The 49th Clifden Arts Festival will run for ten days from Thursday, September 17, promising public art, architecture, sculpture, exhibitions and creative encounters.
The visual arts programme, reflecting this year's theme of OPEN - A Festival of Welcome, Encounter, and Possibility, invites audiences to experience art in galleries, churches, public spaces, and some of Connemara's most remarkable landscapes.
One of the festival's most visible attractions will be a specially commissioned temporary public mural by acclaimed Irish artist James Kirwan, who will create his Welcome mural live on Clifden Town Hall during the opening days of the festival. Visitors are invited to watch the artwork evolve throughout the week, as a striking visual expression of this year's festival theme.
Among this year's guests is adventurer and mental health advocate Becky Gilmour, who in 2025 became the first person to skateboard the entire Wild Atlantic Way, while raising funds for the Samaritans.
Gilmour will lead a community litter-picking walk before sharing stories of resilience, adventure and her forthcoming East African expedition, supporting mental health initiatives in Uganda.
Artist, author and hospitality advocate Jennie Moran will bring her event Ghostis to Fernwood's beautifully restored Booley. Through storytelling, conversation and shared food, Ghostis explores traditions of welcome from cultures around the world, celebrating hospitality as one of humanity's oldest and most powerful ways of building community.
Another compelling live artwork is What Remains by environmental sculptor Phil McSweeney. Created within the atmospheric ruins of St Mary's Church and graveyard, the installation unfolds over three days as McSweeney gradually weaves sculptural forms from natural materials. Visitors are encouraged to return throughout the weekend to witness the artwork evolve within its historic setting.
Painter Lynda Bremner presents Returning, Tides & Stones, a new exhibition inspired by the wild beauty of the Atlantic coastline and the ever-changing rhythms of the natural world. Through richly textured paintings, Bremner explores themes of landscape, memory and belonging, inviting viewers to reflect on our enduring connection with place.
The wider visual arts programme also includes Threshold: The Space In Between, a landmark exhibition by internationally acclaimed architects Sheila O'Donnell and John Tuomey; Making Art Work by the pioneering AKIN Artist Collective; Feeling of Home, an exhibition by Ukrainian artists exploring memory, displacement and belonging; and Kilnfire, showcasing the work of ceramic artists from CLAYGalway.
The festival's wider programme also includes a conversation between broadcaster and author Emma Dabiri with writer Eva Kenny, exploring language, identity and belonging. The festival's popular guided bus tours once again invite visitors beyond the gallery walls, offering rare access to artists' studios, private collections, heritage sites and cultural landmarks across Connemara.
With public art, architecture, adventure, sculpture, exhibitions and creative encounters woven throughout the programme, the 49th Clifden Arts Festival promises an unforgettable celebration of creativity in the heart of Connemara.
