Together with music, performance and literature, visual art sits at the heart of the 30th Mountshannon Arts Festival. Under the theme FLIGHT, the village becomes an open, gallery, with exhibitions unfolding across numerous locations. Painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, glass and multimedia work to form a strong, varied programme, bringing together established and emerging artists.
At its core is a simple idea: art is not contained in one place. It unfolds across the village, lives among its people, and is shaped by the settings in which it is presented. The programme remains open and connected, inviting visitors to move from space to space, encountering different materials, voices and perspectives. The village itself becomes the link.
Highlights across the programme reflect this range. French photographer Céline Mermier presents SHE.S at Berrytree Café, a series exploring female presence and identity across Irish and French landscapes. Her work combines a clear visual language with a quiet, reflective tone.
Around the Aistear building and its surroundings, several strands come together. Painter Yvonne Locke exhibits at the Aistear Gallery, with work drawn from the landscapes of the Shannon Estuary and the west of Ireland, shaped by close observation and a strong grounding in oil painting. At the Aistear Reception, ceramic artist Eibhlín Dunne shows her own work alongside that of her students, reflecting a deep engagement with the biodiversity of Lough Derg. Nearby, Avia Gurman Murphy’s I Am Bird transforms the Aistear Maze into a living installation, where fabric prints move with wind and light, bringing together stories of migration, belonging and transformation developed with members of the East Clare community.
At the Market House, a group exhibition reveals contrasting materials and approaches. Michelle Ryan presents glass sculptures with an international exhibition record, while Mike Lewisohn shows paintings shaped by decades of work and a deep connection to the Clare landscape. Reece Foster, working from a 270-year-old forge in Mountshannon, presents hand-forged metal sculptures, alongside Lily Harley’s atmospheric paintings developed in isolation on an island in Lough Derg. Ceva Thomas completes the line-up with mixed-media work combining painting, print and textile elements.
Film and multimedia are represented by Bonnie Boyle at Anita’s. A Portrait of Knockaphort combines film, photography and sound recorded at a local pier, focusing on everyday detail and sensory experience.
Two major projects extend the visual arts programme into the public realm. Words in Flight, in Aistear Park, sees mural artist Kevin Bohan and poet Dagogo Hart team up with students from Scariff Community College. Developed through workshops, the project results in a large-scale mural created live during the festival, with student work shown at The Snug. The process remains visible throughout, inviting the public to engage.
Nearby, Danielle Martins Thomé presents a large-scale ceramic installation at the lakeside picnic area. Built through community workshops, dozens of hand-made birds form a collective work that reflects participation and a shared spirit of creativity.
Exhibitions run across the weekend, with a guided opening walk led by Patricia Moriarty at 12:30 on Saturday linking all venues.
More information on mountshannonarts.ie, Instagram and Facebook.
Mountshannon Arts is a community-based, volunteer-led organisation dedicated to fostering creativity, supporting local and visiting artists, and enriching cultural life in East Clare. Through the annual Mountshannon Arts Festival, public art projects such as the Mountshannon Art Trail, and year-round collaborations with schools, community groups and international partners, the organisation aims to make art accessible to all and to celebrate the unique spirit of Mountshannon, East Clare and Lough Derg.