Mary Claire Kehoe
Lead Artist
Mary Claire Kehoe is a professional printmaker currently based in Gorey, Co. Wexford. She obtained her MA in Printmaking from the University of the Arts London in 2007 and has been involved in arts education and facilitation since her return to Ireland in 2008. Having firstly taught in Youthreach and VTOS, she set up her own studio in 2013 running private classes and workshops in Gorey. Solo exhibitions have been held in Draoicht (2014), Ulster Hall Belfast (2015), Iontas Monaghan (2016) and Leixlip Library (2017). She was awarded an Artlinks Bursary Award in both 2014 and 2018, and this will be her fourth time to complete the Living Arts Project. She worked with Advocates for Autism with the Creative Communities Programme in 2018 and over the last year Mary Claire has facilitated workshops in Wexford Arts Centre, Rua Red Tallaght, and the Luan Gallery Athlone. She was also involved with the Creative Schools programme in Bunscoil Loreto Gorey, and a schools outreach programme in conjunction with the Courthouse Arts Centre, Tinahely. Upcoming projects include Creative Schools - Bunscoil Rís New Ross, Creative Ireland - the Irish Wheelchair Association Athlone and the Artist in Schools Programme- Roscommon.
Mary Claire's is based primarily on life experiences and memory; how they shape our character and evoke emotional creativity and responses. She is interested in narrative and the stories behind abstract imagery. Drawing on her own experience, these abstract concepts are always open to viewers’ personal interpretation but for the artist they represent constant self-development. Based on these personal investigations, she introduces rich colour and texture, and constantly experiments with mark-making. Due to the pandemic and the idea of the ‘staycation’, Mary Claire has focused on places of interest around Ireland that she has visited and connected to emotionally. Through her explorations with colour, she is questioning if these places evoke emotional creativity and responses within us.
Deirdre Travers
Assistant Artist
Deirdre Travers is currently a resident in the Creative Hub, Wexford. She received her honours degree in Art & Design in 2018 from Carlow IT Wexford Campus School of Art & Design. Since graduation, she has developed her own practice while engaging in community-based workshops with Windmill Therapeutic Centre and the Cornmarket Centre. Deirdre was commissioned to create her first solo workshop in 2019 in association with the Collective Sensory Group, Westlands, Wexford. The project consisted of a series of workshops which encouraged the children to be in control of the creative process, culminating in an exhibition held in D’lush Café, Wexford Arts Centre.
Deirdre's work takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues, often referencing female trauma and the ideology around generational trauma.
The artist uses a multi-disciplinary approach, working with film, photography, sculpture and performance Through this range of mediums and by employing processes of repetition, a certain state of meditativeness is attained which creates a sense of ritual and balance. Through her installation works, she creates a tactile, immersive and personal experience for the viewer. The performance work can be confrontational which creates a sense of discomfort in the audience. Deirdre uses this discomfort as a way to create a moment of pause - a space where the viewer can connect to the work in a more personal and emotive way.
Deirdre's new body of work uses materials and processes which would traditionally be associated with what was called ‘women’s work’. However, she takes these crafts out of their traditional context to create a piece which explores issues of generational trauma.