Sample-Studios

We're delighted to announce the upcoming launch of 'Róisín' in The Lord Mayor's Pavilion, a new solo exhibition by Elinor O'Donovan, curated by Miguel Amado and presented by Sample-Studios in partnership with Spike Island Cork and Sirius Arts Centre.

📆 10 October - 7 November. Opening Reception 10 October, 2-4:30pm. All welcome.
📍 The Lord Mayor's Pavilion, Fitzgerald's Park, Cork.
⏰ Tuesday - Saturday 11am-5pm. Please note earlier winter closing time of 4pm from 3-7 November.

'Róisín' explores the life of O'Donovan's great-great-great-great aunt, Charlotte Grace O’Brien (1845–1909). O'Brien was a writer, activist and plant collector who campaigned for the welfare of Irish women emigrating to the United States in the late nineteenth century. Drawing on archival research across Ireland and New York, O’Donovan combines film, photography, digital imagery and installation to trace O’Brien’s story and consider the intersections of memory, migration, femininity, botany and Irish identity. Róisín is the culmination of O’Donovan’s Sample-Studios Spike Island Residency 2026 and broader research undertaken across Ireland and New York.

Miguel Amado, Director of Sirius Arts Centre and Curator of 'Róisín', states, 'The Sample-Studios Spike Island Residency is a pioneering partnership between organisations in Cork County and City invested in connecting art and history in innovative ways. Elinor’s response to this opportunity is exemplary, engaging with institutions and people associated with Cobh and wider historical themes of place and diaspora through a personal lens. Sirius Arts Centre have a long and regular relationship with Elinor, having previously shown her work and assisted her overall professional development. We are happy to see Elinor realise such relevant work and to collaborate with Sample-Studios and Spike Island in its presentation at The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion.'

Our exhibition programme at The Lord Mayor's Pavilion is proudly supported by The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and Cork City Council

Thanks to all who came along to see Sample-Studios member Barbara Diener In Conversation with Dr Sabine Kriebel, Senior Lecturer in History of Art University College Cork (UCC). We heard fascinating discussion and insights about Barbara’s solo exhibition ‘The Rocket’s Red Glare’, as well as shared families histories and themes of memory, suppression, trauma and the role of archives.
‘The Rocket’s Red Glare’ continues in The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion until 3 October.

All are welcome to join TRISKEL SAMPLE Project Space Resident Sarah Long for the opening of her latest exhibition 'I Want To Talk About Ireland', curated by Niamh Brown. The opening takes place on Thursday 24 September from 5:30-7:30pm in Triskel Arts Centre.

Across painting, performance, sound and writing, Long explores female archetypes, nationhood, myth and representation through a feminist lens. At the centre of the work is Mary, Long’s autofictional persona and a contemporary iteration of the Mother Ireland figure, drawing on the aesthetics and fluidity of girlhood as a mode of critical enquiry.

Following the opening, Long will present her debut spoken-word album, created to accompany the exhibition, and will be joined in conversation by musician and producer Laurie Shaw.

📆 24 September
📍 5:30–6:30pm | Opening Reception
TRISKEL SAMPLE Project Space

🎧 6:30–7:30pm | Listening Event
Triskel Christchurch

Free and all welcome.

Sample-Studios in Leinster House 🪉 Our Artistic Director Aoibhie McCarthy was in Leinster House today speaking at the Seanad Public Consultation Committee’s public meeting on Culture and Arts Infrastructure Houses of the Oireachtas Great to be joined by our cultural colleagues in Pallas Projects/Studios Irish Theatre Institute (ITI) Praxis the Artists' Union of Ireland Lime Tree Theatre to name but a few, offering a range of perspectives from across the sector on this important topic

Member Monday 🚀
We're spotlighting Barbara Diener whose latest solo exhibition 'The Rocket's Red Glare' is open in Sample-Studios Gallery: The Lord Mayor's Pavilion until 3 October. The exhibition unfolds across Diener’s photographs accompanied by archival materials which together explore the complex history of N**i engineer-turned-NASA rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and Diener’s own German family heritage.

Join us this Thursday 24 September from 1-2pm in Cork Public Museum for a lunchtime talk 'Barbara Diener In Conversation with Dr Sabine Kriebel, Senior Lecturer in History of Art, UCC'. Diener and Dr Kriebel will reflect on 'The Rocket's Red Glare', discussing key ideas around legacy, authoritarianism and memory through their shared interest in their respective German heritage as well as photography, photomontage, and archives.

Install photos by Roland Paschhoff

🚀 Barbara Diener in conversation with Dr Sabine Kriebel
Join artist Barbara Diener and Dr Sabine Kriebel, Senior Lecturer in History of Art at University College Cork, for an in-depth conversation about Barbara's latest solo exhibition 'The Rocket’s Red Glare' at Cork Public Museum, Thursday 24 September, 1–2pm.

With shared interests in German heritage, photography, photomontage and archives, Barbara and Sabine will explore the exhibition’s themes of legacy, authoritarianism and memory, and consider how Barbara’s practice intervenes in a repressed past to bring the unspoken to light and construct new narratives.

📍 Cork Public Museum
📅 Thursday 24 September
⏰ 1–2pm
🎟️ All welcome — no booking required

'The Rocket’s Red Glare' is on display at Sample-Studios Gallery: The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion until 3 October.

Join Sample-Studios for Culture Night 2026 on 18 September! Our members will be offering events in The Lord Mayor's Pavilion , Fitzgerald's Park, and TRISKEL SAMPLE Project Space in Triskel Arts Centre so be sure to include these as part of your Culture Night trail:

🚀The Lord Mayor's Pavilion: Barbara Diener will offer 2 talks and tours of her solo exhibition 'The Rocket’s Red Glare' for Culture Night 2026. The tours will run from 5:30-6:15pm and 6:30-7:15pm.

👩‍🎨TRISKEL SAMPLE Project Space in Triskel Arts Centre: Artist in Residence Sarah Long will host a launch event for her new autofiction work 'I Want to Talk about Ireland'. Sarah will perform part of this work alongside a listening event from 7-8:30pm.

See you there!

Images:
1. Barbara Diener, 'Holding Missile, Kummersdorf, Germany', 1932/2019.
2. Sarah Long, 'Who's afraid of little old Sionna? The Nightmare', 2026.

🎉 10 Habits of Successful Applicant Artists 🎉Our own Artistic Director, Aoibhie McCarthy, offers our members an insightful ‘lunch and learn’ talk today, giving an overview of 10 key strategies that visual artists can adopt now to ensure their applications are effective, impactful and stand out from the crowd. This session shows how to avoid common pitfalls and discover simple ways to engage the resources and opportunities needed for a visual art practice in a strategic and sustainable way.

Visit our website at the link in our bio to find out more about our Professional Development programme for members, and for info on how to join us to take your practice further!

Our popular Art History Reframed Lecture Series kicks off again TOMORROW in Triskel Arts Centre with The Great Cities of Europe! This newest instalment of Art History Reframed sees Art Historian Dr Matthew Whyte return to Triskel Christchurch on Tuesday mornings, 11am-1pm, from 15 September - 20 October. Each lecture can be attended individually or you can book the series of 6 for a 20% discount.

The Great Cities of Europe is a journey through six of Europe’s most remarkable cities – Florence, Rome, Venice, London, Paris and Vienna – each explored at the moment it comes most vividly to life. Each lecture invites you to step inside the city and experience its society and atmosphere through an immersive exploration of its aesthetic culture: its art, architecture, and music.

Art History Reframed is developed by Sample-Studios and offered in partnership with Triskel Arts Centre.

We had a blast here at the Visual Artists Ireland Get Together today in talking to artists from around Ireland about the landscape of public funding opportunities for their practice. Check out our membership options if you want to focus on securing better resourcing for your practice: link in bio