to come along and enjoy the simple pleasure of making. For this birthday edition, DJ SIM Card will share some mood music while we create together.

This is an adult event (18+), and everyone is welcome.

A lavish ceramic banquet arrives in The Liberties. A Libertine Feast is a large-scale installation by Dublin 8 artist Camilla Hanney – a love letter to the neighbourhood that raised her. Returning through the 2026 Clay City Residency, Hanney transforms local history into an opulent, surreal feast in clay. Overflowing Guinness and whiskey bottles, Jacob’s biscuit piles, a ceramic suckling pig, gold-lustre platters and glowing candelabras – each piece draws on folklore, domestic ritual and shared memory.

The Liberties Weavers Pop Up Textile Museum is a community led celebration of Dublin 8’s rich textile heritage. Set in the Deanery Mews at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, it explores the stories, skills, and social history of the Liberties’ weaving tradition.
Open:
Thurs 7 May, 1–8pm
Fri 8 May, 12–7pm
Sat 9 May, 10–5pm
Featuring artefacts and photographs, the exhibition offers insight into the lives of weavers and their community. Open to all.

“Creations of a Colourful Mind” is the title of the joint painting exhibition by Marja van
Kampen, Olivia O’Keeffe and Martina Furlong at The Old Market House Arts Centre,
Dungarvan. Poet, Áine Uí Fhoghlú will open the exhibition on Saturday May 9th 2026 at
2pm. This is a national touring exhibition and their tenth exhibition together.
For this exhibition, each artist undergoes a journey of exploration of nature; from the
everchanging colours and textures of land and sea to the intricate details of flora and
fauna.
The Arts Centre is open Tues-Fri.11am-5pm, (lunchtime close 1.30 to 2.30pm) and on Saturday 11am-5pm

VISUAL is pleased to present DRILL, newly commissioned exhibition of moving image and sound installation by Naomi Sex. Working with both professional and non-actors, Sex has written and directed a series of scripted performances. These vignettes consider language, social interaction, absurdity and the limits of understanding. DRILL comprises a series of monitors, speakers and projectors, which present each piece as distinct but interrelated episodes, linked to each other in an installation that places the viewer in the centre of the work.

VISUAL is pleased to present Interloper, the first project by Anne Hardy in Ireland. For this exhibition of existing and newly commissioned works, Hardy has responded to the distinct architecture of VISUAL; the concrete and glass of the Link Gallery and its connection to the ornamental pond seen through the large windows, and the blank canvas of the Studio Gallery’s white cube design and its heavily patinated floor. Interloper marks a continued evolution in Hardy’s practice.

“Now now” by Andy Fitz uses language to record a passing moment in time. An out-of-date present is rearranged in minute detail as though the process might reveal something. Time remains static – the food never grows mouldy. Unremarkable domestic objects are balanced across the gallery in precarious abstraction from their usual surroundings. “Now now” is also a phrase whose function and meaning is dependent on tone; it can be understood as a warning, or a consolation. The sculptures build on these unresolved tensions; the personal in the political, the present in light of the past.

Exhibition continues from 27/03/2026 to 10/05/2026.

Before I Go: Vanishing Dublin, gathers over fifty characteristically Dublin cityscapes by Gerard Byrne — Georgian terraces, Victorian facades, charming pubs, and beloved corners that continue to define his practice. Working en plein air in both oil and charcoal, Byrne captures architecture and atmosphere in equal measure, incidentally continuing the work of Harry Kernoff and Flora Mitchell, exemplified in her book Vanishing Dublin (1966). 60 years on, he faces the same conviction that what is not recorded is lost forever.

Before I go, before you go, I’ll make sure someone remembers.

Come to our vibrant open studio event on Sunday, May 10th at La Catedral Studios, in association with Culture Date with Dublin 8. (No booking needed!).

This hidden gem off Thomas Street is home to more than 40 creatives including painters, illustrators, photographers, musicians, textile artists and performers, many of whom will be present at this event to show their works. Wander through a maze of unique workspaces, and don’t miss the chance to spot Ophelia, our beloved art studio cat!

Accessibility note: the studios are accessible via stairs only, apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Signal Arts Centre is thrilled to announce Annette Smyth’s “Yesterday I Saw The Earth Beautiful, Work In Progress” exhibition of paintings. Smyth is based in Meath and has exhibited nationally and internationally in many group shows and Signal Arts is delighted to host a new body of work in her debut solo show.

Inspired by Patrick Kavanagh’s poem Yesterday I Saw The Earth Beautiful, Smyth’s work questions our sense of reality. Where does one reality start and another begin? With shifting layers, Annette places the viewer in between moments. In space or time.

Dublin 8–based artist Duc Van Pham presents a new exhibition as part of Culture Date with Dublin 8, a heartfelt celebration of life in the Liberties. Living in the area for over fifteen years, Duc reflects on a deep sense of belonging, drawing parallels between his upbringing in Ho Chi Minh City and the everyday rhythms of Dublin 8. Through expressive, atmospheric paintings, he captures the spirit of the neighbourhood, its people, places and quiet moments of connection. Blending memory, observation and feeling, the work offers a warm and personal portrait of a community that has shaped his life.
Opening 4 May 6-8pm, continues 5 -10 May 10-6pm.

Valerie Gannon has lived in Pimlico in the Liberties for over 40 years, where her connection to community, literature and everyday life has shaped a distinctive artistic voice. Now in her sixties, she presents her first solo exhibition, Imaginationism — bold, text-driven paintings rooted in world events, local landmarks and personal experience.

Curated by Paul Dunne from the collection of Noel Fleming, this rare exhibition brings together work long embedded in the fabric of the Liberties.

Opening night Monday 4 May, 6–8pm with special guest Brent Pope
Exhibition continues 5–10 May, 10am–6pm daily

Deirdre Brennan’s long-term photographic project Following Ulysses will be exhibited as part of Zones Portuaires Festival – Saint-Nazaire – France.
Following Ulysses, uses the map and structure of James Joyce’s novel to consider politics, race and class in modern Dublin.
The Port Zones Festival examines how ports and their horizons shape cinematic creation.
From May 5 to 10, 2026, the Port Zones Festival sets sail for Ireland for its 11th edition. From the submarine base (LiFE) to the Jacques Tati cinema, and including its partner venues, the event unfolds a vibrant panorama of Irish cinema.

‘Bándearg’ (Pink), an exhibition, featuring five female artists working in Ireland, officially opens in Books At One, Louisburgh, Co. Mayo, on Saturday, April 18th at 6:00 PM and will run through to May 13th 2026.
The exhibition brings together a diverse collective of artists, Olivia Jones, Tina Poole, Anna Marie Savage, Nickie Harrington, and Maria Mollohan, to explore the colour pink as both a physical material and a complex cultural symbol. Historically associated with innocence and softness, the colour is reclaimed within this exhibition as a site of strength, resistance, and emotional depth.

Opening reception Thursday 7th May. 6pm. Exhibition continues until Wednesday 13th May. 12 – 6pm. Sat/Sun 1 – 7pm. Artists Emanuela Carvisiglia and Lily Kassab come together for a two person exhibition at Reds Gallery Dublin in May. Parallel Visions is the work of two artists who, through different languages, explore the relationship between presence and transformation. Carvisiglia was born in Naples and now lives in County Wicklow. Kassab is a Syrian born artist based in Dublin.

Exhibition continues from 09/04/2026.

Elements of Paradise is an ongoing body of work consisting of over 50 intricately carved and painted wood reliefs, created between 2015 and 2026. It is an exploration of the dream of sanctuary and escape; the longing for a perfect place to feel at home and at rest, with brightness, greener grass, safety, and clean air.
Jackie McNamee is a Belfast-based artist, who holds a Bachelors in Sculpture from Edinburgh College of Art and been a resident artist across Europe, the UK, Scandinavia and Australia.

Cork City Council Arts Office will bring the Creative Communities Roadshow to Holyhill and Knocknaheeny on Thursday 14^th May at 10am – 1pm. 

We are delighted to be joined by Cork Community Art Link on this date. As part of the event, we will share news about Creative Places Knocknaheeny and facilitate a fun, hands on creative taster.

PhotoIreland presents the 5th edition of New Irish Works, a triennial programme of activities launched in 2013 to support Irish photographers, bringing new works by 10 selected artists to local and international audiences.

Artists presented:
Austin Hearne, Billy Kenrick, Ciara Richardson, Debbie Castro, Dorje De Burgh, Emily O’Connell, Garry Loughlin, Kate Nolan, Mandy O’Neill, and Miriam O’ Connor.

Find out more at image.museum

Free event; booking required.

Crawford Supported Studios and LHQ Gallery present ‘This is Ireland’, a showcase of the work of sixteen artists working in supported studio settings: Angela Burchill, Bríd Heffernan, David Connolly, Eoin O’Brion, Íde Ní Shúilleabháin, John Keating, Judit Bakos, Katie Whelan, Marie Sexton, Mary Rose Marshall, Nicola Moran, Rosaleen Moore, Stephen Murray, Tom O’Sullivan, Ailbhe Barrett, and Yvonne Condon.

This exhibition has now been extended until Friday 15th of May 2026.

We warmly invite you to join us for this luxury six-day Art, Yoga, Meditation & Spa Retreat in the hidden heartlands of Ireland. During this practical immersive art retreat, our experienced team will invite you to reconnect, renew and rediscover your creative essence. All art supplies, spa, yoga, accommodation and meals are included.

Art Class Facilitator and Meditation Guide: David Rycroft https://www.davidrycroft.com/
Retreat Lead and Yoga Teacher: Mary McMullen
Ballmaloe-trained whole food chef: Tanya Ranalow https://retreatyourself.ie/about-us/

Contact Mary for brochure and early bird pricing.

Following the success of Art Evolve, we are delighted to announce What Happens Next, a compelling new group exhibition bringing together a dynamic selection of contemporary artists.

Join curator and Artistic Director of STAC, Helena Tobin, for a free, public walk-through of our latest exhibition, ‘STAC at 30’, featuring contemporary work from our national collections by some of the best-known artists including Alice Maher, Aideen Barry, John Burke, Patricia Hurl, Austin McQuinn, Ursula Burke, Sheenagh Geoghegan and Bridget O’Gorman.

This tour is completely free, with no booking required. 

with sets from Cáit and Lolz!
Club Áras na nGael – admission via Galway Arts Centre
RSVP via web link

As a previous resident of Radiant Love in Berlin & co-founder of Dip, a diy party, in her native Dublin, Cáit is a well established name amongst some of the most acclaimed parties across Ireland and Europe.

Described as a lynchpin of Irish electronic music, Lolz is established as one of the scene’s most in-demand DJs. Not one to be pinned down to a style or sound, her versatile sets have rocked underground dancefloors, radio stations and major outdoor events in Ireland and abroad.

Photo: Cáit

Developed in conjunction with Rebecca Moccia’s solo exhibition titled Nostalgism, the screening program brings together a selection of films by Italian artists Simona Andrioletti, Riccardo Giacconi, and Giulio Squillacciotti. Supported by Careof (Milan) and preserved in its archive, these works explore the relationship between governance and intimacy, between the individual and the social body, and the relationship between politics, communication, and human behaviour.

Booking required

“Forward,” said granny in the snow – “Eteenpäin,” sanoi mummo lumessa (Finnish Proverb)
Jane Hughes and Selma Mäkelä.
Curated by Paula Barrett.

The Finnish proverb “Eteenpäin, sanoi mummo lumessa” – “Forward,” said granny in the snow – evokes resilience and determination in the face of adversity. This spirit of perseverance underpins this exhibition that brings together the work of Jane Hughes and Selma Mäkelä for the first time.

Changing Natures: A Celebration of Artistic Alchemy and Organic Transformation by Katie Byrne, Annie Hogg and Louise Wilde. The exhibition celebrates the artist as an alchemist. It explores the art of transformation, where natural elements are given new narratives. It examines the power of art to breathe new life into that which might otherwise fade or be forgotten. The artists work with wood, water, flowers and other organic materials. Through their craft and creative vision, they turn these materials into something beautiful and lasting. They give permanence to the fragile and bring life to the raw, inviting us to view them in new light.

Exhibition continues from 13/04/2026 to 16/05/2026.

We would love to extend a warm invitation to you to experience our latest online offering, Dry Facts And the Judgement of Imagination.

This is a unique take on the online exhibition format, featuring artwork by Aisling-Ór Ní Aodha and writing by Seán Ward. The exhibition adopts the signifiers (and html code) of an online state archive, it was curated and designed by Cóilín O’Connell.

Online from April 13th until May 16th, 2026.

We encourage you to experience this exhibition on your laptop or desktop computer (rather than your phone), if possible!

Curated and designed by Cóilín O’Connell.

Commissioned by Screen Service 2026.

Exhibition continues from 23/04/2026 to 16/05/2026.

The exhibition explores moments where space begins to close in. Figures are placed within boxes, interiors, and fragments of everyday life, hovering between play and restriction. Familiar domestic spaces — a bath, a hallway, a child at play — carry a subtle tension, where something feels slightly off or unresolved. Julianne Guinee is an Irish painter based in Buttevant, County Cork. Working in oils, her practice explores motherhood, memory, and the emotional weight of domestic life. Her paintings centre on women and children within interior spaces, where tenderness and unease sit side by side.

Honouring Berba: A Celebration of Heritage & Ecology.
Marking the Start of National Biodiversity Week.

Blueway Art Studio and Doras na Feasa Collective are proud to present Future Ancestor Athy from 1-4pm on the 16th May 2026 in partnership with Athy Library. This immersive event weaves together eco-workshops, art installations, and live performances centred on Berba, the mythical Goddess of the River Barrow.

Featuring contemporary work from our national collections to draw inspiration from, this National Drawing Day step inside the exhibition at STAC like you haven’t before and get to know the process behind drawing portraits from life. Facilitated by artist Annie Hogg, STAC will be offering three, 45 minute portrait-drawing sessions suitable for adult attendance.

Sessions are free and will operate on a drop-in basis.

Session Times:
11am – 11:45 am
2 pm – 2:45 pm
3:30 pm – 4:15 pm

Annie Hogg is a visual artist based in Co. Tipperary with a studio-based and collaborative practice using sculpture, installation and mark making.

The Uisce / Flora series of river walks was developed by Anna Macleod with textile designer Katie May Anderson as a transferable model for performative community river walking to celebrate the transformative power of water. The event at The Dock will begin with a talk by Niall MacCoitir on ethnobotany, and the launch of a zine with an essay by Dr. Phillina Sun. Followed by a light lunch.

This event is part of a programme to accompany the exhibition Tír Breac / Speckled Land by Anna Macleod. You can read more about the exhibition via The Dock’s website.

Thirty-Six Views of the Sugarloaf includes work by the late artist Cathy Henderson and her collaboration partner Nell Regan. For this talk special guests Catherine Marshall, Tracy Staunton and Patricia Burns reflect on and celebrate the work and legacy of Henderson, their friend and colleague. From her ambitious wood block printing to her ground breaking portraits of cleansing workers (exhibited at Mermaid in 2007), to her designs for the 1913 Lockout tapestry and her work in prisons, Henderson left her mark in many ways. The talk is preceded by a poetry reading by Nell Regan from her new book.

Join the New Irish Works artists on a tour of the exhibition!

To mark the opening of the exhibition, join the New Irish Works artists: Austin Hearne, Billy Kenrick, Ciara Richardson, Debbie Castro, Dorje De Burgh, Emily O’Connell, Garry Loughlin, Kate Nolan, Mandy O’Neill, and Miriam O’Connor in a walkthrough tour of their work.

The tour will offer insights into the processes and projects behind the artists’ works, with the opportunity for the public to join the discussion.

Free event; booking required

Find out more about the exhibition at image.museum

Join us for an evening of live storytelling, drinks, and connection as we celebrate the launch of Bia! Zine Issue 03 at the International Centre for the Image!

Bia! Zine Issue 03 brings together stories and art from nearly 60 contributors connected to Ireland from across Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and mixed-heritage communities to explore their diasporic identity through food.
This issue traces how identity is formed in the kitchen through memory, unravels in movement, and is repaired through care and resistance.

Free event; booking required

Exhibition continues from 16/04/2026 to 20/05/2026.

To retrofit is to modify something made in another time, adapting it to function under new conditions. In this new solo exhibition created for the Cavan Arts Festival and Townhall Arts Centre, John Rainey adopts this logic of reuse – cutting into, combining, and reworking familiar forms from the history of sculpture to reflect contemporary pressures, values, and ways of seeing.
In Retrofits, figures shift between references, forming hybrid configurations that disrupt expectations of classical sculpture. Human and animal elements merge, creating figures shaped by transition and uncertainty.

We are delighted to present this body of paintings and drawings by Simon Carter. Spanning more than a decade, the works bear witness to his sustained and intimate engagement with the diminishing salt marshes of the North Essex coastline. The threshold where land meets water will resonate with Irish landscape enthusiasts, yet Carter approaches this terrain with a finely judged balance of abstraction and figuration. Simon Carter is a co-founder of the British Contemporary Painting platform, and is represented by Messum’s Gallery in London.

What Persists is a series of detailed ink paintings examining what remains after use, damage, abandonment, or death. Drawing on observation, folklore, and forensic modes of looking, the work considers persistence as residue rather than endurance, what is carried forward materially and symbolically. Animals, human-made objects, and organic matter appear as witnesses within quiet scenes of tension, decay, and continuity, where nature is approached not as refuge but as record.

Art Exhibition called ‘In The Garden’ will be held on the 30th April-22nd May in the Atrium, Civic Centre in Athlone, Co. Westmeath. The launch is on Thursday 30th April starting at 5:30pm to 7:00pm. This is my first solo show. Entry is free. It is a collection of paintings inspired by the garden capturing the beauty of the plants in our gardens and focusing attention on nature. All Are Welcome!

Twayblade introduces a new way of presenting and engaging with contemporary art at Herman’s Auctioneers. The exhibition marks the first iteration of a new concept for Herman’s, pairing a solo gallery show with a timed online auction.

Exhibition Details: Twayblade – Liam Murray
Location: Herman’s Auctioneers Gallery, 161 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6
Exhibition: 8–22 May 2026
Opening Night/Drinks Reception: 8 May, 6:30–8:30pm

Saturday, 9 May: 11:00am – 5pm |
Sunday, 10 May: 2:00pm – 5:00pm |
Herman’s Business Hours: 11 – 22 May

Timed Auction: 8 – 22 May 2026 (closing 7:00pm, 22 May)
Curated by Bill McHugh and Liam Murray

Official Launch February 28th @ 2pm, opened by artist Cecilia Bullo.
‘Outlandish’ is a meditation on the role of nature in the built environment, how it is both marginalised and idealised in the way we design and shape our cities. In this exhibition, using unconventional canvas shapes, de Forge encourages the viewer to rediscover positive relationships with nature, built on curiosity, playfulness, and respect.
Owen de Forge is a Dublin-based artist working across multiple disciplines including painting, sculpture, drawing, and documentary photography.
Tues-Sat 11:00-17:30

The House of Atreus is a collaborative project by Emma Brennan and Thomas Wells exploring how working-class architecture reflects contemporary social and moral systems. This partnering of experiences intersects gendered labour practices, working-class identity, and the entanglement of domestic and industrial spaces.

Using site and time as materials, this iteration of The House of Atreus incorporates modes of facilitation, discussion, performative/sculptural elements, and residue from past iterations to build a framework on which the project can evolve over the 3-week exhibition timeline.

“Raise Your Spear is about voices, and making visible in the public domain something often a private fight, borne in silence.” – Dani Gill, Artist.

Raise Your Spear is a poem from Dani Gill’s second collection Lessons in Kindness (Salmon Poetry, April 2023), exploring LGBTQ experiences in Ireland, both personal and public.

Dani created a bespoke workshop series (2025/26) exploring identity, community, and advocacy. Participants customised spears, now exhibited in Droichead’s gallery this May with reflections.

Participating schools: Drogheda Grammar School; St. Marys Diocesan School; St. Oliver’s Community College; Coláiste na hInse.

‘The Long Pause – Ecology of Ruins I’

Lindsay LeBlanc – Exhibition Launch: Fri 24th April, 5-8pm at Leitrim Sculpture Centre, Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim.

Lindsay LeBlanc works with glass as a way of understanding the places she moves through and lives alongside. Engaging with landscapes both visually and materially, LeBlanc works with the atmosphere they carry, the way growth gathers, what is discarded there, what survives there, and how time behaves there. Making becomes a way of paying close attention to those ecosystems and to her own evolving relationship with them.

A solo exhibition by Lisa Ballard.

This exhibition, by Donaghadee based visual artist Lisa Ballard, is an exploration into the processes used in her landscape painting, processes that serve to represent the blurred memories we have of places and allows the creation of a new imagined landscape. These landscape paintings will look beyond the physical to draw on emotional experience and memory of place, pushing towards abstraction.

Travelling has been vital in Lisa’s personal exploration of painting as a medium. This exhibition will feature a selection of new work inspired by past locations she has visited, both near and far.

Led by artist, researcher and designer Rachel Fitzpatrick, this exhibition features a new site‑specific installation co‑created with Brain Injury Matters NI.

Audiences can expect an immersive installation made from intricate paper crafts, exploring journeys of rehabilitation, reconnection and identity, and revealing often‑unseen narratives of life after acquired brain injury through collaborative making and storytelling.