What's On

What’s on in Connaught

Discover what’s on in Connaught for visual arts with our expertly curated events calendar: from cutting-edge contemporary art exhibitions in Galway’s renowned galleries to immersive open-studio tours in Sligo and vibrant community art festivals across Mayo, Roscommon, and Leitrim. Our guide to Connaught visual arts events highlights must-see gallery openings, artist-led workshops, outdoor art installations, and exclusive pop-up showcases featuring both emerging talents and established creatives. Stay up to date with weekly updates on art fairs, limited-time masterclasses, and behind-the-scenes tours to fuel your artistic inspiration. Plan your next creative adventure with our all-in-one Connaught art events guide—your gateway to the best visual arts experiences in Ireland’s West.

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Elemental | Clive Bright at the Hamilton Gallery

Elemental | Clive Bright at the Hamilton Gallery

30/10/2025 - 22/11/2025
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Hamilton Gallery
4 Castle Street, Sligo, Sligo, F91P863, Connacht

In ‘Elemental’ Clive Bright explores the language of paint using a geometric backdrop as a recurring motif.

Bright’s paintings have a universal narrative. Through absence, and the use of inanimate objects, Bright creates a sense of human presence, which in turn personifies the objects. His deep understanding and appreciation of his subject evokes powerful sentiments communicating more than just a visually pleasing experience.
Bright works principally with oil paint but drawing & line play a constant and major role in his work. He avoids slipping into a process or procedure of creating a drawing or painting: “I constantly try to change

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The Touchstones - James Winnett | Official Launch and Artist Tour at National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park

The Touchstones - James Winnett | Official Launch and Artist Tour at National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park

01/11/2025
11:00 am - 3:45 pm
National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park
Turlough Park , Turlough, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, F23 HY31, Mayo

Saturday, 1st November 2025 at 11am at National Museum of Ireland, Turlough, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, F23 HY31.
All welcome. Refreshments provided. RSVP to mayoarts@mayococo.ie /094 9064376.

The Touchstones artist tour: 11.30am -3.45pm.

Following the launch the artist will lead a tour of the ten stone sculptures in Turlough, Breaffy, Islandeady and Raheens Woods.
Bus and lunch will be provided.

Places limited for tour. Booking required: Contact Aoife O’Toole: mayoarts@mayococo.ie / 0949064376.

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Closing
Evolving Access | Mini-Symposium & Artist Tour at Westport Town Hall Theatre

Evolving Access | Mini-Symposium & Artist Tour at Westport Town Hall Theatre

29/10/2025
10:30 am - 3:30 pm
Westport Town Hall Theatre
The Octagon, Westport , Co. Mayo , F28 R240, Connaught

A mini-symposium which will focus on how access solutions have developed over the last 25 years and their potential future direction from the perspective of artists with disabilities, venues, festival organisers and arts organisations.
Presentations by Alan James Burns, disabled artist and festival organiser, Orla Moloney, (Project Arts Centre) and Padraig Naughton (Arts and Disability Ireland). The morning session will conclude with a Q&A Session.
Lunch provided followed a tour of ‘The Space Between Real and Shadow’, an exhibition by Breda Burns, at the Custom House Studios & Gallery.

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The Dreaming Road | Jack Butler Yeats at The Model

The Dreaming Road | Jack Butler Yeats at The Model

08/04/2025 - 01/11/2025
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
The Model
The Mall, Sligo, Co. Sligo, F91 TP20

Exhibition continues 25th March – 1st November 2025.

Jack Butler Yeats; The Dreaming Road
Tue. 25 Mar. – Sat. 1 Nov. 2025

The Dreaming Road presents audiences with the opportunity to trace Jack Butler Yeats’ extraordinary journey as an artist through four important, interconnected stages of his life and work. The show touches on the legacy of his unique artistic family, as well as the indelible influence of his early life in Sligo on his entire career. A selection of his politically charged paintings of the 1920s are on view alongside a number of the great masterpieces of his later years, which are noted for their wildly romantic and expressionistic style. While Jack was notably reluctant to discuss his creative practice, the exhibition is augmented with a number of statements by the artist himself that shed light on aspects of his attitudes and approaches to painting.

The Yeats Family was one of the most creative and accomplished in the literary and cultural world of early twentieth century Ireland. Patriarch, John Butler Yeats was distinguished as an artist, and particularly noted for his work in portraiture. Jack’s three siblings William, Susan, Elizabeth made significant contributions to literature, publishing and education throughout their lifetimes. Their mother, Susan Pollexfen, was the daughter of a wealthy Sligo merchant family, and imbued in her children a deep love for the people, landscape, and mythology of the county.

Jack Butler Yeats remains one of Ireland’s best loved and most accomplished artists. Unlike his siblings, Jack was sent to his maternal grandparents in Sligo, where he lived between the ages of eight and 16 years. He cut his creative teeth on the deep experience of Irish life he encountered in the town, and its western characters and dramatic landscape populated his works until the end of his life. While his subject matter remained the same throughout his long career, his style of painting, and the meaning he gave his works changed over time. His initial depictions of western life was marked by a strong sentimentality, which he expressed in watercolours during the period 1898–1910. This gave way, in his early oil period (1910–1925), to the pronounced realism that he developed to make political and social commentary.

Jack had been on a visit back to Sligo in 1898, when he witnessed some of the centenary re-enactments of the 1798 Rebellion. The spectacle of the event appealed to Jack’s love of the drama of everyday life, and he was inspired to create one of his first political scenes, Robert Emmet – Procession at Carricknagat, Co. Sligo, 1898. The more serious concern of Ireland’s nationhood that the centenary celebrations brought to the fore, also impacted the young artist. From 1898 onwards he became more convinced of the right to Irish self-determination. He went on to paint several, more overtly political works, some of which are also on view in this exhibition, culminating in the masterworks The Funeral of Harry Boland, 1922, and Communicating with Prisoners, c. 1924.

From the 1920s and into the later part of his career, another more marked development took hold. Jack’s subject matter became imbued with a deeper mysticism and symbolism. His handling of paint became much freer, he abandoned his palette and brush, and worked directly onto the canvas using only the primary colours. Throughout the 1940s, his paintings increasingly present us with apocalyptic visions. He developed a highly personal technique, which placed less emphasis on composition. He focused more on creating work in a ‘stream-of-consciousness’ style and termed the paintings he made in this way as ‘happenings’.

The exhibition continues until 1st November. In depth Curator’s Tours will run on each Saturday at 11am throughout June, July and August, and can be booked at the front desk or at www.themodel.ie.

We keep all of our exhibitions free of charge and open to everyone. We kindly ask that those who can afford to, make a donation of €5 for this exhibition. This can be done by contactless payment at the station in this gallery.

Read more →
Libraries of Rest | Ciara Barker at The Dock

Libraries of Rest | Ciara Barker at The Dock

23/08/2025 - 01/11/2025
The Dock
St. George's Terrace, Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim, N41T2X2

Libraries of Rest by Ciara Barker.

Opening Reception: Saturday 23 August, 2-4pm.

Libraries of Rest by Ciara Barker is an immersive exhibition that invites visitors to imagine the future of restful spaces and practices. Libraries of Rest combines installation, gameplay, sound and light, inhabiting a space between visual art, immersive environment and critical theory, centered on collective well-being.

Barker’s investigation of rest as a method of resistance is informed by a number of critical works, including texts by Tricia Hersey, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, Sonya Renee Taylor and Dr. Devon Price. This scholarship is grounded in its examination of structural inequality and rest as a racial, disability rights and social justice issue that disproportionately affects marginalised communities.

This exhibition is curated by Aoife Donnellan with a soundscape by Mankyy. Image: Ciara Barker, Libraries of Rest at transmediale studio in Berlin. Image: Ciara Barker, Libraries of Rest at transmediale studio in Berlin. Photo by Katie O’Neill.

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Diagonal Acts | Marie Farrington at The Dock

Diagonal Acts | Marie Farrington at The Dock

23/08/2025 - 01/11/2025
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
The Dock
St. George's Terrace, Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim, N41T2X2

Diagonal Acts by Marie Farrington.

Opening Reception: Saturday 23 August, 2-4pm.

Diagonal Acts refers to how diagonal lines are seen as ways to connect, divide and move across various places or ideas. The exhibition explores themes of memory, place and connection — exploring gaps, fragments and edges within archaeology, geology, sculpture and staged performance.

The material outcomes in Diagonal Acts are supported by a range of collaborations, and connected by a public programme of generative elements devised to critically engage audiences in person and online, enhancing and expanding participation and access.

This exhibition is curated by Kate Strain with contributions by Liliane Puthod and Laura Ní Fhlaibhín. Image: Marie Farrington, Figures for Lifting, 2024, carved soapstone. Photo by Rein Kooyman.

Read more →
Formwork | Mandy O'Neill at Ballina Arts Centre

Formwork | Mandy O'Neill at Ballina Arts Centre

09/09/2025 - 01/11/2025
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Ballina Arts Centre
Barrett Street, Ballina, Mayo, F26NW83, Connaughht

Exhibition continues from the 6th of September to the 1st of November 2025

The point of departure for this exhibition was Mandy O’Neill’s recent practice-based PhD, where she examined the social and material implications of housing development and dereliction in the Dublin inner suburb of Cabra. Her research questioned the ideological shifts in housing policy since the mid 20th century in Ireland which have resulted in a move from housing as public good to housing as commodity, with emphasis on the impact of planning. In a broader context O’Neill’s practice is concerned with the politics of space and place, and the power relations which shape our built environment

Read more →
The Push and Pull | Katie Moore at Ballina Arts Centre

The Push and Pull | Katie Moore at Ballina Arts Centre

09/09/2025 - 01/11/2025
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Ballina Arts Centre
Barrett Street, Ballina, Mayo, F26NW83, Connaughht

Exhibition continues from the 6th of September to the 1st of November 2025

Rooted in the beauty of the west of Ireland, The Push and Pull explores the dualities of motherhood – the tenderness and tension, the giving and the grieving, the fierce love and quiet loss of self. Through a series of intimate, textured works, the artist captures the emotional rhythms of raising children: moments of connection stretched thin by the demands of care, identity, and time. This body of work invites viewers into the ebb and flow of maternal experience, where nature, body, and memory collide.

Read more →
The Touchstones - James Winnett | Official Launch and Artist Tour at National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park

The Touchstones - James Winnett | Official Launch and Artist Tour at National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park

01/11/2025
11:00 am - 3:45 pm
National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park
Turlough Park , Turlough, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, F23 HY31, Mayo

Saturday, 1st November 2025 at 11am at National Museum of Ireland, Turlough, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, F23 HY31.
All welcome. Refreshments provided. RSVP to mayoarts@mayococo.ie /094 9064376.

The Touchstones artist tour: 11.30am -3.45pm.

Following the launch the artist will lead a tour of the ten stone sculptures in Turlough, Breaffy, Islandeady and Raheens Woods.
Bus and lunch will be provided.

Places limited for tour. Booking required: Contact Aoife O’Toole: mayoarts@mayococo.ie / 0949064376.

Read more →
Soul Purpose | Rebecca Philbin at Oughterard Courthouse

Soul Purpose | Rebecca Philbin at Oughterard Courthouse

24/10/2025 - 02/11/2025
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Oughterard Courthouse
Main Street, Oughterard, Co Galway

“Soul Purpose”, a solo exhibition by artist Rebecca Philbin, will open at Oughterard Courthouse on October 24tth at 7-9pm and runs until November 2nd.
Artist Olga Magliocco will officially launch the exhibition and there will be refreshments on the evening.
The exhibition runs daily until the 2nd of November. Open 10am-5pm Monday-Saturday and 12-5pm on Sundays. Entry is Free and All are Welcome

Read more →
On-going
The Dreaming Road | Jack Butler Yeats at The Model

The Dreaming Road | Jack Butler Yeats at The Model

08/04/2025 - 01/11/2025
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
The Model
The Mall, Sligo, Co. Sligo, F91 TP20

Exhibition continues 25th March – 1st November 2025.

Jack Butler Yeats; The Dreaming Road
Tue. 25 Mar. – Sat. 1 Nov. 2025

The Dreaming Road presents audiences with the opportunity to trace Jack Butler Yeats’ extraordinary journey as an artist through four important, interconnected stages of his life and work. The show touches on the legacy of his unique artistic family, as well as the indelible influence of his early life in Sligo on his entire career. A selection of his politically charged paintings of the 1920s are on view alongside a number of the great masterpieces of his later years, which are noted for their wildly romantic and expressionistic style. While Jack was notably reluctant to discuss his creative practice, the exhibition is augmented with a number of statements by the artist himself that shed light on aspects of his attitudes and approaches to painting.

The Yeats Family was one of the most creative and accomplished in the literary and cultural world of early twentieth century Ireland. Patriarch, John Butler Yeats was distinguished as an artist, and particularly noted for his work in portraiture. Jack’s three siblings William, Susan, Elizabeth made significant contributions to literature, publishing and education throughout their lifetimes. Their mother, Susan Pollexfen, was the daughter of a wealthy Sligo merchant family, and imbued in her children a deep love for the people, landscape, and mythology of the county.

Jack Butler Yeats remains one of Ireland’s best loved and most accomplished artists. Unlike his siblings, Jack was sent to his maternal grandparents in Sligo, where he lived between the ages of eight and 16 years. He cut his creative teeth on the deep experience of Irish life he encountered in the town, and its western characters and dramatic landscape populated his works until the end of his life. While his subject matter remained the same throughout his long career, his style of painting, and the meaning he gave his works changed over time. His initial depictions of western life was marked by a strong sentimentality, which he expressed in watercolours during the period 1898–1910. This gave way, in his early oil period (1910–1925), to the pronounced realism that he developed to make political and social commentary.

Jack had been on a visit back to Sligo in 1898, when he witnessed some of the centenary re-enactments of the 1798 Rebellion. The spectacle of the event appealed to Jack’s love of the drama of everyday life, and he was inspired to create one of his first political scenes, Robert Emmet – Procession at Carricknagat, Co. Sligo, 1898. The more serious concern of Ireland’s nationhood that the centenary celebrations brought to the fore, also impacted the young artist. From 1898 onwards he became more convinced of the right to Irish self-determination. He went on to paint several, more overtly political works, some of which are also on view in this exhibition, culminating in the masterworks The Funeral of Harry Boland, 1922, and Communicating with Prisoners, c. 1924.

From the 1920s and into the later part of his career, another more marked development took hold. Jack’s subject matter became imbued with a deeper mysticism and symbolism. His handling of paint became much freer, he abandoned his palette and brush, and worked directly onto the canvas using only the primary colours. Throughout the 1940s, his paintings increasingly present us with apocalyptic visions. He developed a highly personal technique, which placed less emphasis on composition. He focused more on creating work in a ‘stream-of-consciousness’ style and termed the paintings he made in this way as ‘happenings’.

The exhibition continues until 1st November. In depth Curator’s Tours will run on each Saturday at 11am throughout June, July and August, and can be booked at the front desk or at www.themodel.ie.

We keep all of our exhibitions free of charge and open to everyone. We kindly ask that those who can afford to, make a donation of €5 for this exhibition. This can be done by contactless payment at the station in this gallery.

Read more →
Libraries of Rest | Ciara Barker at The Dock

Libraries of Rest | Ciara Barker at The Dock

23/08/2025 - 01/11/2025
The Dock
St. George's Terrace, Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim, N41T2X2

Libraries of Rest by Ciara Barker.

Opening Reception: Saturday 23 August, 2-4pm.

Libraries of Rest by Ciara Barker is an immersive exhibition that invites visitors to imagine the future of restful spaces and practices. Libraries of Rest combines installation, gameplay, sound and light, inhabiting a space between visual art, immersive environment and critical theory, centered on collective well-being.

Barker’s investigation of rest as a method of resistance is informed by a number of critical works, including texts by Tricia Hersey, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, Sonya Renee Taylor and Dr. Devon Price. This scholarship is grounded in its examination of structural inequality and rest as a racial, disability rights and social justice issue that disproportionately affects marginalised communities.

This exhibition is curated by Aoife Donnellan with a soundscape by Mankyy. Image: Ciara Barker, Libraries of Rest at transmediale studio in Berlin. Image: Ciara Barker, Libraries of Rest at transmediale studio in Berlin. Photo by Katie O’Neill.

Read more →
Diagonal Acts | Marie Farrington at The Dock

Diagonal Acts | Marie Farrington at The Dock

23/08/2025 - 01/11/2025
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
The Dock
St. George's Terrace, Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim, N41T2X2

Diagonal Acts by Marie Farrington.

Opening Reception: Saturday 23 August, 2-4pm.

Diagonal Acts refers to how diagonal lines are seen as ways to connect, divide and move across various places or ideas. The exhibition explores themes of memory, place and connection — exploring gaps, fragments and edges within archaeology, geology, sculpture and staged performance.

The material outcomes in Diagonal Acts are supported by a range of collaborations, and connected by a public programme of generative elements devised to critically engage audiences in person and online, enhancing and expanding participation and access.

This exhibition is curated by Kate Strain with contributions by Liliane Puthod and Laura Ní Fhlaibhín. Image: Marie Farrington, Figures for Lifting, 2024, carved soapstone. Photo by Rein Kooyman.

Read more →
Formwork | Mandy O'Neill at Ballina Arts Centre

Formwork | Mandy O'Neill at Ballina Arts Centre

09/09/2025 - 01/11/2025
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Ballina Arts Centre
Barrett Street, Ballina, Mayo, F26NW83, Connaughht

Exhibition continues from the 6th of September to the 1st of November 2025

The point of departure for this exhibition was Mandy O’Neill’s recent practice-based PhD, where she examined the social and material implications of housing development and dereliction in the Dublin inner suburb of Cabra. Her research questioned the ideological shifts in housing policy since the mid 20th century in Ireland which have resulted in a move from housing as public good to housing as commodity, with emphasis on the impact of planning. In a broader context O’Neill’s practice is concerned with the politics of space and place, and the power relations which shape our built environment

Read more →
The Push and Pull | Katie Moore at Ballina Arts Centre

The Push and Pull | Katie Moore at Ballina Arts Centre

09/09/2025 - 01/11/2025
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Ballina Arts Centre
Barrett Street, Ballina, Mayo, F26NW83, Connaughht

Exhibition continues from the 6th of September to the 1st of November 2025

Rooted in the beauty of the west of Ireland, The Push and Pull explores the dualities of motherhood – the tenderness and tension, the giving and the grieving, the fierce love and quiet loss of self. Through a series of intimate, textured works, the artist captures the emotional rhythms of raising children: moments of connection stretched thin by the demands of care, identity, and time. This body of work invites viewers into the ebb and flow of maternal experience, where nature, body, and memory collide.

Read more →
Inheritance | Group Exhibition at The Model

Inheritance | Group Exhibition at The Model

11/10/2025 - 31/12/2025
The Model
The Mall, Sligo, Co. Sligo, F91 TP20

Curated by Emer McGarry.

The exhibition spans installation, film, drawing, and sculpture, with works by Marcus Coates, Miriam de Búrca, Susan Hiller, Anna Maria Maiolino, Kathy Prendergast, Cornelia Parker, and the collaborative research project Selvagem – Cycle of Studies. Each proposes different strategies for navigating what we inherit and what we pass on.

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Guided Tour | Inheritance - Group Exhibition at The Model

Guided Tour | Inheritance - Group Exhibition at The Model

23/10/2025 - 18/12/2025
11:30 am
The Model
The Mall, Sligo, Co. Sligo, F91 TP20

Join us for a relaxed coffee morning tour of Inheritance. An exhibition that explores the legacies shaping our present and asks how we might create better futures for humanity.

Led by a member of our team, this easy going tour is perfect for all art enthusiasts. After the tour, enjoy further conversation over a complimentary tea or coffee. We’d be delighted to welcome you to this informal and friendly tour experience.

Every second Thursday, 11.30am
€6 pp

Tour Dates

Thu. 23 & 30 October
Thu. 13 & 27 November
Thu. 4 & 18 December

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Is Was | Dean Kelly at The Kenny Gallery

Is Was | Dean Kelly at The Kenny Gallery

24/10/2025 - 18/11/2025
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
The Kenny Gallery
Liosbán Retail Park, Tuam Road, Galway, Galway, H91 N5P8

An exhibition of new paintings and photographs by Galway based artist Dean Kelly – OFFICIAL OPENING 24TH OCTOBER.

Join Dean Kelly and guest speaker Phill Jupitus at The Kenny Gallery on Friday, October 24th to celebrate the opening of Is Was. In his first solo show at The Kenny Gallery since 2019, Dean Kelly draws on the evolving fabric of Galway, engaging with the city’s streetscape and social memory through painting and photography.

Dean Kelly, Is Was opens at The Kenny Gallery, Galway on Friday, 24th October from 6pm. Admission is free, all are welcome!

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Soul Purpose | Rebecca Philbin at Oughterard Courthouse

Soul Purpose | Rebecca Philbin at Oughterard Courthouse

24/10/2025 - 02/11/2025
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Oughterard Courthouse
Main Street, Oughterard, Co Galway

“Soul Purpose”, a solo exhibition by artist Rebecca Philbin, will open at Oughterard Courthouse on October 24tth at 7-9pm and runs until November 2nd.
Artist Olga Magliocco will officially launch the exhibition and there will be refreshments on the evening.
The exhibition runs daily until the 2nd of November. Open 10am-5pm Monday-Saturday and 12-5pm on Sundays. Entry is Free and All are Welcome

Read more →
Evolving Access | Mini-Symposium & Artist Tour at Westport Town Hall Theatre

Evolving Access | Mini-Symposium & Artist Tour at Westport Town Hall Theatre

29/10/2025
10:30 am - 3:30 pm
Westport Town Hall Theatre
The Octagon, Westport , Co. Mayo , F28 R240, Connaught

A mini-symposium which will focus on how access solutions have developed over the last 25 years and their potential future direction from the perspective of artists with disabilities, venues, festival organisers and arts organisations.
Presentations by Alan James Burns, disabled artist and festival organiser, Orla Moloney, (Project Arts Centre) and Padraig Naughton (Arts and Disability Ireland). The morning session will conclude with a Q&A Session.
Lunch provided followed a tour of ‘The Space Between Real and Shadow’, an exhibition by Breda Burns, at the Custom House Studios & Gallery.

Read more →