Martina O’Brien Announced as Artist in Residence for the Co-Creative Lab, Maynooth
25th March 2024: Kildare County Council Climate Action Team, in collaboration with Kildare Arts Service and Maynooth University, has announced Kildare-based visual artist Martina O’Brien as the Artist in Residence for the Co-Creative Lab.
A hugely experienced visual artist, Martina has exhibited both in Ireland and internationally. Her work involves engagement with communities, citizen scientists, academics and members of the scientific community. She has collaborated with experts in climate science and marine ecology on projects such as Arctic Deep, Extreme 24 Marine Expedition in the Arctic Ocean, University of Oslo’s Marine Expedition, Oslofjord and ATU’s Marine Expedition, North-East Atlantic Ocean. With an interest in earth sciences, she responds to the threats of climate change through a research-led practice that explores links between people, nature and technology,
As part of her 9-month residency, Martina will work closely with the project partners, responding to data and processes that emerge from a community-focused collaborative project that will design and test local solutions to climate change in Maynooth.
Following the announcement Martina O’Brien said “Over the coming months, I look forward to immersing myself in the dynamic work of the Co-Creative Lab, engaging with the community in Maynooth, and collaborating with key stakeholders to spark meaningful conversations through art. Through this residency, I aim to develop artistic work that reflects the shared experiences and ambitions of the community while exploring new methodologies of co-creation”.
Tania Banotti, Director of Creative Ireland, stated “We’re looking forward to seeing the outputs of Martina's residency. It's part of a wider network of artists working with local communities all over Ireland this year on climate action. The approach has proven to be a powerful way to engage and mobilise communities to take practical steps to address the climate and nature crisis.”
The broader aim of the Co-Creative Lab is to model and assess innovative solutions to climate change that encourage positive behaviour change in a creative, practical and human-centred way. As the county’s Decarbonising Zone, Maynooth was chosen as the place to base the project.
Paula O’Rourke, Climate Action Co-ordinator, Kildare County Council explains: “Maynooth is a test bed for change in the community. The Co-Creative Lab provides an inclusive space to the community of Maynooth and students of Maynooth University to design solutions to challenges using fun to explore the different perspectives. I think most people are big kids at heart, I know I am! Let’s have fun.”
The Co-Creative Lab is a recipient of the Creative Climate Action fund, an initiative from the Creative Ireland Programme. It is funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The fund supports creative, cultural and artistic projects that build awareness around climate change and empower citizens to make meaningful behavioural transformations.
The projects aim to:
- Encourage everyone to rethink their lifestyles.
- Connect with the biodiversity crisis.
- Enable a fair and just transition in making lifestyle changes.
- Assist citizens to understand the climate crisis.
- Adapt to effects of climate change.
